Finding My Place in Agriculture
Living in the #1 Agricultural county in Virginia means being surrounded by over 1,700 farms and 96% of them being family farms. However, sometimes a passion for farming doesn’t come from an agricultural background or being raised on a farm.
Get to Know the Writer
My name is Laurel Fitzgerald, but many know me by Lulu. I live in Bridgewater, Va., and I am a part of the Turner Ashby FFA Chapter. I currently serve as the chapter reporter and am a part of the FFA in the USA Reporters program. I also currently hold many other leadership positions in my school, including student counsel association reporter, science club treasurer and being a member of the National Honors Society.
An Unexpected Path to Agriculture
I have always had a love for animals and nature, but didn’t find my passion until the past two years of my life. As a kid, I dreamed of being a veterinarian; however, the older I got, the more that dream faded and I started to lean toward criminology.
In my county, we have a technical school (Massanutten Technical Center) where high school students can enroll in a course and get hands-on career training. My junior year, I enrolled in the Criminal Justice program, but quickly figured out that was not the career path for me. A family friend recommended that I join the agriculture production course just to try it out, since I already had MTC in my schedule. I had no idea that this would be the start of my agriculture career.
Through this course, I got hands-on experience with working and vaccinating sheep, learning meat identification, how to food gets from the farm to the table and many other key skills. This led me to find a job on a farm in my area, where I now get to further my education and experience by working with sheep and cattle.
Spending time with my pig, Barbie, at the Rockingham County Fair before sale day.
More Than a Blue Jacket
At the end of my sophomore year, I decided to run for an officer position in my FFA chapter. I had many friends involved, and it seemed like a great opportunity to try something new. I ended up receiving the position of assistant treasurer; from there, I dove in head first. Within just a few months, I went from having no FFA or agricultural experience to talking about my placing in competitions to traveling all over the country and making so many memories.
I competed in several competitions my junior year, including state dairymen’s, parliamentary procedure, agriscience fair, floriculture and milk quality. By far, my favorite was milk quality, which consists of testing different dairy products and identifying off flavors in milk. My team placed second in the state of Virginia, advancing to the Big E in Massachusetts, where we also placed second out of eight teams. In both competitions, I placed top 10 individually, which was a big accomplishment for me since I was still brand new to FFA.
My milk quality team awaiting our results. Team members include Walter Rhodes, Lulu Fitzgerald, Sarah Craun and Kenley Rhodes.
Becoming a Part of the Future of Agriculture
I will be graduating from Turner Ashby High School at the end of May 2026. In the fall of 2026, I will be attending Virginia Tech to major in dairy science. Long-term, I hope to eventually start a first-generation farm in the Shenandoah Valley.
One of the biggest things I learned from getting involved in agriculture and FFA is that agriculture is the foundation of just about everything. Specifically, no farms means no food, which equals no life. Not enough people realize that the agriculture industry is the foundation of life. I hope to advocate for agriculture and inform younger generations on its importance, while giving back to my community and filling plates.
Overall, my passion to be a part of the agriculture industry is more than just a fancy title; it is the dedication to advocating for sustainable agriculture, while also helping kids like me — the ones who have no agriculture background, but know that they, too, can make a change in the industry.
Photo taken by Molly Suzanne Photography.
