Mansfield students go to the show

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By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

Legacy High School senior Hailey Plumlee doesn’t live on a farm, but she owns a full line of farm animals: a Limousin heifer, a European crossbred steer, chickens and turkeys. She also grows plants.

“We have family friends, that’s where I keep my cattle,” said Plumlee, who also serves as the Mansfield FFA chapter president. “I keep the chickens, turkeys and plants at home.”

When asked if she lived on acreage, Plumlee just smiled.

“I have a large backyard and understanding neighbors,” she said.

Plumlee leads a booming FFA chapter, boasting 300 members in third through 12th grades. The Mansfield members are making their presence known at the Fort Worth Stock Show, which runs through Feb. 8. The chapter will show eight heifers, seven steers, 20 pigs and 30 lambs and goats, said the district’s agri coordinator Shaye Anne Atwood.

“Our program is still growing,” Atwood said. “Some students show livestock, others do leadership, there’s judging teams, some do it all.”

Plumlee also is on the judging and leadership teams.

“I like the experience and meeting new people,” she said. “I like seeing what I can do in the future. I’m going to major in agri business at Texas A&M.”

Plumlee has been involved in Mansfield FFA since she was in third grade at Tarver-Rendon Elementary.

“I joined because my sister did it,” she said. “I love going to Ben Barber and taking classes.”

There are several families that have no background in agriculture but who have gotten involved in the Mansfield FFA program, Atwood said.

“They see it in the classroom and their families all jump in,” Atwood said. “Some start with rabbits and chickens before jumping in with a 1,200-pound heifer.”

Liam Lopez, 10, and his brother Lucas Lopez, 12, who attend Donna Shepard Intermediate School, decided to go with pigs.

“They’re cute and very easy to care for,” explained Liam, a fourth-grader, as he mixed food for his 5-month-old Duroc pig, Sparkle Farts. “They say they’re smart, but they really aren’t. You have to take care of them, do skin care and exercise.

“She’s good,” he said of his pig, who was trying to climb over the railing to get into the pen with Lucas’ pig, Fishers. “She does whatever I tell her.”

Atwood asked Liam why his pig did what he told her.

“Well, I walk her every day,” he said, “so she knows what to do.”

Plumlee advises students to give FFA a chance.

“Don’t be afraid to try things,” she said. “Just because it’s Future Farmers, there’s so many other things.”

Atwood said she didn’t know if the Mansfield team will be bringing home ribbons this year from the Fort Worth show, but she hopes so.

“Everybody puts a lot of time and work in before the show,” she said. “I really hope they come out on top. I really want them to have the experience. They have a lot of fun. They travel together and build a really close team.”

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