Donations made by ACH Seeds have provided funding to local schools in the Michigan sugarbeet-growing region to support their FFA programs. ACH Seeds provides funding and sponsorships that encourage and support youth in agriculture who can help ensure a continued pipeline of talented, knowledgeable future farmers. ACH Seeds, a leading marketer of Crystal brand sugarbeet seed, has been supporting local communities for over 20 years.
“We appreciate ACH Seeds’ support of our FFA chapter and FFA chapters all over the Thumb and Huron County,” said Joe Ankley, agriscience teacher and FFA advisor at North Huron School in Kindle, Mich. “The money will be used to help continue our community service projects focused on supplying food for our community and students, specifically our broiler project and our community garden.”
“Thank you so much for thinking of us for a donation! We greatly appreciated it,” said Melissa Kramer, an agriscience teacher at Ubly High School in Ubly, Mich. “We put the check in our barn-building fund, and our barn is going up right now, so the money will help us purchase equipment once it is up.”
“Thank you for sponsoring our FFA chapter, ACH Seeds!” said Tiffany Fishburn, FFA chapter advisor at Breckenridge Schools in Breckenridge, Mich. “At Breckenridge FFA we have 99 active FFA members on our roster and hope to grow. We have junior and senior high school members who participate in a variety of activities, from our leadership contests to skills contests, our alumni-hosted Laurenz Day Farm Tour, and a variety of other community-based events. With this sponsorship, we will continue being able to run a variety of programs that better our community, like our county-wide Meals for Hope event this spring.”
“First, thank you again so very much for the generous donation. As a new chapter starting from scratch, it is very much appreciated!” said Amber McCallister, Ashley FFA Chapter advisor. “The Ashley FFA Chapter was involved in a number of activities this year … We hatched chicks, raised broilers, competed in the leadership competition, went to state convention, and planted and sold items from our school greenhouse. We are excited about your donation, as we plan to use the money to expand our class and virtual curriculum using the iCEV program.”
Andy Bernia, ACH Seeds Great Lakes region sales manager, approached the local FFA organizations asking how ACH could support their programs and community outreach. Bernia received a number of requests for support, and worked with each organization individually, so that any donation made would further the groups’ efforts on key projects and initiatives.
“Many of our customers have kids who are actively involved in FFA, and we see how challenging it is for these organizations to obtain the funding for all of the good work they want to do,” said Bernia. “I’m happy to support these organizations, because in doing so we’re supporting our local communities, too. It feels good to provide a donation that you know will help a younger person gain experience that he or she can put to use as they become our agricultural future.”
The FFA program is the premier youth organization preparing members for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture. ACH Seeds has sponsored various FFA programs and chapters across the U.S. over the last five years.