Graves of the Chillicothe FFA Chapter named State Star Farmer

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COLUMBIA, Mo., April 17, 2026 – The Missouri FFA Association recognized Beau Ann Graves of the Chillicothe FFA Chapter as the State Star Farmer at the 98th Missouri FFA Convention. Graves is the daughter of Preston and Samantha Graves. Her advisors are Lace Martin, Randy Plattner, Cyrsten Sarbaugh and Neal Wolf. 

State Star Farmers are chosen based on outstanding production agriculture in the student’s supervised agricultural experience program and active participation in FFA. 

American Family Insurance sponsors the 16 Area Star Farmer awards and the State Star Farmer award.

Graves’ supervised agricultural experience consists of a beef entrepreneurship project focused on the production and marketing of purebred Angus, Hereford, Maine-Anjou, Miniature Hereford and club calf-producing cows. It also consists of multiple purebred Hereford and crossbred market cattle that will be fed to market weight and sold for beef. Additionally, Graves has shown livestock on many levels, specializing in showing purebred Angus, Hereford, Maine-Anjou and club-calf females, as well as market animals. Recently, she has made use of advanced reproductive technologies, such as IVF, allowing her to increase the number of cattle born each year with more desired genetics.

Graves is an active member of the Chillicothe FFA Chapter, serving as assistant 1st vice president, 2nd vice president, and currently serving as secretary. As an FFA member, Graves has been a part of several activities, including public speaking contests, livestock evaluation, meat evaluation, and conduct of chapter meetings. Outside of FFA, she has participated in National Honor Society, Fellowship Christian Athletes, Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, and 4-H Livestock Judging. 

After graduation, Graves plans to attend Redlands Community College and compete on the livestock judging team while working towards an associate’s degree in animal science. She then plans on transferring to a four-year university where she will continue competing on a livestock judging team and achieve her bachelor’s in animal science with an emphasis on biochemistry. 

The Missouri FFA has 27,000 members representing 369 chapters. The national organization has more than 1,042,245 members representing 9,407 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

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