FFA reports another year of successful projects in Spring Branch ISD

Samual Vassar, 14, a Memorial Middle School eighth-grader, holds his market turkey as he heads into the auction ring during the Spring Branch FFA Livestock Show and Sale on Feb. 7. Samual Vassar, 14, a Memorial Middle School eighth-grader, holds his market turkey as he heads into the auction ring during the Spring Branch FFA Livestock Show and Sale on Feb. 7. Photo: Jerry Baker, Freelance Photo: Jerry Baker, Freelance Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close FFA reports another year of successful projects in Spring Branch ISD 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

FFA students and teachers are celebrating another successful year as they closed out the 37th annual Spring Branch Livestock Show and Sale.

Spring Branch Independent School District students have raised more than $250,000 for each of the last two years through the sale of their livestock, agriculture mechanics, floral and horticulture and art projects in their community.

Jane Primrose, agriculture science teacher at the Guthrie Center Ag Farm, said the students can either opt to participate in ag-related activities, or decide to raise livestock.

"Some of our students start out raising animals and migrate away from it, and some start with non-livestock projects and migrate into animals," she said. "They have options throughout the program."

In Spring Branch ISD, the agriculture science students all attend classes at one facility, Primrose and other ag science teachers are familiar with all of the students and projects entered in the annual show and sale.

"The district has all five high schools that attend one facility," Primrose said.

The students meet to learn about which projects best suit them, and decide then whether it will be a livestock project, or something along the lines of art, horticulture, or ag mechanics.

"These have many lessons besides the physiology and anatomy of the animals. There are lots of responsibility issues…they use mathematics skills. They have to calculate where they want their animal to be, how much to feed them."

As long as the animal weighs what it is should, there is 100 percent chance it will sell and the student receives all of the proceeds from that sale," Primrose said.

"We had only one not make weight, and everyone else sold," she said. "Overall the kids did really well this year. The sale was over $200,000 and the grand champion steer sold for $17,000."

Travis Karisch, 17, a senior at Memorial High School, was participating in his first show and placed third with his pig.

"It was a lot more work that I was expecting," he said. "I had to be here twice a day to feed her and walk her around."

Despite the hard work, his younger sister, who is in the eighth grade wants to follow her brother into the FFA program and hopes to raise a steer, he said.

Karisch, who has a strong interest in veterinary medicine, took livestock management classes, and animal management classes his junior year, and plans to continue those studies at Texas A&M University in the fall.

MaKenzie Matecki, 18, a senior at Spring Woods High School, is an old hand at raising livestock, having invested seven years with various animals.

Her interest in livestock began when she was still in elementary school, and would help her older brother with his projects.

"My brother started FFA in the seventh grade, and I was always (at the barn) helping him," she said. "I wanted to do it myself, and he has helped me along my way."

She started with broilers and rabbits, and has since raised two steers and lambs.

In her last year in the FFA program, Matecki won reserve grand champion with her steer and showmanship with her lamb project.

"I've had a lot of help," she said.

Matecki said she plans to attend Lone Star College in the fall, and transfer to another university to either become an ag science teacher, or study radiology.