Last summer, two Warrenton High School FFA members took on 5 acres at Lee Farms in Truxton as their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE).Alan Shepard, a senior, and William Lee, a sophomore, turned the ground into a highly successful vegetable plot, providing produce for several local markets.Lee’s father, Rusty, an agronomist with the Missouri Extension, helped the pair get started, providing the ground and the client contacts.Shepard and Lee learned from the ground up skills needed to grow excellent vegetables, to contact interested markets, keep data records, create invoices and calculate taxes.Shepard said the operation began in February with planting the vegetables in the greenhouse. In April, they installed plastic on their rows, provided for irrigation and transplanted the young shoots.“Vegetables are one thing where there are a lot of dollars to the acre, but it takes a lot of hours of labor to fulfill your goal,” said Shepard.The team grew tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, watermelon, butternut squash, cantaloupe and sweet corn.“We like to call our methods commonsense gardening,” said Lee. “We were not certified organic gardeners.”Shepard said at the peak of the season they would pick about 25 bushels of produce a day.“By no means was the battle over,” said Lee. “We still had to go to customers.”Every Saturday, fresh vegetables were hauled to the Lake Saint Louis Farmers Market. They also provided their goods to the St. Louis University culinary kitchen and Fair Shares CCSA (Combined Community Supported Agriculture). Fair Shares’ members join to purchase weekly amounts of seasonal vegetables.The farmers market was a highlight for the students. They said they enjoyed interacting with local customers at their vegetable stand.Lee said he plans to continue learning about the art of gardening and all of the skills needed to run a successful business. He said the SAE really gave him some excellent ideas for his future.As a senior, Shepard said the experience was very positive and will use the knowledge for his personal gardening. However, he plans to move on to heavy machinery education at Ranken, gaining certification as a diesel technician.“I feel like the project gave me some real leadership and communication skills,” said Shepard. “I learned about business skills and customer service.”“I plan to come back to my family farm and apply what I have learned,” said Lee.Lee plans to tackle another SAE as a potato grower. The students were assisted by teacher Diane Miederhoff.

Warrenton High School FFA members William Lee, left, and Alan Shepard work the ground at a farm in Warren County. The two grew vegetables on a 5-acre plot last summer as their supervised agricultural experience. 

Submitted photo

Alan Shepard, left, and William Lee, Warrenton High School FFA members, completed a successful vegetable project last summer, providing fresh produce to a number of local markets. The team planted 5 acres of a variety of vegetables as part of a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE). 

Record Photo/Cindy Gladden