Junior Perspective
Looking Forward and Giving Back
By Hannah Ziegler, NALJA secretary
Greetings to all. I️ hope that
each and every one of you
have encountered an already
blessed 2019; shared with
family, friends, and rejoicing
in the name of Jesus! I️ know
for my family it feels as though
at this time of year we are
running nonstop, between
getting equipment ready for
the upcoming planting season
to focusing on our cattle and
the prime Ohio calving season,
it’s difficult to find time to sit
down, have a home cooked
meal together and watch an
episode of Andy Griffith!
However, there is one matter
that my family, and more
extensively, our agriculture
community cannot seem to
shake, and for a very good
reason. In our state, we
have numerous correctional
institutions for those who
have been convicted of crimes.
Within those systems, the Ohio
Department of Corrections
and the Ohio Department of
Agriculture had teamed up and
decided, nearly 10-15 years ago,
to formulate a system where
inmates could learn the farming
trade and deal with cattle and
hogs away from the corrections
facility, as long as they displayed
a positive engaging behavior.
Two years ago, my agriculture
education teacher, and a fellow
FFA member stood in front of
the Ohio Senate to speak about
the usage of the land of the
Marion County farm, as well as
the other farms throughout the
state, following the shutdown
of all state mandated farms due
to limited funding. We all had
NALJA Board of Directors
President: Randa Taylor, TX
RandaTaylor99@yahoo.com
817-504-6927
Vice President: Dominic Ruppert, IL
Ruppert_97@hotmail.com
217-254-2558
Secretary: Hannah Ziegler, OH
HannahFarmsLLC@hotmail.com
419-618-2441
Treasurer: Lindsey Gulotta, LA
Gulotta.Lindsey@gmail.com
985-351-7674
Ex-Officio: Ethan Freund, CO
Ethan_Freund@yahoo.com
303-502-4605
Director: Aaron Linhart, IA
15ALinhart@gmail.com
641-414-5060
Director: Callie Hicks, KY
Callie.Hicks@uky.edu
859-699-3893
Director: Brooke Falk, KS
BrookeFalk09@msn.com
785-817-2214
Director: Zane Gavette, WA
Zgcattle15@gmail.com
360-389-7105
Director: Tristan Gulotta, LA
GulottaTristan@gmail.com
985-351-7643
Director: Colt Schrader, OK
Coltas@okstate.edu
918-704-2397
Staff Advisor: Katie Campbell
Katie@NALF.org
913-683-1415
26 | MARCH 2019