Future of agriculture grows strong in Manatee County

As Kendall Huerta enters her senior year at Lakewood Ranch High School, she has many decisions to make about her future.

What college or university will she attend?

What will be her major?

What program will give her the best opportunities in her future?

She already will be graduating with an associates in science from State College of Florida. 

One aspect of her future Huerta knows for sure is that it will have something to do with agriculture, and she said that future is bright.

With Manatee County’s robust FFA and 4-H programs, more students are finding a passion for agriculture and becoming inspired by their hands-on experiences to pursue a career in the agriculture industry.

But unlike what many might assume, agriculture isn’t simply limited to farming and animals. There are a variety of routes someone could take in agriculture, and three Lakewood Ranch High students plan to explore them.

Huerta said she has known since she was 8 years old that she wanted to be a veterinarian, but it wasn’t until her experiences in FFA at Lakewood Ranch High that she determined she wanted to be a veterinarian for larger animals. 

She took the leap her junior year to showing a steer at the Manatee County Fair through FFA and fell in love with large animals. 

File photo

Her determination to go into agriculture was further solidified after visiting a veterinary clinic in Citrus County where she was able to see first-hand what it’s like to work with both large and small animals. 

Emma Syfert, a rising junior at Lakewood Ranch High, said although no one in her family has ever expressed interest in agriculture, she has known she was meant to be in agriculture since kindergarten. 

“We used to do these little picture things where it’s like, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ and ever since then, it’s been agriculture like a rancher, farmer, veterinarian, anything ag related,” Syfert said. “I like the experiences you get and the knowledge you get to gain and can share. This has just always been a passion.”

Year after year, Cameron and Sondra Dakin, who own Cameron Dakin Farms in Myakka City, continue to see the passion students have for agriculture when they lease cows to students to show at the Manatee County Fair. 

Sondra Dakin said leasing the animals to students opens doors to some that might not otherwise have the opportunity to show an animal at the fair.

The Dakins said they love to see the progress students make from when they start out with their first animals to showing at the fair, and they are impressed to see the knowledge students gain when they continue to participate from an early age through high school. 

“It’s amazing to see an 8 year old who can barely tie shoes or whatever and the next thing he’s tying a cow or a calf to a post and then you see them three or four years later, and they become pros at it like they’ve been doing it all their life,” Cameron Dakin said. 

The Dakins commended the work of the agriculture teachers and FFA advisors throughout Manatee and Sarasota counties. They understand the hard work and dedication it takes to help students succeed at the fair and the importance of passing on their knowledge to younger generations. 

Seeing students at the fair gives them hope for the future of agriculture, Sondra Dakin said. 

Cameron Dakin said students don’t need to have a sole focus on farming when it comes to agriculture. There are numerous pathways they could take to be involved in the industry. 

“It’s not just livestock and growing crops,” he said. “Nowadays, everything is technical. A lot of technology goes into agriculture, and it’s moving by leaps and bounds. Then you have different ingredients, pesticides, insecticides and more. There’s a lot of agriculture out there. It doesn’t mean you have to be a veterinarian or a farm with crops or livestock.”

Cameron and Sondra Dakin weren’t shy about sharing the challenges that come with agriculture though. 

There’s the regulations being put on agriculture, the cost increases for everything, the time and dedication it takes to be successful in the industry. 

Cameron Dakin said there’s a “world of opportunity” for those interested in agriculture though.

Photo by Liz Ramos

Despite the challenges of the agriculture industry, Huerta, Syfert and Kennedy Hoeper, a rising junior at Lakewood Ranch High, all are inspired by the potential the industry has and are not deterred. 

“I don’t think it’s a dying industry,” Huerta said. “I think we have a lot coming in the next few decades.”

Syfert said there will always be passionate people like her with a drive to be in the industry. She said FFA is the only extracurricular she’s involved in, and she spends all her time at the school’s barn. 

Hoeper said hearing that people are leaving the industry motivates her even more to stick with it and be the future of FFA and the agriculture industry. She said they can be the driving force that keeps agriculture strong.

Syfert, Hoeper and Huerta all said FFA conferences and university-hosted conferences provide a plethora of information that not only educate them about various aspects of agriculture but also skills in leadership, team building and more. 

Syfert and Huerta said ensuring there’s a future in agriculture starts with them. They educate people on various aspects of agriculture any chance they have, whether it’s teaching the children they babysit or talking to someone in the grocery store. 

Huerta, Hoeper and Syfert spent a week in June at the barn at Lakewood Ranch High School volunteering as camp counselors for the school’s Junior Ranchers summer camp, which teaches elementary-age students about numerous facets in agriculture including plants, animals, insects and the environment. 

The students said they loved being able to share their experiences with children and hoped they inspired them to get involved in FFA programs in middle school and high school. 

Cameron Dakin’s advise to anyone wanting to go into agriculture: Find something you’re passionate about and stick with it. 

It’s a lifestyle, not a job, which is why Cameron Dakin said he’s never worked a day in his life.