State of Oklahoma : Tyler Schnaithman

THEN: An 11-year-old boy from Garber, Oklahoma, who bought a half-interest in a harvesting machine and began putting up custom hay with his older brother. That sibling partnership eventually grew into a diversified farming business for Tyler Schnaithman. He became involved with FFA in the eighth grade, starting out with 7 acres of wheat. He says FFA helped him get a jump-start on his agriculture career by:

• Teaching him about record keeping, a skill he uses every day on the farm.
• Teaching him about responsibility and how the decisions he makes have an impact on his farming operation. Improving his self-confidence and public speaking skills.

NOW: One of only 10 Oklahomans to win FFA's prestigious American Star Farmer Award. Tyler's passion is focused on crop production, and a majority of his acres are on a no-till wheat/canola, double crop soybean and corn rotation. The fifth-generation farmer said his dream was to build a farming operation he could return to full-time after he graduates from Oklahoma State University in May, and FFA taught him many of the skills he needed to do that.

'[FFA] developed a passion in me, and from there I was able to extend my operation over the years.'

Tyler Schnaithman