While attending the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with one of the four Oklahoma Star finalists, Rylee Smith, from the Oologah FFA Chapter. She specializes in Agriscience.
The American Star in Agribusiness will be awarded to the FFA member with the top nonproduction agribusiness supervised agricultural experience in the nation. The member must demonstrate outstanding achievement, active FFA participation, and an exemplary scholastic record.
Smith began her projects in eighth grade when she still hadn’t found her place in the school. Her dad served in the military, so her family moved a lot, but she knew she would be in the Oologah school district for longer than usual. At the time, though, she wasn’t sure what that would mean for her. Her ag teacher saw her passion for science and agriculture and led her to agriscience competitions.
She competed at various capacities in various competitions for the next five years of school, then in college at Oklahoma State University, she presented projects at two symposiums and took her research from the university student farm to the American Society of Horticulture Science (ASHS) Conference during the summer after her Freshman year.
“It started off with simple projects, like, testing differences in various brands of bottled water or prolonging the shelf life of cut apples, then it grew into testing CBD oils on chickens and the impact it had on the meat quality. I also tested the vitamin C content in oranges stored in various ways,” Smith said. “From there, I started focusing on soil. My senior year, I studied the impact that cattle have on soil, because I have become really passionate about food production, sustainability, and security.”
Although her project started off directly with food, she realized that the soil health has a big impact on food production and the agricultural food industry as a whole. As a Freshman Research Scholar at OSU, she met Dr. Justin Quetone Moss who is now her collegiate mentor. He put her to work on the student farm project. Essentially, it is a vegetable farm that provides produce to Our Daily Bread, the local food and resource center called.
“On my own, I decided to do in-depth soil sampling of the soil that the produce grows in,” Smith explained. “I tested the soil because with a really good analysis, we could make needed amendments to the soil to grow the best, most nutritious produce possible. It is going to low-income families, so they need the most nutritious foods they can get.”
Smith is currently majoring in both Agricultural Education and Agricultural Communications, and her goal is to become an Ag Educator to help FFA students realize their individual passions and potentials.
“Research is one of my biggest passions,” Smith shared. “I just don’t think I would want to do it every day as a career path, but I love the FFA organization, and I want to bring the knowledge I have gained and give it back to my future students.”
She told how FFA gave her a sense of belonging, lifelong friendships, and goals to reach for. “It’s crazy to think about how far the FFA organization reaches,” she said. “It has been an amazing experience, and I want to share that sense of belonging with my future students so they can find the place that they fit it; their niche, whether it be showing livestock, agriscience, public speaking, or ag issues.
Click here to see the website for the National FFA Convention for 2024 in Indianapolis.
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