Mum project results in FFA Star finalist selection

SENECA, Ill. — Benjamin Biros started working with a family chrysanthemum business at a young age — and now he has been selected as one of the top FFA projects in the nation by the National FFA Organization.

Biros is one of four finalists for American Star in Agribusiness. The award will be presented during the National FFA Convention & Expo, Oct. 21-24 in Indianapolis.

Three additional finalists for American Star in Agribusiness are: Luke Schilling, Indiana; Wesley Winch, Wisconsin; and Jose Yepez, Texas.

“This was a shocker to me; I did not think it was possible,” Biros said. “I thought I had put on my FFA jacket for the last time, but now I have one more time.”

When Biros was a sixth-grade student, his family was approached by another family who had grown a couple hundred mums each year to raise money for their son’s college education.

“They were done with the project, and they offered to help us get started,” the FFA member said.

“I think we grew 700 mums the first year, and when I got to high school, I turned it into my FFA project,” he said. “I grew the business from growing 700 mums to over 2,000 mums annually, and that is what raised money for me to go to college.”

For the first few years, Biros said, he was like a sponge, soaking up all the information he could about how to grow mums.

“The process has changed over time to become more efficient, and that is what allowed me to increase the number of mums I am growing,” said the son of Cash and Sarah Biros.

During his early years in high school, the Seneca FFA member sold most of his mums at farmers markets and now he utilizes his Facebook page — Biros Boys Mums — to reach his customers.

“There are over a thousand followers, and using Facebook allows me to market all across the region,” he explained.

“I post pictures in the fall on Facebook, and I set my mums up in our front yard,” he said. “Now my customers pretty much come to me, and I have a cash box there, so the mums are sold on the honor system.”

Biros sells his mums at his family’s house in town and the mums are grown on their farm.

“We have been farming for multiple generations,” he said. “We grow corn, soybeans, wheat, rye and oats, and we also have a 90-cow herd,” he said.

While in high school, Biros competed in several career development events.

“Dairy products judging was one of my favorites,” said Biros, who is advised by Conner Christian and Cally Hatton.

“Also, meat evaluation and I taught the team from when I was a sophomore through my senior year,” he said. “I was also a section officer and president of our chapter.”

Currently, Biros is a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma where he is studying meteorology, with a goal to be a meteorologist.

“I watched Tom Skilling on WGN-TV in Chicago, and that’s what got me into meteorology,” he said. “Not only did he tell you what the weather was, he also was teaching about weather.”

Biros was surprised when he received a text message from his aunt that said he was a finalist for the American Star award.

“I remember going to national convention as a freshman and I thought the members had really cool projects and that they were really dedicated,” he said.

This will not be the first time Biros will attend the national event as an award finalist.

“I won the state award for specialty crop production my junior year in high school and I was a national finalist,” he said. “My senior year I was the state winner in diversified horticulture.”

Competing with his supervised agricultural experience projects has helped Biros become a better speaker and interviewer.

“And I have met a lot of people including judges and fellow contestants,” he said.

The FFA member is going to pass his mum business to his brother, Sam, who is currently an eighth-grade student.

“It will be his SAE in high school if he wants to pursue it,” the Star finalist said. “I am happy that I can leave him with something to help him raise money for college.”