Quitman FFA Member Turns Family Tradition Into Successful Production Agriculture Project

Quitman FFA member Jentri Jackson has turned a family tradition of fruit gardening into a successful business of her own. 

Jackson was inspired by her great-grandmotherโ€™s cultivation of blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries, leading her to pursue a Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) in fruit production. 



โ€œMy SAE consists of growing and harvesting blackberries, blueberries, and peaches with an emphasis on blackberries,โ€ said Jackson. โ€œI currently have approximately 30 blackberry plants, three blueberry bushes, and two peach trees.โ€

Using a small plot of land on her parent's property, Jackson was able to successfully harvest a good crop this past year.

โ€œI started a small business with my produce selling mostly blackberries,โ€ said Jackson. โ€œI advertise on social media and am able to sell all of the berries I harvest except for the less desirable ones that I keep and make into jelly and cobblersโ€.



While she may not plan to turn her project into a career, Jackson is developing skills that she can apply in her everyday life. This includes real-world experience in production agriculture and business management such as sales and marketing.



โ€œMy SAE has given me the opportunity to understand and learn the processes of planting, growing, harvesting crops and business techniques,โ€ said Jackson. 

In addition to following in her great-grandmother's footsteps, the success of Jacksonโ€™s project 
was recognized as the 2018 Texas FFA proficiency winner in Fruit Production.