Under the bright lights of the 99th National FFA Convention, as the convention reached its Friday night crescendo, an announcement echoed through the arena that etched another milestone into Oklahoma agricultural history.
For the second consecutive year, an Oklahoma FFA member took center stage to claim the blue-and-gold jacket’s award that stretches back to the earliest years of the organization: American Star Farmer.
When the name of Cooper Kline, from the North Rock Creek FFA chapter, was read as the 2026 winner, the moment was about far more than records, spreadsheets, and ribbons. It marked a historic milestone for an entire sector of youth livestock production.
“As soon as I heard my name called—holy smokes, not another feeling like it,” Kline told Ron Hays of the Oklahoma Farm Report. “I don’t really know how to put it into words, truthfully. Still trying to wrap my head around it… Just so blessed and so thankful for the people that are in my corner, the people that have pushed me and helped me get to this point.”
Kline becomes the 12th Oklahoman in history to achieve the prestigious distinction—and possibly the first of any Star Farmer across the US to do so anchored primarily by an elite show pig enterprise. Kline follows Ryder Klaassen, Hydro-Eakly FFA who won the American Star Farmer Award in 2025.
From Sifted Gilts to a Nationwide Siphon of Sires
Kline’s journey into the swine barn began years before he ever donned the official FFA corduroy.
“This started long before I ever got an FFA jacket,” Kline recalled. “I remember being an eight-year-old boy in September down in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, where I walked to a farrowing house for the first time with my brother at Tim Underwood’s house. From the word go, I fell in love with the swine industry.”
When it came time to launch his own Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), Kline carved his path on grit, sharp eyes for livestock, and careful genetic selection. With modest resources, he purchased a couple of $250 gilts that had sifted at the Oklahoma Youth Expo (OYE).
Where others saw market discards, Kline identified structural soundness and brood sow potential.
Through generations of disciplined breeding decisions, that pair of foundation females expanded into an enterprise housing 28 sows farrowing eight months out of the year, marketing progeny from coast to coast. To ease operational costs and supply high-caliber genetics to other breeders, he launched Kline Swine Sires, an artificial insemination stud marketing boars nationwide.
Selling an Opportunity, Not Just an Animal
While modern competitive stock shows can command eye-popping figures for prospect livestock, Kline deliberately oriented his business model around accessibility and mentorship.
“I am not near the biggest show pig producer, the most successful, or the highest in terms of income,” Kline explained. “Something that I liked to focus on, and I think was taken in very well by the judges, was the youth outlook. I want to provide projects at a decent rate to allow students to be competitive, giving them a great experience. This animal is a vessel for them to grow.”
For Kline, profitability matters, but purpose matters more.
“I know that I’m selling an opportunity, not just a show pig,” he said. “With the high-dollar industry that it can be, oftentimes we can forget the scope of why the industry exists in the first place.”
As an agricultural education major at Oklahoma State University, Kline pairs every prospect he sells with hands-on coaching. He guides 4-H and FFA exhibitors through nutrition protocols, feed adjustments, and day-to-day animal husbandry.
“Ultimately, the pay-it-forward aspect of what we can do in the industry can be very beneficial in the long run,” Kline said. “Serving as a mentor to those younger students is such an incredible opportunity… building a great relationship with those students in the process.”
A Legacy of Service
Kline’s resume already reads like a generational chapter in Oklahoma FFA history. Having led the state association as State President leading Oklahoma FFA at its 100th Convention this past May, his commitment to service remains the guiding thread of his ag career.
Reflecting on his journey, Kline credited the mentors, ag instructors, and community that backed him every step of the way.
“I really do not know who I am as an individual without FFA and especially Oklahoma FFA,” Kline said. “Just how lucky are we to be from a state that promotes agricultural education and leadership development at such a high level?”
As he finishes his collegiate career at OSU and looks down the road, one thing remains certain: the farrowing house lights will stay on.
“I want to remain involved in the show pig industry and especially the production aspect of it until I simply cannot anymore,” Kline concluded. “An industry that I fell in love with at a very young age—the day I die is whenever you won’t see me involved.”
Our coverage of the 2026 99th National FFA Convention is powered by Hilliary Communications. Hilliary is a Medicine Park-based company with operations across Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa including telecommunications, the Lawton Constitution, and a portfolio of radio and media holdings. The company has been a long-standing employer in southwest Oklahoma and is committed to investing in the region’s workforce and an equal opportunity employer.
