Every Seed Has Its Season
“Don’t be afraid to start late. Even though it may never be planned, a little dedication, strong work ethic and a great support system can go a long way!”
For Alley Long, those words are more than advice; they’re the story of her own FFA journey.
Today, the Atwater-Buhach Colony FFA Alumna is California’s State Proficiency Winner in the nursery operations proficiency area and will represent California at the National FFA Convention & Expo while earning her American FFA Degree next year. But her path to statewide recognition didn’t begin with years of experience or a long-established Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE). Instead, it began with a willingness to say yes to an opportunity.
“My SAE projects are a little different,” Long said. “I started later than most FFA students, and didn’t have an SAE outside of foundational/classroom. Every now and again, I would occasionally help out at the greenhouse with our horticultural teachers. But, it wasn’t even eight hours worth of a project. My actual dedication to SAEs didn’t start until summer of 2024. Just after my junior year was completed.”
That summer, Long accepted a paid placement as a greenhouse manager. Initially, her goal was to strengthen her SAE and earn her State FFA Degree. Working alongside other greenhouse managers, she helped maintain plant production, complete landscaping projects and prepare the greenhouse for the upcoming school year.
What started as an opportunity to gain experience quickly grew into a passion.
When summer ended, Long chose to continue her work as an unpaid greenhouse manager throughout her senior year. Her dedication led her to become lead greenhouse manager, where she served as the student key holder, chaired the annual plant sale, trained volunteers and helped oversee greenhouse operations and classroom projects.
While she spent each day helping plants grow, she found herself growing as a leader as well.
Outside of the greenhouse, Long’s FFA experiences inspired another passion. During her senior year, friendships she built through the organization encouraged her to create @Alley_Talks_Ag, an agricultural communications page dedicated to sharing member spotlights, documenting her own FFA journey and giving others a glimpse into agricultural education. Today, the platform follows her life as an agricultural education and plant science major while highlighting her hydroponic SAE and business.
Although she never had the opportunity to raise livestock through FFA, Long has continued exploring new areas of agriculture in college as a member of Merced College’s livestock show team and farm operations.
As she prepared her proficiency application, Long relied on one piece of advice she now shares with every FFA member.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help from everyone or anyone! Worse they can say is they’re busy. And majority of the time they’ll love to help!”
She put that advice into practice throughout the application process.
“During my application process I asked several people for help and reached out to a lot of people! Of course I had my advisors helping me but, I even had my college professors, friends inside and outside of ag, and even the past state winners helping me! I’ve even reached out to other people from different chapters and states! You can never have too many eyes on something.”
Long approached her interview with the same mindset.
“With my interview process, I’ve practiced with several different people. People who knew me, and people who barely knew me. I even went out of the way to ask my Biology professor to help me, and he was thrilled to help me out! Even more thrilled to hear that I was the state winner!”
Her willingness to seek advice from others paid off. After not advancing beyond the sectional level the previous year, Long was named California’s State Proficiency Winner in Nursery Operations.
Now preparing for her sophomore year of college, Long hopes her story reminds members that success doesn’t follow one timeline.
Some seeds sprout the moment they’re planted. Others take a little longer to emerge before they bloom. Long’s journey proves that every seed has its season, and with dedication, hard work and a willingness to keep growing, every member has the opportunity to flourish.
