During the month of April, the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and Oklahoma Farm Report are spotlighting the 19 Area Stars of Oklahoma FFA, who are among the highest achievers in the organization.
The stars come from the five areas in four categories – Star in Ag Placement, Star in Agriscience, Star in Agribusiness, and Star in Agricultural Production.
This week, we spotlight the five area stars in Agribusiness in 2025.
One Star Finalist featured in the coming days from each of the categories will be named the State Star Award Winner during the 99th Oklahoma State FFA Convention, which will take place on May 6th and 7th in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
This week, our coverage of the 2025 Oklahoma FFA Star Award Finalists continues with Agribusiness competitor Bailey Faires of the Stroud FFA chapter representing the Central Area.
“I raise English bulldogs and dachshund puppies,” Faires shared. “I started raising dachshunds in 2013, and got my first English bulldog in 2019, and I’ve just been trucking along ever since.”
Faires was following in her mother’s footsteps with the puppies, but she also loves breeding, training, and selling horses. “I just wanted something that little me could do in 2013, so I got my first dachshund and I was so happy. My mom helped so much with raising my first litter. Then we bought a trailer load of horses and I got a free English bulldog puppy. That got me into them. They are a lot of work, but I’ve had so much fun.”
When asked how she manages to let go of the puppies after spending so much time with them, she replied reasonably, “You just have to clean up enough puppy poop.”
Faires went to grade school in a small rural community whose school only went to eighth grade before she started at Stroud which she referred to as a “big school where I did not know anyone.” After joining FFA, she began to feel at home. In addition to the puppy business, she judges livestock and competes in agriscience and speech.
She plans to attend Northwestern Oklahoma State University to work on her pre-veterinary medicine credits before transferring to OSU to obtain her veterinary degree. She hopes to continue to raise her own puppies while focusing her veterinary practice on Equine and Canine reproduction.
Hear KC’s full conversation with Bailey Faires by clicking on the Listen Bar above.
Your coverage of the 2025 Oklahoma FFA Convention is sponsored by Hilliary Communications, who deliver the latest cutting-edge communications services supporting tens of thousands of customers across 22 counties throughout Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa. The company offers internet, voice, and HilliaryTV. Hilliary Communications continuously researches the marketplace for innovations and strives to improve underserved areas, offering services that exceed customer expectations. Click here to learn more about Hilliary Communications.
For more information about the 99th Oklahoma State FFA Convention, click here.
