FFA Member Profile: Dylan Ryan, President

Tell us about your farm and family. Our family farm, Ryan-Vu, is owned by my grandparents and is nestled in the hills of Fond du Lac County. A few years ago, we made a difficult decision to sell our milk cows. However, we retained a few of them in local herds to continue our passion for developing a small group of show animals for my brother and me. Today, along with my brother and parents, we care for these animals on the farm. We also have various partners and friends who allow us to care for their animals and show them throughout the year at local, state and national shows. When our calves are born, they return to our farm where we raise them until we either sell them as dairy replacements or send them to calve in and develop our next generation of genetics. We take great pride in developing our bred and owned animals and those that we care for to their greatest potential. Through the years, we have developed over 100 All-American and Junior All-American nominations across all breeds.

Why did you join FFA? I joined FFA my freshman year of high school because I had heard a lot of great things about what the Lomira FFA Chapter has done for the community, the school and even the state FFA organization. I also wanted to become a more impactful leader to all younger members of the FFA and help them find great opportunities to become influential leaders as well.

What is your role in the chapter? I am currently serving as the president of the Lomira FFA student chapter. As president, I look for ideas that we can do with our chapter, present them to our officer team and help plan these activities. I also look to our very talented advisors, the other officers, and our active members to ensure they want and are willing to participate in various activities to make them a success.

What FFA contests do you compete in? There are two main contests that I compete in through FFA. The first is a Leadership Development Event where I competed in the employability skills competition, practicing and improving my interviewing skills. This year will be my second year participating in this competition, and I feel that I will be able to build on my first year and hopefully move onto the next level. My second main contest is the FFA dairy judging contest Career Development Event where I have competed the last three years and each year, our team has made it to state. Hopefully in my final year we can make it to state again.

What do you look forward to most in the upcoming FFA year? I am definitely looking forward to our Lomira FFA banquet, where we can celebrate all our activities and accomplishments throughout the year.  Also, the Lomira FFA will be inviting back past FFA officers to recognize them at our annual banquet, so there will be some fun extra activities to celebrate that achievement.

How has FFA shaped you as a person? FFA has had a major influence on my life. One of the ways it has impacted me is through my leadership. Since my sophomore year, I have been an officer for the Lomira FFA. I have grown to become a better leader for all younger members and encourage other members to try new things. I have also become closer to my advisors and officers throughout the years as well as community members through our activities. I also enjoy supporting the Lomira FFA alumni on various events and networking with them.

What are your duties on the farm? My main duties on my farm include calf, show heifer and replacement heifer care. This ranges from feeding, walking and washing show heifers to cleaning show heifer pens to cleaning our calf barn and calf hutches. I am in charge of feeding our heifers and dry cows and cleaning and bedding our facilities. During the summer and fall, I also harvest all forages — from chopping and baling heifer hay to making corn silage and bedding — to make sure we have enough feed and bedding for our show and replacement heifers throughout the year.

What are your future plans? My future plans include either studying agricultural mechanics or agronomy. While I am currently undecided on a 2-year or 4-year school, I’ve always enjoyed working with the equipment and harvesting the crops to feed our cattle, so my future career plans will focus on those areas. Regardless of what I choose, I know that my future will remain tied to the agricultural industry, and I’m very thankful for all the opportunities that organizations like the FFA have offered me.