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Raising cattle might not be a typical activity for a teenager, but Londa Johnson has her own herd.
Johnson, 18, began with one heifer about five years ago for a Future Farmers of America-supervised agricultural experience project. She has expanded the herd, which she keeps at her family’s 110-cow dairy farm in
La Crescent, Minn., to 20.
Johnson, a home-schooled student, participated in everything FFA-related that she could throughout high school — classes, conferences, competitions — and won several awards and scholarships along the way.
When she graduated, her opportunities to show the herd ran out, but she found ways to stay with FFA as a state officer. As an officer elected from among 8,900 other Minnesota FFA members, Johnson helped guide young FFA members and organized state conferences.
In March, Johnson traveled to Washington, D.C., with FFA delegates from around the United States to lobby for agricultural issues and met with members of Congress and Secretary of Agriculture Michael Johanns.
FFA has steered Johnson toward a career goal. When she began attending the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in September, Johnson planned on going through the pre-veterinary medicine program.
But the fates and the difficulty of the chemistry courses that she would have to take every semester of her college career aligned to convince her to switch to the dairy science program.
Johnson was drawn to UW-River Falls because of its strong focus on agriculture, she said. She missed 13 days of classes in
the spring semester while attending various FFA events, but
her professors, most of whom taught agriculture classes,
understood and excused her absences.
The real appeal of FFA is the opportunity to become a more well-rounded person with opportunities to compete in other areas such as horticulture and public speaking, Johnson said.
“It’s about more than just the farm,” she said. “You can feel yourself grow.”
Johnson hopes to combine her FFA experience with her degree and communication minor to do public relations work for an agriculture organization like the Midwest Dairy Association.
Johnson will get an opportunity to serve the agriculture industry this summer when she competes for the crown of Princess Kay of the Milky Way. She is one of 12 county dairy princesses up for the honor.
The winner will be crowned Aug. 22, the day before the Minnesota State Fair begins.
Johnson said she sees a great deal of difficulty ahead for American farmers, with the agricultural industry accounting for 2 percent of the population.
But she also thinks she and other enthusiastic and optimistic young people with an interest in farming can help break the slump.
“We love what we do,” Johnson said. “It’s what makes me happy every day.”
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