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Stars Over Indiana recognized during the state FFA convention

Four Hoosier FFA members were named Stars Over Indiana for excelling in their Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs.

The Stars Over Indiana award ceremony took place Thursday evening during the Hoosier Degree Session at the Indiana State FFA Convention.

Lucas Lyons of Jay County FFA Chapter was named the Indiana FFA State Star Farmer. He tells Brownfield his project involves raising 40 goats and managing 70 acres of corn and soybeans, two acres of sweet corn, and four acres of hay.

“I’m feeling pumped,” he says. “I’ve worked a really long time in my FFA career and just my personal life for this award and it’s an extreme honor and pleasure to be awarded it.”

Lyons, the seventh generation on his family farm, manages his operation independently and still helps out on his family’s farm.

“There’s a lot to learn. Over the years I’ve learned many lifelong lessons. The most important is to be patient,” he says. “You never know what’s going to be thrown at you on the farm. It’s very uncertain, so having patience is a virtue.”

Audio: Lucas Lyons

Cole McCloskey of the Lewis Cass FFA Chapter was named the Star in Agribusiness.

“My Star in Agribusiness award involves both my proficiencies of ag mechanics and repair and maintenance. My family has been collecting antique tractors for over 60 years now and I’ve been around older tractors and equipment all my life and we buy and restore and collect and show off our tractors at tractor shows, or sometimes she will come to our barns,” he says. “A lot of what we work on involves finding harder to find parts for rare tractors or foreign tractors. We’ve got a lot of different brands, some of the brands we have are Lamborghini or Ferrari or Porsche and some other brands that people might not have heard of before.”

He says he’s gained great relationships throughout his SAE.

“Since my dad and grandpa have been around Cass County, Indiana for their whole lives, I’ve gotten to know a lot of great people,” he says. “And as I get older, I keep meeting more and more new people.”   

In 2021, McCloskey bought six tractors and many different implements and machinery. He plans to continue buying by selling some of the pieces.

Matthias Hefty of the DeKalb FFA Chapter is the new Star in Agriscience.

For his SAE, Hefty wanted to reduce hay waste from his experiences raising sheep and meat goats. By reducing hay waste he could increase the efficiency of the goat enterprise he shared with his sister. He collected 81 data points, from 3 variables and control, and was able to reduce hay waste by 85 percent. As the responsibility of his goat SAE increased, so did the use of the scientific method to solve problems in the goat herd. 

Audio: Matthias Hefty

Ryan Kihlstrum of the Eastern Hancock FFA Chapter was named Star in Agricultural Placement.

He works at B Thompson Associates LLC, as a Field Tile Technician. He started with no experience or knowledge of field tile. Kihlstrum is now able to recognize problems and fix them, complete tasks on his own, and think steps ahead.

He also analyzes field maps, selecting tile patterns, and installing tile at the correct grade. He recently started overseeing new hires and assists with their training.

Audio: Ryan Kihlstrum

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