OFI 1045: The FFA As An Entrepreneurship Incubator | FFA SAE Edition | Jenna Spangler | Bushnell-Prairie City High School FFA

Off-Farm Income

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INTRODUCING JENNA SPANGLER:

Obviously, the reason that I started interviewing FFA students was their involvement in entrepreneurship. The way that the FFA facilitates exposure and learning in entrepreneurship is second to none. And, as the title of this episode suggests it really is an entrepreneurship incubator.

That is very apparent in our interview with today’s guest, Jenna Spangler. Jenna is a very competitive person, and upon joining the FFA she found that this organization served her competitive spirit very well. Through a myriad of different contests and competitions, she found exactly what she was looking for. Then the day came that she wanted to go on a mission trip and needed to raise $150 to make this happen. Jenna decided that she would make ice cream and sell it to people for the fundraiser and actually pre-sold what she needed to raise.

This motivation is what led Jenna to be exposed to business and entrepreneurship. She found herself really enjoying making and selling products to other people and wanting to explore this further. Well, she just happened to be in the FFA already. Of course, this organization not only promotes but rewards entrepreneurship, and she found just the backing and encouragement that she needed. This led her to seek out opportunities outside of the FFA to learn even more about entrepreneurship, and Jenna Lou’s Homemade Ice Cream was born.

Today Jenna is preparing to finish high school and go to college to study in pursuit of growing this business even more. She has reinvested her profits and upgraded her equipment, allowing her to produce even more ice cream in less time. Jenna has a vision, and she has figured out what she needs to do to make that vision a reality. It will be very exciting to see where this all goes.

Visit Jenna Lou’s Homemade Ice Cream online here: https://www.facebook.com/jennalous.icecream

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Jenna Lou’s Homemade Ice Cream

HIGH SCHOOL: Bushnell-Prairie City High School, Bushnell, IL

MASCOT: Spartans

FFA ADVISOR: Alison McGrew

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR JENNA SPANGLER:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Bushnell-Prairie City High School website:

Jenna’s FFA Advisors’ Email Address: [e-mail]

Bushnell-Prairie City High School’s Telephone Number: ​309-772-2113

FFA LINKS:

National FFA Organization

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE’s)

Support FFA

Donate to FFA – FFA students can start small businesses through an FFA grant of $1,000. In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants. With your donations, more students can get this head start – pay it forward.

REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA:

• Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% and the rest of the world. FFA provides the needed education, training, and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and ensure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food.
• Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth.
• Farmers, ranchers, and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the food search is as simple as going to the grocery store:

“The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue

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