FFA Reporter Hopes to Bridge the Gap from Farm to Table

By Tim Hammerich, with the Ag Information Network of the West

Taylor Sollecito is California FFA’s State Reporter elected about a month ago. She’s from Salinas FFA, but her love of agriculture stems from her time at a family farm in Fresno County.

“My grandfather and my mom’s whole family has a family farming operation in Fresno County. So I really derived a lot of my passion for agriculture and my connection to it from my grandfather and that side of the family. Even just getting to see their hard work and dedication on the operation, just when I would go visit them in the winter and the summer. truly just inspired me and sparked that interest in my mind,” said Sollecito.

“And then coming to high school, I really entered with the mindset of, I just want to raise and show livestock and that’s all I’m ever going to do at FFA. But now coming to my senior year, I’ve found that I really have an interest in bridging that gap between production agriculture and the general community around us. Because there is a general disconnect that I can see between my peers and the community that surrounds me. And those that are producing the livestock and the produce, and those products that are coming from farm to table,” Sollecito noted.

Taylor hopes to bridge that disconnect this year as she travels the state serving 10s of thousands of California FFA members. After her year she plans to move closer to that extended family to attend Fresno State University.