Among the 70,000 FFA students, advisors, and supporters who are in downtown Indianapolis this week for the 96th National FFA Convention and Expo is a student from Fayette County who has a very bright future ahead of her.
Emma Ruf, a junior at Connersville High School, says she has a passion for agronomy and agriscience that started a few years ago with help from her father.
“My dad’s a farmer, and he found some 20-year-old corn seeds when I was in eighth grade and he said, ‘Do you want to do a fun project testing the germination of these seeds?’ When I did it, my FFA advisor said, ‘You can do this project and see if you win at the Indiana State FFA Convention,’ which I did. That changed my perspective of what I wanted to do in my career field.”
Emma is a national finalist for her Plant and Soil Systems project for the 2023 National FFA Agriscience Fair. The project she put together this year was impressive.
“I did an FFA corn project, which I called ‘Color Crossin’ Corn’. I bred two different colors of corn: yellow and blue. Then, I tried to get a co-dominant corn which has both colors in the corn, and I was successful with that. I had multiple corn ears that had blue and yellow kernels on it,” she said.
Emma’s project is even more impressive considering that she is sixteen years old and still a few years away from college. But she says she already knows where she plans to study.
“I want to become a plant geneticist,” says Emma. “I want to go to Purdue University and major in plant biotechnology and genealogy.”
Emma says being a part of Connersville FFA and serving in District Nine has given her the tools to not only grow as a student, but also as a leader.
“FFA has helped me gain leadership skills,” she says. “I’m a District Officer, but I want to go for a Section Director and then hopefully State Officer. FFA has helped me with finding who I am and what I am interested in.”
McDonald’s of Indiana is proud to sponsor Hoosier Ag Today’s coverage of the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo! McDonald’s salutes the next generation of great farmers who will continue to supply the world-class ingredients served to millions under the Golden Arches!
Below is Emma Ruf’s FFA project, which is a national finalist for her Plant and Soil Systems—Division Three Category for the 2023 National FFA Agriscience Fair.
Emma Ruf and her fellow classmates with Connersville FFA at the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis on Wednesday, November 1.
