Colby Epperson of the Trenton FFA Chapter has been selected as the Area 2 Star in Agribusiness award winner..
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Colby Epperson of the Trenton FFA Chapter has been selected as the Area 2 Star in Agribusiness award winner..
Epperson received this honor by applying for the State FFA Degree and being selected as the top applicant from Area 2 in Agribusiness. He will go on to compete for the State Star in Agribusiness award at the Missouri State FFA Convention on April 19 at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Epperson is a senior at Trenton High School and president of the Trenton FFA Chapter. He is the son of Mr. And Mrs. Mike Epperson of Laredo. His advisors are Brian Robinson and Dennis Gutshall and his high school principal is Fred Boland.
Epperson?s Supervised Agricul-ture Experience Program began with working for Epperson Farms, a diversified crop and livestock farm. Epperson’s work on the farm ranges all the way from building fences, vaccinating cattle, to running the combine. Epperson has learned to balance feed rations for their cattle, which they raise and finish out. In working there he has many other tasks he’s become very skilled at, such as vaccinating, dehorning cattle, and using their Global Positioning Satellite system to do yield data mapping.
During the spring and summer Epperson helps put the crop in and one of his main jobs is to drill beans. Also another key job he is required to do is spraying chemical on the crops they raise, last year a new GPS system for their sprayer was purchased, which Epperson had to learn to operate. During the fall, Epperson takes a key role in helping get the crop out in a fashionable time, running the combine most evenings after school. By learning skills associated with operating equipment with GPS and yield monitor systems Epperson has found that he is able to do more with the management of the family farm than before. By collecting data from the combine yield monitor he has been able to map the farms fields for various yields so they can tell where to focus their efforts to increase the farm?s productivity. Having learned how to run this equipment has broadened Epperson’s knowledge of technology that is used in production farming. These tasks that are required of Epperson while working for Epperson Farms has given him a great deal of background that will help him succeed with his own farming aspirations.
Epperson has also been extremely involved in leadership positions and activities in the FFA. Epperson has served the chapter?s junior office secretary, chapter first vice president and chapter president. He has competed on the Poultry, Livestock, Dairy and Grasslands judging teams at the State level as well as Soils at the District level. Epperson was the Area Beef Entrepreneurship Proficiency Winner in 2001. Epperson has also received Star Greenhand and the Hudson Outstanding Junior Award.
While attending the State FFA Leadership Camp he was awarded the State Leadership Medal and the Missouri Department of Conservation Award. Epperson has attended the National FFA Convention three years and, before his senior year, he attended the Washington Leadership Confer-ence.
After graduation Epperson plans to attend North Central Missouri Collage to receive an associate arts degree in agribusiness, and then transfer to the University of Missouri to pursue a major in agriculture economics and a minor in agriculture business.