WSHS Sophomore Wins Highly Competitive National FFA Grant

Wessington Springs High School (WSHS) sophomore Mercedes Jones is making a four-figure business investment into her family’s flower farm thanks to being awarded a $1,000 grant from National FFA. Aimed at helping FFA members start or expand their supervised agricultural experience (SAE), the highly competitive grant awards were announced last week.

“It means a lot to get this grant. I’ve always helped out in any way I can but this investment means now I have something more than just my time in it,” Jones shared of the work she’s done at the flower farm, named “Ranchy Stems,” which is owned by her mom Katie and business partner Audra Scheel.

Wessington Springs FFA Chapter Advisor Brady Duxbury, in his twelfth year of serving as a FFA advisor, said that while he always urges his students to apply, Jones is his first to be awarded the grant.

“When you think of how many FFA members there are — at national convention there were over 70,000 members in attendance and next year, FFA membership nationally will cross 1,000,000,” he said. “Last year only 141 of these grants were given. To say it’s highly competitive is an understatement.”

Jones explained that “Ranchy Stems” grows and sells fresh flowers on Jones’ and Scheels’ family farms and she will use the grant to purchase dahlia tubers and low tunnel equipment to help extend the short South Dakota growing season by about a month.

“Dahlias grow from a tuber. From the tuber, grows your plant and you can get quite a few blooms in the late summer and fall,” she explained “When it gets cold, you dig them up, wash them, clean them, let them dry, cut and separate them and pack them up for the winter by either wrapping them in saran wrap or laying the tubers in sawdust or vermiculite. For some of the specialty dahlias, one tuber can cost up to $35.”

Additionally, the low tunnel equipment she plans to purchase with the grant funds will help her grow ranunculus, which Jones describes as “kind of like a rose but with a lot more petals.”

In the short term, Jones said Ranchy Stems would like to be able to sell their stems to florists who do events such as weddings and is already working with a handful of area florists. She cites the benefit as being able to source and supplement flowers locally instead of having to rely solely on large commercial wholesalers from across the nation.

While she doesn’t know if flower farming is something she’ll pursue long term, she enjoys that this grant allows her to make a financial investment to help diversify and grow the floral offerings grown by Ranchy Stems, helping to continue to uphold the businesses’ mission.

“I’m only a sophomore and I know I have time to decide what I’ll pursue in the future after high school” Jones said. “But what I’ve loved about this from the start is that it’s always been about growing blooms that make people happy and bring them joy. This grant helps me be able to add something that will bring even more smiles to people’s faces.”