OFI 1782: Long Term Thinking And Proactivity | FFA SAE Edition – Featured Freshman | JD Thompson | Wessington Springs High School FFA

JD Thompson is in his first year of the FFA, and he is one of the most long term and forward thinking students that I have interviewed.  Through research and exploration, JD discovered the business of raising deer for sale to high fenced hunting ranches.  Once he discovered this he ramped up his research and found a ranch in South Dakota that was raising deer for this purpose.  He reached out to the owner, asked him several questions and is soon going there for a tour.  JD is hoping to work for him for a couple of weeks this summer to get a closer look at how the operation works.

JD has a very long timeline on this project.  He will be developing his facilities over the next couple of years and saving his money in order to purchase his first deer.  He is hoping to purchase his first deer by his senior year, and if things go better than expected by the end of his junior year.  By that time, JD hopes to have visited some ranches in Texas and started networking with owners there that host hunters.

JD is showing a lot of wisdom in planning out a long timeline.  This will give him the opportunity to learn and study and get experience.  It will also prevent him from rushing in financially to a potentially volatile business and harming himself financially.