2025 Cisne High School graduates, (left to right) Cooper Bowen, Joshua Biggs, Allie Brach, Ella Krupp, and Kadence Smith received the National FFA Organization’s highest honor, the American FFA Degree, on October 24, 2026, during the 99th National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis, IN.
Less than one percent of the 1,053,847 FFA members in the country ever earns the American Degree. Recipients of the honor are reserved for those students who have earned at least $10,000 and productively invested $7500 through Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs (SAEs), met all requirements of a twenty-page degree application which includes 50 hours of community service, and completed an interview with a state recommendation committee.
Joshua Biggs is a sophomore at Case Western Reserve University majoring in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. His future plans include finishing his Bachelor’s Degree and potentially earning a Master’s Degree. His high school SAEs involved his employment at Greifzu Mobile Repair, operating his own small business – Biggs Mowing, caring for the family’s Golden Retrievers, and an AgriScience project studying battery life. Joshua’s greatest FFA accomplishment was tying for first place Chair at the State Parliamentary Procedure competition. He is the son of Kelly Biggs of Mt. Erie and Jared Biggs of Martinsville.
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Cooper Bowen is a junior at Murray State University majoring in Ag Systems Technology. His future plans include returning to the family grain farm and also continuing to build his cow calf operation. During high school, Cooper’s SAEs included his employment for Byars Brothers, Inc. grain farm and for Ellis Mowing. He also maintained records on Small Animal Care and an AgriScience SAE comparing the effectiveness of different types of wooden bats. His greatest FFA accomplishment is earning his American Degree. His best lesson learned is never to second guess Mrs. Timm. He is the son of Kevin and Beth Bowen of Cisne.
Allie Brach is a sophomore at Frontier Community College and currently is in the last year of the nursing program. Her future plans include furthering her education while also beginning to work as a Registered Nurse. Allie’s high school SAEs involved Food Service Projects at The Ice Cream Shop and AJs Restaurant in Cisne. She also dedicated time to working with livestock and keeping the necessary records on her show Swine, Sheep, and Goat projects. Her beginning SAEs included an AgriScience project that studied which liquid kept apples freshest, and she also designed and sold custom t-shirts. Allie views her greatest FFA accomplishments as advancing as a National Finalist in the AgriScience Fair and serving as Cisne FFA President. She is the daughter of Michael and Jamie Brach of Cisne.
Ella Krupp is currently a sophomore at Frontier Community College. She plans to finish her Associate’s Degree and then transfer to a university to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. Her future goals are to work as an elementary teacher and to obtain her Master’s Degree. While in high school, Ella maintained records on her Food Service employment at Taco Tierra. She also recorded entries for her Small Animal Care project, and her freshman year she conducted an AgriScience project testing the impact of egg type on osmosis. Ella recalls her greatest FFA accomplishment as being named 3rd place Overall Floor Member at the State Parliamentary Procedure competition. She is the daughter of Adam and Aleshia Krupp of Clay City.
Kadence Smith is a sophomore at Frontier Community College and in her last year of the nursing program. Her future plans are to graduate college in May and begin working as a Registered Nurse. Kadence also plans to continue raising cattle with her dad and sister and as well as helping out on the family grain farm. Her high school SAEs included her employment on Smith Farms, an Equine Science entrepreneurship project, her own Agricultural Photography small business, and two AgriScience projects – the first compared the effectiveness of various herbicides and the second experiment studied the yield results of conventional and no-till soybeans. Kadence views her greatest FFA accomplishments as advancing as a State Finalist in the Job Interview competition in addition to earning State Finalist recognition her senior year in the State AgriScience Fair. She is the daughter of Justin and Kristel Smith of Xenia.