HARLINGEN — She’s already had a fully-functioning rabbit breeding operation and she’s not even out of high school.
But she will be soon enough, and Megan Adair, 17, will head off to Sam Houston State University to earn a degree in Interdisciplinary Ag Science and Secondary Education.
“I am really excited,” said Megan, a senior at Harlingen High School South.
“Sam Houston is a very good university,” she said. “It has a really good agriculture program so I am super excited to see where that takes me.”
Megan has a long history in agriculture, having presented animals and plants in numerous livestock shows and taking home ribbons. Her work in FFA has facilitated that success and helped mold in her future. Last year she won the FFA Lonestar State Degree, the highest degree of membership in the state FFA Association.
“I plan on pursuing my American degree but it’s the national level,” she said. “Eight percent of the entire FFA population actually receives it. It’s a highly competitive degree but by obtaining my proficiency degree it will kind of heighten my chances of getting the American degree.”
Wait, back up. Proficiency Degree? What’s that?
Megan was referring to the State Proficiency Degree in Small Animal Production and Care. She’s already earned it at the district level. The next step is to earn it at the area and state levels.
That’s where the rabbit project comes in.
“In 2015 I attempted to start my breeding program,” she recalled. “Unfortunately I was unable to with the breeding stock that I had. This year I was able to get my program up and running.”
That she did. It was “up and hopping” so well she had a barn of 32 rabbits, enough to become a supplier for a local operation which supplies rabbit meat for cancer patients.
Through this entire project, she’s kept meticulous records, enough to impress judges at the district level where she’s won the proficiency degree. She’ll take that same record of her project to Robstown for the area competition this Saturday.
Why has she stayed with ag all of these years?
“I’ve heard older people in the agriculture industry talk about how FFA changed their lives,” she said. “It’s so diverse. It’s not just cows and plows. There are so many things you can do in ag.”
That’s the message she wants to pass on to others as a teacher.
“In agriculture, you have your bad teachers and you have your good teachers,” she said. “With both of those you see how it affects your kids in the program. That’s kind of what’s driving me to get my interdisciplinary degree so I can use that to become a high school ag teacher.”
Other interests have captured her attention along the way, of course.
“I used to play tennis,” she said. “I still enjoy that from time to time. I’m not as good as I used to be but I still enjoy playing. But for the most part I have fully devoted my life and my time to agriculture.”
