Five Hillsboro FFA students received the Ohio AgriBusiness Association credential during the 2019-20 school year. Jake Beverly and Loraleigh Mayhan were awarded the credential in early spring, and Alora Brown, Joe Helterbrand and Mallory Parsons received notification of their successful credentials during the first week of July.

The Ohio AgriBusiness Association provides an industry-recognized, agribusiness credential that verifies high school student expertise in the areas of agriculture, agribusiness and production systems.

To be eligible for the program, a student must be enrolled in a career­-technical agricultural program and complete four courses, where they are engaged in learning and applying technical skills in foundational agricultural concepts.

As one of the four required courses, students must complete either Business Management for Agricultural & Environmental Systems or Global Economics & Marketing of Food. These upper­-level courses test students’ knowledge of global agriculture marketing and business principles applied in agribusiness.

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE) ­ — a student project that involves real world agricultural activities done by students outside of the planned classroom and laboratory time are also integral in attaining the OABA credential.

To be considered, a student’s SAE must be an entrepreneurial, placement or research-­driven project pertaining to the agriculture industry. The student must document at least 500 hours of work on their project(s) and identify the Ohio Agricultural & Environmental Systems Career Field Technical Content Standards achieved through their SAE.

For more information about the Ohio AgriBusiness Association Credentials, visit their website at www.OABA.net.

Submitted by Hillsboro FFA Chapter.