Cooper Belt Selected as a Missouri FFA Foundation SAE Grant Recipient

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Shelbyville, MO – The Missouri FFA Foundation is awarding a SAE grant to Cooper Belt, a North Shelby FFA member.

All FFA members are required to participate in a Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) which may include launching an agriculture-related business, working at an agriculture-related business, or conducting an agricultural research project. Upon completion, FFA members must submit a comprehensive report regarding their career development experience.

“In 2024, Missouri FFA members generated $69.8 million in income through their SAEs” said Heather Dimitt-Fletcher, Executive Director of the Missouri FFA Foundation. “Through their SAEs, students are launching commercial floral and produce farms, starting food truck and catering businesses, managing hundreds of acres of forest, handcrafting goods, and building substantial livestock operations. These projects speak to the entrepreneurial heart of our country and represent the future of agriculture. FFA members generally pay the expenses associated with their SAE themselves. Many students do not have the personal financial resources needed to start or expand their projects. The learning opportunities, along with the student income generated by SAEs, are immense. That’s why the Missouri FFA Foundation’s SAE Grant program is vital. We are thankful for our partners; the MFA Inc. Charitable Foundation and the Missouri Sheep Merchandising Council, whose donations make it possible for us to provide students with grants to off-set the start up or expansion cost of their SAEs.”

Cooper’s SAE project is sheep production. The grant from the Missouri FFA Foundation will be used to increase the genetic quality of his flock.

Tim Davis, the agriculture education teacher at North Shelby said, “Cooper is one of our most involved freshmen FFA members. This grant will allow him to expand his SAE by increasing the quality of genetic he has available in his flock. Grants like this allow FFA members to start or expand their SAE project which are one of the three cornerstones to Agriculture Education.”.