During the month of April, the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and Oklahoma Farm Report are spotlighting the 17 Area Stars of Oklahoma FFA, who are among the highest achievers in the organization.
The stars come from the four areas in four categories – Star in Ag Placement, Star in Agriscience, Star in Agribusiness, and Star in Agricultural Production.
This week, we spotlight the three area stars in Agricultural Placement in 2026.
One Star Finalist featured in the coming days from each of the categories will be named the State Star Award Winner during the 100th Oklahoma State FFA Convention, which will take place on May 5th and 6th in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
We continue our coverage of the 2026 Oklahoma FFA Star Award Finalists today with Madilyn Bishop of the Stillwater FFA representing the Central area.
FFA students across Oklahoma are building real-world skills through hands-on projects, and for some, those experiences are rooted right at home on the family farm.
What began as a simple question about how often eggs really need to be turned in an incubator has grown into five years of detailed agriscience research for Madilyn “Maddie” Bishop. The Stillwater FFA member has built an impressive record of poultry-based studies focused on egg freshness, fertility, and the use of technology in animal science.
From Turning Eggs to Extending Freshness
Bishop said her agriscience journey began in eighth grade when she questioned a common poultry practice. “I wanted to know how often we needed to turn the chicken eggs in the incubator,” she said. “They turn their eggs up to four times every hour, but I wanted to know if that was really necessary.”
That early project launched a deeper interest in research. In later years, she shifted toward food systems and egg preservation, studying ways to keep eggs fresh longer. “One was I chose chitosan powder, and I wanted to see if it could actually work… keeping them fresh for longer,” Bishop said.
She later tested three protective coatings—beeswax, mineral oil, and paraffin wax. “I found that the beeswax and mineral oil could, in fact, keep the eggs fresh for longer,” she said.
Advanced Research on Egg Fertility
As her projects advanced, Bishop moved into animal science and reproductive research. During her junior year, she studied whether respiration rate could help determine fertility in eggs. “I tested the five-minute respiration rate of these fertile and infertile eggs, and I found that it definitely can,” she said.
Her senior project expanded even further into power and technical systems, using advanced tools to evaluate fertility detection. “I used respiration rate sensors, and then I used a live spectrometer and a thermography camera to see how these different tools can affect this egg fertility and if it can detect egg fertility,” Bishop said.
She added that the project explores technology that had not previously been tested in this exact way.
Leadership, Learning, and Looking Ahead
Beyond research, Bishop has grown as a leader through FFA. A first-generation member with no deep agricultural background, she said she found her place early through leadership contests and public speaking. “I started by doing opening and closing ceremonies, and I fell in love with it, with public speaking, and then agriscience,” she said.
Now serving as Stillwater FFA president, Bishop leads a chapter of more than 250 members while encouraging younger students to explore agricultural careers. “We’ve had a speaker… every single month that has an agriculture background and is working in agriculture right now,” she said. “To get them really excited about there’s other careers in agriculture that’s not just a farmer.”
Looking ahead, Bishop plans to attend Oklahoma State University and major in agribusiness and animal science with an emphasis on reproduction. “For sure, I am planning on continuing,” she said. “My senior year project has never been done before, and so I plan on getting that one out there.”
This year’s 17 Area Stars will each be recognized on stage in the fifth general session of the 100th Oklahoma FFA Convention May 6th in Tulsa and each will receive a plaque and $500 cash award co-sponsored by the Blue and Gold Sausage Co., Sirloin Club of Oklahoma, Masonic Charity Foundation, McDonald’s of Oklahoma, Davis Farms, The Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma Farm Bureau and the Noble Research Institute.
The Star in each category will each receive $29,484 in scholarships or capital grant funds through a $3.2 million gift from the Carl C. Anderson Trust. The late Carl C. Anderson, after whom the State Star awards are now named, was born in Naples, Oklahoma, in 1911. One of 10 children, he dropped out of high school to earn money and support his family. From those modest beginnings, the Anderson Corp. grew across the country as well as in Canada and South America.
Our coverage of the 2026 Oklahoma FFA Association State Convention is sponsored by Oklahoma Farm Bureau, proud to support the young men and ladies of the Oklahoma FFA as they strive for excellence in all they do. Oklahoma Farm Bureau- We Are Rural Oklahoma.
Learn more about the 100th Annual Convention of the Oklahoma FFA by clicking here for the convention highlights.
