A Graford FFA member has solidified her passion for agriculture through her livestock production Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) project.

Emilee Munchrath has shown cattle and lambs since she was three years old. As she grew older, she became interested in raising her own show projects. Through that, her business of breeding, raising, and eventually selling registered cattle and club lambs was established.

Munchrath took out a youth loan with her local USDA Farm Services Agency to start her lamb breeding program, Glory Days Livestock. The club lambs merged with the registered cattle herd she had accumulated from retired show heifers.

“The experience of securing a youth loan through the USDA FSA program gave me experience in banking, budgeting, and record-keeping,” said Munchrath. “I understand that it is important to fill out a loan application with details and to plan the expenses and income expected from the loan project.”

As an entrepreneur, the high school senior has significantly increased the scope of her business throughout her time as a FFA member. 

“An extension of my company is the cryogenic management of embryos/semen that are used in my cattle SAE to improve performance and EPDs,” said Munchrath. “I was interested in these areas because I wanted to create residual income from my SAE to support my college education expenses.”

Beyond making breeding decisions, she says maintaining herd health is the second most important factor affecting profits and success in production.

“Creating a health management program with the help of my veterinarian and industry experts, I have been successful in increasing the productivity of my breeding programs,” said Munchrath. 

The high school sophomore knew she wanted to explore a future career in agriculture. However, through her experience utilizing marketing tools for her SAE she has become focused on a career in agribusiness and marketing/sales.

“My future goal is to attend a four-year university and double major in agribusiness and animal science,” said Munchrath. “No matter my line of work, I know I will be involved in production agriculture for a lifetime.”

Munchrath’s successful SAE project was recognized as the Star Chapter in Production at the 2022 Texas FFA State Convention and the 2023 First Place National FFA Proficiency in Diversified Livestock Production. 

Article updated to highlight students' new successes from original Texas FFA News post on 12/7/2022.