They say a jack-of-all-trades is a master of none, but that didn’t stop Luke Scott of the Wynford FFA Chapter in Bucyrus, Ohio, from taking his multiple supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs) to the finals for the 2019 American Star in Agribusiness Award.
“I started out selling firewood,” Scott said. “I started farming on the half field with my father that my grandfather owns, and then over the next year, I took it over completely. … And then I worked for my dad’s farm, also.”
Scott and his family farm about 1,500 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat. However, he said his primary agribusiness concentration is owning and operating two sprayers he uses to apply herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers to the fields of local farmers in need.
“I bought a sprayer three years ago and started doing some custom spraying,” Scott said. “I bought the sprayer, and I run it across my dad’s acreage and a few other farmers, and that turned into a second sprayer I bought. It’s still growing every year, and I’m investing more money into that, and that’s really taken off the last few years.”
With his crop insurance and financial records, Scott’s various agribusiness operations are “100 percent entrepreneurship,” he said. Scott attributed his entrepreneurial mindset to his father’s success after quitting a desk job to start an excavating business nearly two decades ago.
Additionally, Scott credited his high school FFA advisors with motivating him to pursue multiple SAEs and awards.
“I didn’t play sports in high school or anything like that, so I kind of just pushed forward in FFA and things really worked out well,” he said. “I’ve made it to multiple state competitions and actually placed in a few.”
In the future, Scott plans to continue expanding his various agribusiness ventures, but for now, his advice to FFA members wanting to start an SAE is to build relationships with older generations of people.
“There’s a lot to learn from older generations,” Scott said. “It’s a good feeling to be a 20-year-old youth in the community and have the respect of 40, 50, 60, 70, 80-year-olds and be able to have a conversation with somebody. … I really enjoy those.”
