Paul Rice named 2008 North Dakota FFA Star Farmer
paulrice.jpgBy DALE HILDEBRANT, Farm & Ranch Guide

MADDOCK, N.D. - Sometimes getting a “bird's eye view” of your farming operation can be helpful; and for this year's FFA Star Farmer, Paul Rice, that's a pretty easy thing to do, since he recently received his small plane private operator's license.

Paul plays an important role in his parent's 4,500-acre farm located near Maddock, but he has a special interest in a 500 acre plot of land that he and an older brother, J.T, cash rent from their great uncle.

This project started three years ago and the two brothers have been splitting the profits down the middle.

It's a rather unique arrangement due to the fact that J.T. is currently enrolled in the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, so his contribution to the effort mainly comes in the financial form, while Paul has invested the “sweat equity” into the operation.

Paul did a FFA Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) project on this farming operation. And his record keeping, combined with the business plan and the essay Paul wrote on the project ultimately led to his being named the state's Star Farmer during their annual convention held in early June in Fargo.

Just listening to the rationale behind the selection of crops for each of the past three years proves Paul is pretty savvy about crop farming.

“The year before we rented the ground it was seeded to soybeans, so we figured we would put in a crop that was a little bit cheaper to grow, so we decided on wheat,” Paul explained. “The next year we had a choice between soybeans and pinto beans and it seemed like you could make a better profit with pinto beans, so that's the crop we went with that year, which was a good move. But probably the best move was going back to wheat last year.”

When he's not working on his rented acreage, Paul's time is divided between helping his parents, John and Barbara Rice, on their farm, where they produce wheat, barley, corn, soybeans and pinto beans; and logging hours in the air.

“The labor I do on my parent's farm goes to pay for the seed, fertilizer, spray and some of the machinery use on my operation, but I do end up paying a little bit of rent to my dad for using his tractors and other machinery,” Paul said.

In addition to farming, Paul's dad is also a certified flight instructor and owns a four-seater Cessna airplane, so it was a natural that Paul would be interested in flying.

“I had to get about 40 hours of flight time in before I could receive my license - 30 of those were dual and 10 hours solo,” he explained. “In addition, I had to complete a written exam, take a check ride and an oral exam.”

The aviation bug has bitten Paul hard, since he is now working on his private helicopter license, which he hopes will eventually lead to a career as a helicopter pilot.

This fall Paul will be starting classes at NDSU, where he will be majoring in agricultural economics, but he will also continue to build on his flight time in helicopters.

“I plan on getting an ag economics degree but go into a career into helicopter piloting for 15 to 20 years and eventually come back to farm in North Dakota again,” he said. “I am hoping, at this time, the helicopter piloting will be related to medical flights.”

Paul gives a great deal of credit for his being named the Star Farmer to the advice given by Maddock FFA advisor Gary Wald and to the leadership skills he developed while being an FFA member.

In addition to his SAE in grain production, Paul was involved in Dairy Foods activities and sang in the FFA Chorus, and he served as treasurer and vice president in the Maddock FFA Chapter, which has close to 80 members.

His love for aviation may lead to that first career, but it's a pretty good bet that eventually Paul will have a hand in a farming operation in North Dakota, which will give him an opportunity to satisfy that other passion in his life.