The Ag Achiever of the Month is presented by the Rural Radio Network and the Nebraska Soybean Board.
For Garett Tollman, leadership isn’t limited to FFA meetings or livestock judging contests. It also meant helping evacuate neighbors as a massive wildfire threatened his hometown.
The Crawford High School senior has been named Rural Radio Network’s Ag Achiever of the Month for his leadership in agriculture, community service and involvement in FFA and 4-H.
Tollman grew up on his family’s cow-calf ranch near Crawford and has spent years showing cattle, sheep, rabbits and chickens while competing in FFA events including livestock judging, meats judging, range judging, ag sales and public speaking.
And when a June wildfire burned roughly 40,000 acres near Crawford and forced evacuations, Tollman joined family members and other volunteers helping residents and firefighters.
“It was kind of stressful,” Tollman said. “Definitely looking into town, it was kind of scary.”
Although the fire never reached his family’s ranch, Tollman said the experience reinforced the strength of rural Nebraska communities.
“I’m definitely proud. Our community is a wonderful place, and we have a lot of wonderful community members. The ranchers all over our area came in and helped fight fire and helped evacuate people like we did. I’m really proud to call our area home just because of the community members.”
Tollman serves as president of the Crawford FFA Chapter and his local 4-H club. He credits those organizations with teaching him time management, communication and leadership while balancing school, livestock projects and community involvement.
Looking ahead, Tollman hopes to follow in the footsteps of his older sister by becoming a Nebraska FFA state officer before returning to western Nebraska to help operate his family’s cow-calf ranch.
He said he’s optimistic about the next generation of agricultural leaders.
“Definitely the youth excite me the most just because of how promising the future is with all the programs that we have now available for youth to become involved in. I definitely see a strong future coming into the agriculture industry.”
Submit a nomination at ruralradio.com/youth.