Porter

Beloit FFA member Abby Porter has a love for animals. Her love has turned into her current SAE, a program that earned her a national award this past October. Abby was completely stunned when her name was called to stand upon the stage to receive her award.

In June 2017, when Abby was getting ready to head into 7th grade, she began as an unpaid intern at the Solomon Valley Veterinary Clinic in Beloit. This internship eventually led to a job, which has made her love of animals and their owners grow with each day. For Abby, her favorite part of her SAE is working with the clients and patients. Being able to help people with any difficulty that arises brings her joy. Plus, going to a job that deals with animals is an incredible experience. Her love and passion for animals led

Jay McClure

If Jay McClure could give any new FFA member advice on starting their SAE it would be to wake up every day, pursue your dreams, persevere, and never give up. These are the same words of wisdom that he took as a sophomore in high school while he was thinking of all the possibilities of his future SAE. Perseverance paid off big time this past year for Jay.

In 2022, Jay was named the District, State, and National winner in the Forage Production Proficiency award for his SAE. Shocked is a word that comes to his mind when he recalled being named the National winner. “Being on stage with 65,000 to 70,000 FFA members was beyond awesome,” notes McClure.

His SAE began in 2018 when the family planted two circles of alfalfa hay just to see how it would

Stories by Amy Feigley

to the continuation of her SAE, and the eventual state and national winning award applications.

For those starting out their SAE journey, Abby would give them the advice of hard work. If you desire a successful SAE, you have to put in the hard work to build it into something great. SAE’s take time and effort to grow into what you want them to become.

work out. This was also the same year Jay and his dad purchased a square baler. The family then expanded to seven circles of alfalfa and now do all the work themselves, which includes swathing, bailing, and hauling the hay to a local dairy.

As for Jay, he hopes to keep expanding on his haying business, the business that started out as an SAE and has turned into a turn-key operation. An operation that he is proud of.