(upbeat country rock music) - Welcome to A Shot of Ag.

My name is Rob Sharkey.

I'm your host.

We're talking about agriculture education.

This is a part two, so it'd be pretty cool if you went and watched part one too, because there was just too much to talk about.

We're talking with agriculture educationer, your FFA ag teacher.

Yeah.

Kindra Callahahan.

You teach at Kewanee.

You grew up in Cambridge, and you live in Bishop Hill.

- Correct.

- And you're sitting in Peoria.

- I am.

- Okay.

What's your favorite town in the world, if you could go anywhere, to visit?

- I really enjoyed Deadwood.

- [Rob] I don't even, where's that?

- South Dakota.

- What's there?

- Days of '47.

A rodeo.

I really like the Badlands.

- We haven't even got to you doing the rodeo.

Yeah, the Badlands is awesome.

All right, real quick recap.

You grew up on a farm.

- Mm-hmm.

- You went out to a school in Kansas.

- Kansas State University.

- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

- They're the fighting game cocks.

- Wildcat.

(Rob laughing) - Then you came back to Illinois, worked for Purina.

- Yes sir.

- And then you got into an automobile accident, which made you rethink what you were doing.

- Mm-hmm.

- And you decided to take up an offer that you had to become a teacher.

- Yes, sir.

- In a nutshell?

- In a nutshell, that's good.

- That's leaving a lot.

And now you're currently both the ag teacher, and FFA advisor?

- Mm-hmm.

- In Kewanee, the Boilermakers.

- The Boilermakers.

- Okay.

All right, we got into a little bit of how you started and that, but when you started, how many kids were in FFA?

- It's hard to put that number, I would summarize it this way, that I had 11 students in my Introduction to Agriculture course my first year.

- So it'd be the freshmen?

- Yup, the freshmen.

- Yeah.

- And now I have two sections with at least 20 in each.

- Oh wow.

- Mm-hmm.

- Are you that good?

- I'm not that good, but it's fun.

- [Rob] I mean, don't be all modest.

I mean, something- - No, I'm not.

I'm not- - Had to change.

- Right, but I was just a catalyst.

Like, the students are not any different.

15-year-old kids are 15-year-old kids, whether we're here in Peoria, or Kewanee.

I just created a space.

- It's a little difficult because, I mean, obviously you improved the program that you're running.

Sometimes, people don't wanna talk about how they improved it, because they don't wanna talk about how it was before.

- That's fair.

- Is that kind of maybe what holds you back sometimes from talking about the improvements that you made?

- Yeah, I would say that that's very fair.

- [Rob] Okay.

- That they didn't know what it was.

I've introduced them to what FFA and agriculture, it's like teaching a foreign language.

Less than one and a half percent of my students have any production ag background, and I get to- - Really?

- Introduce them to where their food comes from.

- Even in Kewanee?

- Even in Kewanee.

- Okay.

- Well think about it, nationally, our food is produced by less than two percent of the population.

- Mm-hmm.

- So if you think about it that way, my numbers really aren't that staggering.

It's just that we're a collection of small communities around here, so people think everybody knows a farmer, but they don't.

- Would you say the majority of your kids at least know what corn and soybeans are, before they come into your class?

- Sure, they know that they've seen a cornfield.

- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

- But then you're just basically, you're painting on an empty palette then.

Is that better or worse?

- I personally love it.

- Yeah.

- There are faculty in ag education that probably have both preferences, some that prefer to work with a student that grew up similar to them, and then those that like the blank canvas, if you will.

- Okay.

Last interview, you were talking about the T-shirts, and the pride, and that, so do you have the kids wearing FFA clothes?

- A lot.

- Really?

Is it- - Like, it melts my heart.

They'll walk in, and they'll have this super sweet, new drip, as they call it.

They'll have new drip on.

- [Rob] What?

- Yeah, that's what they call their clothes.

And I will say that sweatshirt is sweet.

Where did you get that hoodie?

Because I'm thinking, that wasn't part, I didn't do that fundraiser.

And they'll say, oh my aunt got it for me for my birthday, or oh, and I just think that is so stinking cool, that now they are jazzed to be FFA members, and their family knows that.

- Is it because of "Napoleon Dynamite"?

- It could be because of "Napoleon Dynamite".

But when I make that reference, they don't all know what I'm talking about.

- I remember a few years ago, we were talking to a group of kids, and it was like low key cool to be in FFA again.

- Mm-hmm.

- And I thought that was pretty cool, because when I was in FFA, I don't know, it was just the farm kids.

- I think it depends on the program.

- Yeah.

- Right?

And then what is their exposure to FFA students outside of their school?

So students, we do as well, but they need representation.

They need to be able to see someone that they can see themselves in.

And if that person doesn't exist within their building, then the advisors need to do a good job of exposing them to FFA outside of their building.

- When I was in FFA, this is going back- - A day or two?

- Long, long time ago.

My advisor was Mr. Mark Jones.

He was in Wyoming, Toulon, and Bradford, were all FFA together.

And he took his pickup truck out to Kansas City, and there was seven of us that rode in the back of his pickup truck.

He had a topper, yes.

And we went to the, it was the 63rd- - That's amazing.

- Annual meeting.

- Mm-hmm.

- We were the Courtesy Corps.

- Yes!

- So we were like going around, telling ne'er-do-wells not to do stuff and that.

Have you had a chance to take your kids to a convention?

- We just got back from State Convention in Springfield.

But every year, I've had the opportunity to take students to National Convention and the State Convention.

- [Rob] You have, then?

- Yeah.

- Yeah?

- Yes.

- But I mean, honestly, it kinda turned me around on it, because I thought, there's so much energy.

It's so much positivity.

- It's intoxicating.

- You can't, even a grumpy kid like me, you came back, you're like, I need to do something.

- Well, so you're there till the gavel drops, right?

So I don't let students leave until it's done, and that's a culture thing.

I want them to be able to thank people for being present, and see it through.

And people worked really hard to put this on, so that's a way to acknowledge them.

So the first convention, we're there till gavel drops, we leave, and these students on the way home when we're reflecting, and they were so bummed that they never heard their name, and I'm making them cheer for other kids in our section.

- Yeah.

- And so Kewanee never, we didn't even flirt with backstage, right?

Like, nothing.

So I tell them, that needs to be our goal.

So now fast-forward to this year coming off a convention, and of every session at the Illinois Convention, we had at least one student cross the stage every session, which is really cool.

- It's gotta make you pretty proud as a teacher.

- I'm very proud.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

- Tell me, the circle model of ag education.

What do you mean by that?

- Ag education, there is a three circle model, is what we refer to nationally in ag education.

So you have your classroom, like direct instruction.

So what you would be doing with students in the classroom.

You have supervised agricultural experiences, or what students are doing outside of the classroom, and then you have FFA, the leadership piece.

So a strong ag program should reflect all three of those pieces.

- Mm-hmm.

And FFA, for people that don't know, used to be Future Farmers of America, but it's- - National FFA Organization.

- So they've taken the word farmer out?

- Mm-hmm.

- You had to.

- Mm-hmm.

- Because there's no farmers left.

- Well, we're not all future farmers anymore.

- No.

You'd be a very small organization.

So the people that get involved with it, I mean, do they have a desire in agriculture, or have you created an environment where this is just a really cool thing to learn?

- I think it's both.

So you have students that maybe they do have an opportunity, they're in the family of farmers.

But that number is so few.

So it's really, it's students that are looking for somewhere that they belong.

Maybe they're attracted to the leadership piece, or they're attracted to the events.

But they're not all looking to be in agriculture.

My hope is that they might work in agriculture, or see that there are careers available in agriculture, but ideally, I'm just trying to, I don't want to use the word raise, but I am trying to influence informed consumers someday.

- You, it doesn't say here, but you're a woman.

- I am.

- Okay.

Is that odd in being an- - It is not today, no.

- Not today?

- No.

- It was back in the day.

- Absolutely.

- Yeah.

- So I was raised by a single father, and he never once led me to believe that I couldn't do the same things that my male counterparts in high school were doing.

And not in like a feminist way.

In a like, hey if you wanna do this, this is what you can accomplish.

And so today, in agriculture education, over 50% of the educators are female.

- Really?

- Mm-hmm.

- Well good for them.

That's awesome.

That's the way it should be.

It's about half and half, right?

- I agree.

- Okay.

Are you just the only teacher?

- I am not.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- [Rob] How many do y'all have?

- So we are now a department of three.

When I started at Kewanee High School, it was just me.

Now back in the day, I'll use that term, there were other ag teachers, multiple ag teachers, at Kewanee High School, but there have not been multiple ag teachers since the 80s, probably.

And so this past year, we expanded and hired a second teacher, Lexie Ruemker, and then this fall, Jacob Meyer will join us.

(bell dinging) - Okay.

The bell didn't work the second time.

But hey.

(Kindra laughing) Jacob, congratulations.

- Yes.

(both chuckling) - So now that has to make your job different, because now you're in charge of the kids, and you're overlooking them.

- Yes, and they are both, I'll use the term baby educators, but both of them finished student teaching in the past two years, and just graduated in the past two years.

Dr. Kim Stevens actually just asked me about it the other day.

She's like, does this mean you teach less classes?

And no.

It's almost like hiring a second practitioner, that it would be like for her.

So my job does not change, but the opportunities for our students increase greatly.

- She was one of my favorite guests.

- Yeah, she's a rockstar.

She's one of my best friends.

- I'm trying to think, I think she's only recommended one person to come on this show, and that was you.

She thinks you are doing an amazing job.

- Oh, thank you.

I think she's amazing, so I appreciate it.

- It's gotta feel pretty good.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Tell me about the farm.

What is it, 11 acres?

- Yeah, Kewanee High School's pretty unique in the state of Illinois.

Now, across ag ed programs and the country, not.

But in the state of Illinois, we have a farm on campus, so several high schools have land labs, or they have a farmer that donated a plot, right?

But we have 11 acres just as I walk outside the door, and so we have that split.

We have a couple little pasture lots that we can do feed trials on.

We have a building that right now is housing four Barrows that I have students getting ready to show.

I farrowed out a sow- - It's a pig.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

- I farrowed out a sow in my classroom last year.

And then we have row crops.

- [Rob] When you say in your classroom?

- I mean in my classroom.

I mean that I got a gestation crate, and I set it up literally behind the students' desks.

And we had 11 baby pigs.

- That's, that is, think about it.

If you're a high school kid?

- Oh, the kids freaked out.

- I bet.

- Our classroom became very popular very fast.

- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

- Did it have it all online and everything?

Like a sow cam?

- I did not do a sow cam.

No, a good friend of mine has farrowed out in their greenhouse the last few years, and they do do a live cam.

I did not, but it worked out beautifully.

She dropped the first baby at like nine a.m., and so it happened during the school day.

It was perfect.

I couldn't have orchestrated it myself.

- So how do you do that?

You've got those 11 acres.

How are you growing crops?

How are you spraying?

- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

So it's all about good connections with good stakeholders.

So that people that are supportive of the program, and building those relationship first.

So when I took over at Kewanee High School, I was hired to be a teacher first.

So classroom and classroom management was priority number one.

And then priority number two was the farm, and then I knew that FFA would happen organically if I did those two things right.

And so Mr.

Rob Dorman, Dorman Family Farms, have been very instrumental in helping us.

The plot had sat vacant for a couple years, and so it was in pretty rough shape, and so it needed cleaned up pretty good before we got anything down.

And then this year, we're dabbling in some specialty crops, so we did some sweet corn, and some pumpkins, and some student projects.

So it's a lot of fun.

But I have a lot of support from the school board, my administrators, and then families that support the program, that don't even have students in class right now.

But they are familiar with what we're doing.

They're passionate about what we're doing in agriculture, and so that has helped a bunch.

- You gotta sell that, too.

I mean, that's good on you.

Tell me about this.

- Yeah, so this is one of the original hall passes in my classroom.

So the room that I took over was room number 57.

Okay?

And I did not have a hall pass.

A young man by the name of Austin Collins shortly- (bell dings) into my first semester at Kewanee High School, he says, you don't have a hall pass.

Now this is outdated, because we're all digital hall passes now.

- I was gonna say.

- All right?

Yup.

- Okay.

- So it's all digital hall passes now.

But so this student makes me this hall pass, and it was shortly after that that I started to realize that something was growing in that space, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it in terms of that culture, that emotional piece.

- [Rob] Yeah.

- This spring, we moved into an 8000 square feet complex, and before we moved in, the day before, I sat down to have lunch with my students like I do everyday.

And I was emotionally overwhelmed with the idea of what we've built in room 57, will that go with us into this next space?

And so it became this thing, and students would say, like room 57 is home.

And so I take a lot of pride in the way students felt in that space, and my goal is that they feel like they're in room 57, no matter where we are.

- Oh, that's nice.

All right, Kindra.

Sit back for a second, relax.

I'm gonna read something to you, okay?

- I'm listening.

- And I don't want to be interrupted.

- Yes sir, I got it.

- 2023 Outstanding Career Teacher in the State of Illinois.

Black Hawk College Outstanding Ag Alumni.

District One Golden Owl Award.

You obviously are doing something right, that it's not just your kids, your peers, but you're being recognized for what you're building there in Kewanee.

You can talk now.

- It's 'cause really nice people that do a better job than me send a nomination.

- Oh, please.

- (laughing) I'm serious.

(Rob laughing) - It's gotta feel good.

- It does feel good.

- Yeah.

The Golden Owl Award, now a lot of people don't know this because they aren't in FFA, but the FFA meeting starts out, I don't even remember, it's like- - Opening ceremonies?

- Yeah.

I'm the reporter, I'm here by the- - Flag.

- Okay.

But it always goes to the advisor, and the advisor is always here by the Owl, so that's kind of the whole thing.

- It is.

That's absolutely the whole thing.

Mm-hmm.

- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

- Do you know the Creed?

- The FFA Creed?

- Yeah.

- Yes, I believe in the future of agriculture with a faith born not of words but with deeds.

- [Rob] That's literally all I know of it, so we'll stop there.

- Yes.

It's five paragraphs long, and you know what?

I had two kids compete in the Creed this year.

At state.

- [Rob] What, you compete in the Creed?

- Yes, they memorize the Creed, they deliver the Creed, and then they're asked questions about it.

And I had a student advance to state for the Creed, and had the Spanish speaking first runner up.

Second place in the whole state.

- [Rob] Really?

- They gave the Creed in Spanish, yeah, it was amazing.

- Do you wanna hear something embarrassing?

- I would love.

- So to get the Star Greenhand, which is a freshman award, literally, it was the kid that volunteered to say the Creed.

So I volunteered to say it.

And- - Like at your banquet, or in class?

- Yes, at the banquet.

- Okay.

- And I did, I had it memorized, kind of.

But I also, before the meeting, put the little place mat thing up there so I could refer to it.

The president, a senior, by the name of Jimmy Stottler.

I'll never forget this, Jimmy.

- Ding the bell.

- No, he doesn't get a ding.

(Kindra laughs) Yeah.

He took, he gave his thing, he looked right at me, he picked the speech up, and then he walked off.

And then I gotta get up there, and I froze.

He did it on purpose, you think?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- And I froze, and I said- - You haven't forgot this.

- Probably less than a third of it.

And it was- - You were 14?

- I was a freshman.

- Yeah, yeah.

- So, I don't know.

I was probably 18 at the time.

- And Emily's been working to overcome that, all these.

You're doing amazing.

You do a great job.

- It was traumatic.

- Everybody's proud of you.

- Really?

(both laughing) That's the type of thing, though.

I mean, FFA, it was a big influence on me.

- Absolutely.

- Because it took a kid like me that was just like kind of floating through life, and it does, it's just like, you know, if you're gonna do anything in life, you gotta get going.

- Absolutely.

- Yeah.

Is that a lot of pressure, to kind of be a part of that whole process with the youths of America?

- You have to figure out what motivates them, and they're not all the same, and give them an avenue where they can see themselves succeed.

My husband says it all the time, that it's no longer about us winning, it's about creating that feeling for somebody else.

And there's something really special about seeing your students win, or achieve, that it pumps you up.

- When do you have time to rodeo?

- Well, I personally don't have time to rodeo.

So we ride as much as we can.

In the winter, we're real fortunate that with him working at Black Hawk, that I'll ride with him at Black Hawk.

- [Rob] Do you ride the bulls?

- I do not ride the bulls.

We ride horses.

- [Rob] So what do you do?

- We team rope.

I head, he heels.

And during shelter-in-place, I learned how to rope calves, and then so I also dabble in some breakaway.

- Okay.

- Mm-hmm.

- I'd never understood the second rope, the heels, right?

- Yes.

- There's something, if you catch them wrong or something, you're disqualified.

I never understand it.

They're just like, oh he's disqualified.

They explain it every time.

I never get it.

- So there's legal catches, and that's what they're referring to.

So on the head, you can slick horn it, so just catching the horns.

You can half head, so you split the head, or you can rope it around the neck.

Heel, and there's no time penalties with that.

But the way that you rope them and then handle them sets your heeler up differently.

On the heel side, you can rope two feet, or you can rope one foot.

But if you only rope one, there is a time penalty.

So they add time.

- Which in like the big rodeos, that basically means you're out?

- Correct.

- Yeah.

Does it in the smaller ones too, or can you still?

- It just depends.

It depends on the setup, depends on how quick the, how the cattle are moving, how the boxes are set up, if they have an electric eye, or rope barrier, how quickly you can get out on them.

There's a lot of factors at play.

But he usually only ropes two feet.

He's really good.

- Is he good?

- Mm-hmm.

- Is that a lot of pressure?

Because honestly, if you miss, it's over.

- I think that he feels more pressure in doing what I need him to do than he does heeling.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

I've interviewed world champion bull riders, steer wrestlers, something else.

I don't know.

Those guys, they're all shot.

I mean, they talk about how beat up they are.

Maybe roping's a little different?

- Well, roping's like golf.

You can do it whether you're two or 49.

(both laughing) - Okay.

How old are you?

- (laughing) I'm 37.

- I would have guessed older.

(Kindra laughing) How's that feel?

- That feels good.

(Rob laughing) - Actually, you do not look 37, so.

- I appreciate that.

- Okay.

Yeah, see?

I try to be mean, it just- - But you just can't hang onto it for very long.

- Yeah, it just doesn't work.

Is that just something you two do as a hobby, recreation?

Or are you trying to make something out of it?

- Well, a little of both.

We do it because we enjoy it.

All horse people are kind of crazy, so there's elements of it that we're like, why'd we do this?

He often says to me, like we should sell everything and get jet skis.

So we are trying- - We live in Illinois.

- I know, right?

(Rob laughs) Don't tell him that.

We do try to make good horses, so he usually has a young one that we're bringing along, that we want to get fat and shiny and teach it how to do something, and then sell it.

He does compete.

He is competitive.

I am not competitive.

I do it because I enjoy it, and I practice, and will rope here locally, but like this weekend, we're going to Wisconsin, and so he travels to rope, and it does help if he would make a buck or two when he does it, but that is not ultimately the goal.

It's not to only do that.

- Let me ask you this.

- Mm-hmm.

- You have a younger person come up to you, has a decent job.

Feels like maybe they aren't doing what they should be doing.

What advice do you give them?

- Are they in or out of high school?

- Out.

- Okay.

- [Rob] Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

Every experience, every relationship we have, there's something to learn, whether it's about who your future partner is going to be, or who your future boss is going to be.

It's easier to get a job if you have a job, so keep working, but don't miss an opportunity to shake somebody's hand.

- Mm-hmm.

You glad you went the teaching route?

- I say that it's the puzzle piece I didn't know was missing.

I'm obsessed with my job.

And that there are lots of things that tell me that I was being built for this moment, and I didn't know it.

- It's like an 80's movie.

- It is an 80's movie.

- Yeah.

You're like "The Karate Kid", and- (Kindra laughing) "Weird Science" all mixed up into one.

- Just in one package.

(Rob chuckling) - If people want to find out more about you, or Kewanee FFA, all that stuff, where would they go?

- I would drive them to our social media.

- [Rob] Which is what?

- Kewanee FFA.

- [Rob] That's it?

- Yeah, Kewanee FFA Chapter on Instagram, and on Facebook.

- [Rob] Okay.

And who runs that?

Is that you?

- It is a team effort.

- You let the kids have the password?

- I do not.

- Yeah.

- I'm a bit of a control freak.

- No, that's just smart.

- Yup.

So students create content, and so they share pictures with us, they share posts with us.

But they do not do the actual engagement on the platform.

My teaching partner and I do that.

- Yeah, 'cause you could get in trouble for that.

You know?

- Yeah.

- Kids are dumb.

- Yes.

- I'm sure you did dumb stuff when you were in high school.

- I still do dumb stuff.

I'm very immature.

- I grew out of it, myself.

- Good for you.

Good for Emily.

I'm happy for her.

That's amazing.

(Rob laughs) - I think you should have a show here on WTVP.

- Let's do it.

I don't know what to call it.

- No, your own show.

I don't want anything to do with it.

(both laughing) Well, they just make a set.

It's fine.

- I do enjoy this.

The red would work for me.

- I actually made all that myself.

- Good for you.

The only thing it's missing is our brand.

- Okay.

- Like our Callahan Ranch brand.

I would put that somewhere on there.

- Oh, it's good enough.

All right.

Miss Kindra Callahan, and I'll call you Miss.

- Mrs. - Miss, well yeah.

(Kindra laughing) Going back to the first episode.

Now will the kids get in trouble if they call you Miss?

- Well, it doesn't get in trouble.

I just smile at them like that, and I say Mrs. And then they know to say Mrs. the next time.

- Condescending.

- Mm-hmm.

- Thank you, Kindra.

We'll catch everybody next week.

(upbeat country rock music)