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 Agricultural Production 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 Agricultural Production competitor Hayden Hatfield of the Stigler FFA chapter representing the Southeast Area.
“My project is Coal Valley Game Farm in Stigler, Oklahoma,” Hatfield explained. “We breed, produce, market, sell and ship game fowl all over the United States. I have several different breeds.”
Hatfield has always wanted to raise livestock of some sort, but didn’t have the means to start with larger animals when he first began. The size, hardiness, startup cost, inputs, and market dynamics of game fowl fit his budget better.
Hatfield’s FFA career began in his freshman year of high school, and he wasn’t fully convinced it was what he needed to be involved in, as his parents hadn’t been members. He initially joined for the opportunity to compete in skeet shooting.
“As I got into it more, I learned that there is a lot in FFA,” he admitted. “I didn’t show livestock. I didn’t judge livestock. I didn’t do anything with livestock, and being in FFA, that is almost like a cardinal sin, but there are so many other contests and stuff that I could be involved in, like mechanics, electricity, and all of that other stuff that was preparing me for the career that I want to go into.”
As a sophomore, Hatfield decided to go all in and ran for office, earning the Chaplain position. This year, he was elected President of his chapter.
He is still unsure of what his future holds, but is already working toward an associate’s degree at Eastern Oklahoma State College.
Hear KC’s full conversation with Hayden Hatfield by clicking on the Listen Bar above.
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For more information about the 99th Oklahoma State FFA Convention, click here.
