A Gilmer High School junior faced and bested college-level competition in this year’s 93rd National FFA Convention and Expo.
Octavia Bushey was declared winner of the National Agricultural Proficiency Award in the area of dairy production-entrepreneurship during the virtual convention held Oct. 27.
“Being the national winner is unbelievable. When I heard my name announced, I was in shock!” said Bushey, who watched the announcement alongside her fellow Gilmer High FFA members at the Clear Creek ag. center.
Bushey, 16, was one of four finalists in the dairy entrepreneurship category. The other three were students from colleges in Illinois, Wisconsin and Oregon.
“The FFA members I was up against were extremely accomplished and from huge dairy states. Competing against college-level students growing up on massive dairy farms and actually winning was amazing, as well as a testament to the awesome community and school system I belong to,” Bushey said. “Gilmer County has supported me at every turn helping me get this award, and many people have helped me get to this point.”
Bushey is one of eight National FFA Agricultural Proficiency Award winners in different divisions that were announced at the convention, which was broadcast online and via the RFD-TV network due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was originally scheduled to take place at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
“There’s usually about 60,000 people there,” said Octavia’s dad, Michael Bushey. “Every state in the nation has a state winner, then they pick the top four from the applications. The next step would have been her going to Indianapolis and she would have interviewed there. Because it was virtual this year, they (submitted) a video where they answered questions.”
Michael said his daughter started showing calves in the fifth grade and has progressed in her FFA activities and proficiency ever since. She now owns 22 registered Holsteins, including six at GHS and 14 that are kept at a Tennessee dairy farm.
“Dairy entrepreneurship basically (means) she has a monetary investment in it versus placement, which is where you work for somebody. This award is a culmination of where you started to where you’re at now. She started out borrowing a calf to show, and her grandfather gave her the first calf she ever got, (which) she won all over the country with. She got that calf in 2016,” Michael said.
“What I feel set her apart from the other national finalists was she started with nothing. The cows were raised at the high school, and her fellow FFA members help raise and show them. We’re very lucky to have the facilities we have and the administration and board that allows kids to raise animals and show them,” he added.
Bushey said some of the most rewarding things about her years of FFA involvement are the relationships she’s made, as well as learning leadership development and skills that will help her attain future career goals. The most challenging part has been the time management and commitment required, she noted.
“I spend over 1,500 hours each year working on my Dairy Production SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience),” Bushey said. “That has made me make some hard choices. I love playing sports, but it’s been very difficult to do both because of time commitments. Myself and the other students showing dairy heifers are at school seven days a week, at 6:45 a.m. before school and every afternoon, caring for our animals. It’s like anything else. You have to love it to be very successful and all of our show team is very successful.”
As a result of her victory, Octavia will receive a $1,000 award and a prize from event sponsor, New Holland Agriculture.
“It’s a really big resume builder and it could possibly open up a lot of doors for her,” Michael said.
Bushey said, after graduating high school, she wants to pursue a college degree in either agribusiness or animal science, specializing in embryology.
“Agriculture will always be a part of my life. I feel like the times we are living in now are making people realize how important agriculture is, and maybe they will not continue to take it for granted,” she added.
Runs in the family
Michael confirmed that farming, ag. instruction and FFA participation all run in the Bushey family.
He and his brother, David, are both agriculture instructors at Gilmer County schools. They were raised in upstate New York where their dad was an ag. teacher who also farmed.
“Where we grew up is a mile from Canada and 2 miles from Vermont, 40 miles south of Montreal, Quebec,” Michael said.
Octavia’s national championship win is a big deal for the whole family, he confirmed.
“There are 760,000 FFA members so just to get to the final four is pretty impressive. But to actually win is amazing,” he said. “I don’t know the last time anybody from Georgia won the national proficiency in that area because Georgia isn’t really known as a dairy state. There’s more (of it) in middle and south Georgia, but places like New York, Pennsylvania, California, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana are really your major dairy states.”
Bushey said her love and respect for agriculture has been greatly influenced by family members.
“Growing up in an agricultural family with not only an ag. teacher as a father, but also an uncle and grandfather, as well as a mother who was a state FFA officer, has made the FFA a big part of my life. They’ve always encouraged me to be an active member, but allowed me to find what areas I enjoy,” she said.
“My uncle and my ag. teacher, David Bushey, has been my number one fan in my growth in the area of dairy production. He always encourages me to try things outside my comfort zone. His guidance, along with that of my parents, made this award possible for me.”