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Ubly FFA Alumni And Boosters Awards $5_000 In Grants To Student Members
Russ Survance
Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:42:18 EST
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In 2025, the Ubly FFA Alumni and Boosters launched a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) Grant Program to support students in starting or expanding their SAE projects. Katie Volmering, President of the Ubly FFA Alumni and Boosters, explained, "As the alumni, we were looking for another way to help our members explore all the opportunities possible in their agricultural education journey. We learned of the success of SAE grants from another local alumni chapter and wanted to provide that same opportunity for our members in Ubly. Our goal was to help members fund a beginning project, giving them the financial assistance to start. In turn, the profit from the first project could be used to continue their project in the future. We are so pleased with the applications we received this year and can't wait to see these members' projects come to life."
SAE programs are teacher-supervised, individualized, hands-on, student-developed activities that give students real-world, work-based experiential learning directly applicable to careers in the broad field of agriculture. An SAE may involve student ownership of an agriculture-related enterprise, a placement or internship in an agriculture-related job, research, a school-based enterprise, or service learning. SAEs are unique and a vital component of an FFA member's agricultural education program. So far, during the 2025-2026 school year, 89.7% of members have active SAE programs that have generated a $468,865 economic impact.
In 2025, the alumni awarded grants for first-year fair steer projects and the purchase of a lawn mower for a student starting a business. In January 2026, the grant application window opened with a due date in early February. Several applications were submitted, and the alumni selected five members to receive grants: Mason Depcinski, Logan Klebba, Aaron Landenberg, Jerome Longuski, and Lucas Volmering. Their projects included buying a first fair steer, purchasing frozen cattle embryos to implant in their cows, acquiring equipment for a 3D printing business, expanding a home garden, and starting a layer chicken project. In total, the alumni awarded $5,000 to these individuals and wishes them luck as they develop their projects.
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Photo caption: Ubly FFA members who received grants included (L to R) Aaron Landenberg, Logan Klebba, Jerome Longuski, Mason Depcinski, and Lucas Volmering.
