Hopkins County Hosts
Area VI FFA Leadership Camp

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

Raymond Haygood, with the Southwest Dairy Museum, addresses the FFA students, giving them
an overview of the local and national dairy industry.

 

 

It was some of the brightest young people in Northeast Texas, that arrived in Hopkins County, on Thursday, for the Area VI FFA "Kick-Off" Camp, hosted by the Area VI FFA. "We've been hosting the camp in Mt. Pleasant, but we wanted to offer this year's participants a look at what Hopkins County has to offer," expressed Hailey Ross, of Mt. Vernon. "Being reared in Hopkins County, I knew of several of the attractions that the area offered, so I felt it would be educational to bring the students here, to a growing and prosperous agricultural area."

The over 75 FFA students participating in this year's two-day camp, arrived in Hopkins County, on Thursday and began touring agricultural related operations, with a stop at the "Slide to Win Farm," located near Hwy-69 and Interstate-30. Students toured the horse farm that breeds and trains reining horses. "We had a great tour and got to see the new covered arena being constructed," advised Como-Pickton Vocational Agriculture Teacher, Michael Bowen. "The students enjoyed both the horses and the construction aspects at the farm."

The next stop was the Southwest Dairy Museum, where Raymond Haygood, with the museum, gave the students an overview of the local and national dairy industry, denoting a number of changes over the past years in the industry. "When I first came to Hopkins County, back in the late 1960's, farms were small and local dairy farmers milked herds of 50 - 60 cows, and maintained family operations," related Haygood. "However, today most herds in the area will be 400 plus cows, with many of them milking over 1000 head. And, the industry at the present time is in a 'price squeeze' that is adversely affecting the profits on dairy farms!"

 

 

 

 

FFA students attending the Area VI Camp learned about a variety of agricultural related industries
that Hopkins County offers.

 

Students received the overview and then learned about the aspects of the local, dairy farmer owned, Southwest Dairy Museum, which houses historical dairy artifacts, promotes the dairy industry to those who know nothing about the industry, and operates the popular Mobile Dairy Classrooms, that travel to school locations and teach children the story of where milk and dairy products come from!

Students in the Area VI Camp were scheduled to travel from Sulphur Springs to Cooper Lake, where they would have an entertaining evening and share many of the things they had learned. Then, they are scheduled to return to Sulphur Springs, on Friday morning, where they will attend the Sulphur Springs Livestock and Dairy Auction. At the local auction, Co-Owner, Joe Don Pogue, a former FFA student himself, will speak to the group about marketing livestock and dairy animals.

"Sulphur Springs offers a unique and varied agricultural industry, that allows the students to learn about many facets of the industry," expressed Ross. "So, it was great to bring the students here, where I knew the hospitality would be great, and the students would learn from their experiences!"

Students from all across Northeast Texas' Area VI  FFA will be taking what they learned in the camp, back to the home chapters, once school begins the fall term.

 

Student participants in the FFA Camp left the Dairy Museum, headed for nighttime activities at
Cooper Lake State Park.

 

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