COOKEVILLE, TN—Andrew Swafford of the Bledsoe Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter is Tennessee FFA’s 2015 Star in Agriscience. The Star in Agriscience is awarded to the top student who best demonstrates knowledge and skill in agriscience research and experimentation. His supervised agricultural experience (SAE) is agriscience research.
Andrew owns Andy’s Beekeeping, LLC where he produces and sales all natural honey, lip balm and hand salve. Andrew is an active FFA member receiving honors on the national level for his agriscience projects regarding “The Effects of Aspartame” and “Headphone Havoc” which included noise induced hearing loss. He has also served as the Bledsoe Chapter President and the East Tennessee Regional Treasurer.
Andrew is the son of Ronnie and Amanda Swafford. He plans on attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in the fall majoring in Agricultural Engineering and Agricultural Communications to pursue a career in the agriculture industry.
For his achievement, Andrew was honored last month during the weeklong Inaugural Tennessee FFA Star Tour presented by Farm Credit Mid-America. The trip was centered on Tennessee agriculture; students got a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit agribusinesses, meet key industry leaders and showcase their superior projects.
The tour began in Doyle at Camp Clements FFA Leadership Training Camp where Farm Credit Mid-America presented each of the Stars with $1,000 scholarships. The tour included a visit to the Cookeville office of Farm Credit Mid-America, dinner with the Commissioner of Agriculture and staff at Ellington Agricultural Center, and a breakfast program at First Farmers & Merchants Bank in Columbia. The Stars also visited Krone, Thompson Machinery and Tosh Farms in West Tennessee. The tour ended with a night of “Underwater Bowling” and celebration at the new Bass Pro Pyramid in Memphis.
Andrew was named the Tennessee FFA Star in Agriscience in March at the Tennessee FFA State Convention in Gatlinburg. Having received his State FFA Degree, Andrew is now eligible to earn his American FFA Degree and represent Tennessee in the competition to become the American Star in Agriscience. Likewise, Tennessee will have a Star Farmer, Star in Agribusiness and Star in Agricultural Placement candidate.
FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. Nationally, there are 610,240 FFA members, aged 12-21. The Tennessee FFA Association is comprised of more than 13,000 members from 214 high school chapters, seven middle school chapters, and eight collegiate chapters across the state of Tennessee.
Photo caption: As the Tennessee FFA Star in Agriscience, Andrew Swafford of the Bledsoe FFA chapter speaks to a group of leaders about himself and his superior research project during the Inaugural Tennessee FFA Star Tour presented by Farm Credit Mid-America.