To most, it looked like a bunch of run-down pig pens. But Nick Adams fell in love with the worn-out facilities at Franklin High School. Although he knew it was going to take a lot of work, all he could see was opportunity when he said yes to becoming the new FFA adviser in Franklin, La.
“When I came here, nothing was how it needed to be facility-wise,” Adams says. “We’ve made such a big transition over the years, in facilities alone, whether it was getting them cleaned up or getting new things built.”
Shortly after he started at Franklin, he invited some colleagues to visit. As they walked around and came upon the pig pens, he laughed and told them, “These things will never be full.”
Little did he know they’d soon be overflowing. Adams didn’t grow up showing livestock. He competed in FFA career and leadership development events. However, one of Adams’ good friends thought he should fill up those pens, so he donated three pigs to the program to get them started. Three pigs became seven. Seven became 18, and the rest is history.
From Breeding to Buying
Franklin FFA is extremely diverse in who they are and what they do. Most of their members are low-income minority students who have never experienced agriculture prior to high school, Adams explains.
“I try to provide opportunities for them to dive in and find a niche within our program,” Adams says. “We have a 30’x90' greenhouse, a meat lab on campus and a farrowing barn, in addition to our show barn. I want to give students the opportunity to experience agriculture in a hands-on format.”
After a few years, Adams decided to help offset the cost of buying showpigs by breeding some of their own pigs.
“It was an incredible experience for our students to see that farrow-to-finish project,” he says. “We learned a heck of a lot from that experience. As we grew our numbers, I began looking for farrowing crates. I drove eight hours to get free crates from Rory Duelm in Texas. That was the basis of our little operation for a couple of years.”
Franklin FFA ended up showing some of the pigs they raised and selling some to other FFA chapters at a reduced cost to help them out as well. For a while, it helped pay for feed.
“It was a sustainable option, but it wasn’t one where we were getting a whole lot of quality,” Adams says. “One day I was talking to a former student at a show. We looked at each other and I said, ‘Man, we have some really good kids and really good showmen. We need to stop getting sent out of the ring. How are we going to do that?’”
That’s when Logan Hebert entered the picture. Hebert grew up in Franklin and had some connections with showpig breeders in the Midwest.
“Although I was more than 13 hours away from home at college, my little brother and cousins were still showing pigs that we raised and bought from across the country,” Hebert says. “Mr. Adams contacted me asking if I could find 10 to 12 pigs for his chapter to exhibit. I brought them home with me during a break from school and we’ve been working together ever since.”
That phone call opened a lot of doors for Hebert — not only to sell a few showpigs, but most importantly, to develop life-changing relationships. After graduating from Western Illinois University, he moved back to Franklin and started up Hebert Livestock. And to no surprise, one of his first customers was Franklin FFA.
“I have learned more from these kids than I could ever fathom,” Hebert says.
When it comes to showing livestock, you will lose more than you win, he adds. That’s why he’s learned winning only matters when you are doing it with the people you love.
True Commitment
Shawn Conner had no idea what he was getting into when Adams encouraged him to join FFA. Conner is the first in his family to be involved in ag.
“I knew they had pigs and the greenhouse. But, I wasn’t sure if that was my cup of tea because I was one of the athletic guys,” Conner says. “On my first day of school, Mr. Adams gave me the swine exhibition program application. And again, I was questioning, ‘Do I really want to show pigs?’”
Although A’larryen Fuselier’s grandpa grew up showing lambs, chickens and pigs, she says she didn’t come into the Franklin FFA program knowing anything about livestock herself. She was in 4-H from sixth to eighth grade, but she had her eyes set on being an athlete in high school.
“To be honest, I wasn’t interested in showing pigs at all when I joined FFA,” Fuselier says. “I was involved in every sport I could play during my freshman year. But Mr. Adams encouraged me to apply and was understanding about my sports commitments and was willing to work around my schedule.”
Because of the interest in the program and the limited number of pig pens and finances, Adams requires students to fill out an application and go through an interview process. Of his 65 FFA students, about 20 apply each year and 12 are chosen to be in the swine exhibition program. Once selected, the cost to participate is $150. Although it’s a drop in the bucket for what showing pigs costs, Adams says it signifies commitment.
“It’s a lot of money for our students to come up with,” he adds. “If their parents give them $150 to do something, they know they need to be committed.”
The approach works. Fuselier says her freshman year wasn’t easy. She had a lot to learn about time management and balancing sports and livestock. She also had to figure out what agriculture was all about.
“During my first ag class, I quickly realized FFA was more than I thought,” Fuselier says. “For example, I learned if I wanted to be in business, I could pursue ag business.”
Iron Sharpens Iron
Conner says once he started working with the showpigs, he was hooked. Although his favorite event is showmanship, he also enjoys competing in the Premier Exhibitor Program that tests an exhibitor’s knowledge of swine through a written exam, skillathon performances and an interview.
“They are a competitive group, that’s for sure. We’re one of the very few chapters in Louisiana who has a show team with animals on campus,” Adams says. “We spend a lot of time preparing for the Premier Exhibitor Program, too. We use our lunch hours to learn feed samples, equipment, breeds and more.”
The friendly competition among his students helps them achieve their greatest potential. It’s one of the reasons Adams started a mentor program to allow the more experienced showmen to help the new kids learn the ropes.
“We have several freshmen who have never been around animals,” Adams says. “There’s so much information poured on top of them, and they don’t really know what to grab and what’s going to stick. Eventually, they end up taking the reins and learn more than they ever thought they would.”
The mentor program has reinforced the concept of iron sharpening iron. The proof is in their success. When it comes to the Premier Exhibitor Program, Adams says a different student on the team wins every time.
“We had six students go to the state show this past year. All six were in the top 11 in our state premier exhibitor contests. They get each other to elevate their game. They love to be competitive and learn new things, and it’s just beautiful,” he adds.
Fuselier describes the swine exhibition team as a very big family.
“When I was a freshman, I was scared of what other people would think if I did something different,” she says. “Mr. Adams helped me realize I was trying to please other people and wasn’t being true to myself. When I started to get more involved with FFA, I found people like Shawn who loved it as well and wanted to see me be my best. That’s what family does.”
Don’t Take it for Granted
In addition to keeping busy in FFA, both Conner and Fuselier work for Hebert Livestock. They appreciate the close relationship they have developed with Hebert on the farm.
Conner has learned a lot, from castrating pigs to understanding the business side of a showpig operation.
“If you would have told my sixth-grade self, I’d be giving shots to 20+ baby pigs in a day, I’d probably tell you, you’re lying to yourself,” Fuselier laughs. “Mr. Logan doesn’t treat us like we’re any less — both him and his wife, Miss Cheyenne. They see something that we don’t see in ourselves yet, so they make us step up to the plate.”
Hebert hopes the students can see a future for themselves in agriculture because it’s one of the most valuable and important industries out there.
“They have learned the value of hard work and being grateful for the opportunities given to them,” Hebert points out. “These kids are a prime example of never taking anything for granted. They would not have had this opportunity without Mr. Adams. He is one of the most selfless and caring people I have ever met, and those kids are so lucky to have him as a mentor.”
It takes teamwork, Adams says. He knows he couldn’t do anything without sponsors such as Hebert, Cody Lamle, Luke Miller and other breeders who have “truly extended an olive branch” to help Franklin FFA with valuable resources of pigs, time and support.
“Their generosity definitely hits home, especially for students who otherwise wouldn’t be given those opportunities,” he says. “It’s hard for people in the livestock world who have been around this their whole life to understand there are people who can’t do this. They may want to, but they just can’t afford it.”
He also says there is no denying Franklin FFA students turn heads when they go to the show. There are very few Black families in Louisiana who show livestock.
“The color of their skin has been a barrier in some ways,” he says. “But we’ve been welcomed by so many. I’m grateful, and it brings me to tears every time somebody wants to come hug these kids when we show up to a show. I don’t know what it feels like to look different compared to everybody else when you walk into a show, and while I can’t really attest to it personally, I know it exists.”
Adams says one of the best things that he has ever done in his life is to provide these kids with the experience to show pigs.
When Dreams Come True
Fuselier has always been a dreamer. And while there is nothing wrong with dreaming big, she points out that FFA has taught her many practical and important lessons to help make those dreams come true.
“I always see myself doing things I don’t really think are possible,” she says. “For example, there was a time I dreamed of being the first female in the NBA. I wanted to leave my mark on something bigger than myself. I used to think that was athletics. FFA was scary because it was out of my element.”
For a long time, she thought about giving up on the agriculture part of FFA because she felt so behind.
“I didn’t know anybody,” Fuselier says. “We would go to competitions, and everybody knew what they were talking about. I’m sitting around like, what is soil? What is land judging? Over time, Mr. Adams started to mold me into the young lady I am today, and I realized he had a plan for me this entire time. I just didn’t know it.”
That’s always been Adams’ end goal for his students — to experience some success, learn valuable life skills like time management and decide whether or not ag is something they enjoy.
“And maybe it’s not pigs,” he says. “Maybe it’s cattle or crop science or research. I just want students to find out who they are. They often come in painted with this broad brush like ‘You’re the athlete or you’re the brainiac.’ I remind them you don’t know what you don’t know. You’ve got to take it upon yourself to really go out and seek opportunities.”
That’s one of the most important lessons Conner and Fuselier have learned from FFA. Through Conner’s FFA experiences and networking, he became a sugarcane crop consultant in 2023. He assesses the pest population in local sugarcane fields and recommends treatment to the farmers.
“That’s an opportunity that could last him beyond high school, that he would have never imagined possible before,” Adams says.
In June, Fuselier proved with hard work, determination and someone who believes in you, big dreams can come true when she was elected as the Louisiana State FFA President.
“This is a historic chapter for our school,” Adams says. “In addition to A’larryen being named president, her classmate and fellow pig showman Benjamin Robicheaux was selected to serve as state parliamentarian. Our chapter has only had two people serve as a state officer before. Now, we have two serving as state officers at the same time.”
Fuselier says it was the most nerve-wracking moment of her life awaiting the results.
“It was truly something I never thought I’d be able to accomplish coming from little to no ag background,” she says. “I feel blessed to have my name in the record books forever.”
However, Fuselier says it didn’t matter if her name was called or not. She’s taken away so much from her experience in FFA, thanks to her adviser urging her to try new things.
“If somebody’s knocking on the door, you need to answer it,” Adams often tells his students. “You need to open it up and see what’s there before you decide that you’re going to shut it. Don’t shut a door that you haven’t even opened yet.”
Find out how Franklin FFA changed Logan Hebert’s Life:
5 Lessons That Changed One Showpig Producer’s Life
Follow Franklin FFA on Facebook.
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