FFA members earn Star honors for outstanding projects

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Four outstanding FFA members involved with raising livestock, conducting research projects and painting farm equipment were named top in the state during the Stars Over Illinois Ceremony.

During Session 4 at the 98th Illinois FFA State Convention, held in Springfield, FFA members honored included: Ryker Beckmier, Star Farmer; Kolton Wiley, Star in Agribusiness; Molly McCalla, Star in Agricultural Placement; and Toby Williams, Star in Agriscience.

Star Farmer

“There have been a lot of hours, long nights and early mornings put into this,” Beckmier said about becoming the Star Farmer.

“From when I was a kid, I always knew I wanted to run a progressive and profitable sheep operation,” said the son of Tucker and Megan Beckmier. “And the fact that I have achieved my dreams is an incredible feeling.”

The Taylorville FFA member currently has 29 registered Southdown ewes in his flock.

“The ewes are artificially inseminated in late July,” he said.

“I also have a forage book where I bale round and square hay bales for my sheep and I also sell hay to customers around me,” said the Star Famer who is advised by Megan Beckmier, Sue Schafer, Charley Dammerman and Thomas Nickols.

Beckmier shows his sheep throughout several states in the Midwest.

“I go to about 10 shows per year from early May to late November,” he said. “And we’re actually going to Maryland this summer for a show.”

The FFA member has been working with Southdown sheep for as long as he can remember.

“Dad always had me in the show ring,” he said. “I think this year we plan on flushing a ewe and going forward I will probably run some donor ewes.”

Star In Agribusiness

Wiley started his own business to make faded and scratched farm equipment look better.

“I started watching videos and buying tools,” he said. “I did a few tractors and realized there is a market for doing this.”

A few months later, the Sullivan FFA member launched a Facebook page and started his business.

“I hired a part-time employee and I was certified for ceramic coatings,” he said. “That is a layer of protection we put on the tractors after we make them beautiful, so they stay looking beautiful.”

Now, the son of Kory and Tonya Wiley has a full-time employee and two part-time employees.

“I am booked out one to three months in advance and we travel out of state to work on all kinds of equipment,” he said.

The business grew a lot more than the Star winner expected.

“I figured it was something I would do while I was in high school,” he said. “Now I am planning on making it a full-time job and also farming in the future.”

Becoming a Star winner, Wiley said, is an amazing feeling.

“My adviser and I worked so hard,” he said about Alex Tungate. “It is cool to see all my hard work paying off and I could run a business that came from nothing.”

Star In Agricultural Placement

“This is very exciting,” McCalla said. “I knew I had a lot of great competition, so it is a great honor to win.”

The Star winner works for McCalla Southdowns and McCalla Angus.

“I am responsible for managing the flock and the herd,” said the daughter of Craig and Maggie McCalla. “I make decisions for breeding, nutrition and herd health management.”

In addition, McCalla job shadowed at Greenville Veterinary Clinic.

“I assisted with different operations and procedures,” the Staunton FFA member said. “I have been around livestock all my life and I hope to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.”

McCalla enjoys showing her sheep at four to five shows each year.

“My favorite project is the sheep — that is where my passion lies,” said the FFA member who is advised by John Davin, Spencer Laughlin and Maggie McCalla.

Star In Agriscience

Toby Williams completed three research projects as a member of the Stark County FFA Chapter.

“For my first project, I studied lactic acid bacteria content in sourdough starter with different flour types that included non-gluten, gluten, bleached and non-bleached,” he said.

Advised by Preston Parrish and Taylor Wilkinson, his second project analyzed starch retrogradation in potatoes.

“I wanted to see if this was a viable option for people with diabetes,” the Star winner said.

“For my third project, I discovered that any type of rice product packaged in plastic will contain microplastics,” said the son of Shawn and Nora Williams. “The microwavable pouches contained the most microplastic content.”

Williams became interested in doing research for his FFA project as a freshman student when he attended the National FFA Convention.

“I watched one of my chapter members go on stage and receive an award and that had a huge impact on me,” he explained.

“I am ecstatic. I spent so much time working on this,” he said.