Editor’s note: In recognition of National FFA Week, the Register’s Sarah Haney interviewed students from Iola, Humboldt, Marmaton Valley and Crest schools.
MORAN — Shelby Sprague may be in her third year of FFA, but she has been in agriculture her whole life. The Marmaton Valley junior grew up on a farm raising show goats and barrel racing. Over the years, she could be found at the Allen County Fair showing livestock.
Joining FFA has been a family tradition of sorts for Sprague. Her older sister, Julianna, was in the program all four years of high school.
Wanting to follow in her sister’s footsteps, but also pave her own path, Sprague has found FFA to be the perfect vehicle for her talents.
Competing in various competitions, Sprague has been able to put these talents on full display. Earlier this month, she placed second in Employability Skills at Eureka and qualified for state competition.
“Employability Skills is my favorite to compete in,” she noted. This particular competition helps FFA members develop skills for finding jobs by simulating real-world job search activities including writing a resume, cover letter, and conducting interviews.
The idea is to help students get a leg up on their future careers by developing the skills needed to seek employment in the industry of agriculture.
Just this month, Sprague was named a recipient of the 2025 Kansas FFA State Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) Grants. These grants, each worth $500, support FFA members as they develop their agriculture-related projects across the state.
The grants are designed to provide financial assistance to students pursuing hands-on agricultural experiences that enhance their leadership, business, and technical skills. Recipients were selected based on the strength of their project proposals.
Sprague’s proposed project is raising, selling, and showing competitive show goats.
“I started showing goats as a Clover Bud 4-H member,” she explained. “My aunt has raised show goats for years and got me and my sister into the project.”
Sprague said her sister got her started on her current SAE by buying a goat from their aunt to breed. “When my sister graduated, I took over her SAE and expanded it from there.”
The current scale of the project is about 15 breeding does and 40 baby goats.
“The babies I have now were born in the last couple months,” said Sprague. “I plan to sell these in the spring to 4-H and FFA kids looking for a fair project. I will also keep a few back for myself to show and to put back into my herd to improve the quality of it.”
Along with selling the goats to 4-H members, she also helps them with their project.
