Helena Agri-Enterprises (HAE) recently welcomed 2024-2025 FFA (Future Farmers of America) National Officers, Thad Bergschneider, President, and Caroline Groth, Eastern Region Vice President, to Memphis, Tenn., where they met with Helena executives and toured the facilities at Helena Products Group (HPG).
Left to right: Ward Bloodworth, HAE Executive Vice President; Brad Shaver, HPG Sales & Marketing Director; Bill Smith, HPG Strategic Marketing Manager; Thad Bergschneider, FFA President; Caroline Groth, FFA Eastern Region Vice President; Grace Hall, HPG Marketing Services Specialist; Eric Cowling, HAE President & CEO; Phil Hollis, HAE Executive Vice President
Nearing its 100-year anniversary, FFA is the largest youth organization in the nation with over 1,000,000 members and 9,200 chapters spread across the United States, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. The organization is providing a pipeline for the next generation of agricultural leaders, giving vocational opportunities for members to gain hands-on experience in agriculture. Thad Bergschneider, President, believes vocational agriculture education is at the heart of FFA’s mission to equip the next generation of ag leaders.
“Learning to do, doing to learn, it's in our motto. It's exactly what we stand for and the way that we believe education should happen on the local level.”
Thad Bergschneider, FFA President
Bergschneider is a native of Franklin, Ill. While he grew up on a farm, he didn’t know if he would fit in the National FFA Organization. Encouragement from his father to try out the organization his freshman year of high school led him to enterprises in raising turkeys and working on JP Bergschneider Farms. He later became the 2023-2024 Illinois FFA State President. Upon completing his time as National President, he will return to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to study Finance in Agribusiness.
Caroline Groth, Eastern Region Vice President, is a native of Lexington, Ky. While she isn’t from a traditional production ag community, her experiences in 4H showing sheep prepared her to join FFA her freshman year of high school. She went on to raise 50 heads of Southdown ewes with her siblings and became the 2023-2024 Kentucky FFA State President. Upon completing her time in office, she will return to the University of Kentucky to study Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Education.
While in Memphis, Bergschneider and Groth spent time with Helena executives, including President & CEO Eric Cowling. They learned how new technology is created and brought to market through research and development and product formulation. From roundtable discussions with leadership to lab demonstrations with chemists, these National Officers got to experience the cornerstone of Helena — people, products and knowledge.
Left to right: Back - Trey Baker, HPG Formulation & Technology Development Manager; Christopher Smith, HPG Formulation Chemist; Front - Fakeveni Dlamini, HPG Technology & Manufacturing Support Manager; Xenobia Neal, HPG Chemist; Caroline Groth, FFA Eastern Region Vice President; Thad Bergschneider, FFA President
“People. Products. Knowledge. It was cool at the beginning of the day. They said you're at the people right now. You're meeting us. You're going to go learn about our products, and at the end of the day, you are going to be knowledgeable. I feel like we've reached that spot. We've learned about your products, we've met your people and had your wisdom poured over us.”
Caroline Groth, FFA Eastern Region Vice President
Tune into Episode 91 of the FieldLink® Podcast to hear more about Thad and Caroline’s recent visit with Helena in Memphis, Tenn. They reflect on the importance of ag education, share takeaways from HPG’s Innovation Center and offer their perspective on FFA’s impact. Visit helenaagri.com to learn more about community involvement and agricultural stewardship at Helena.
About Helena Agri-Enterprises
Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC is a complete agronomic solutions provider headquartered outside of Memphis in Collierville, Tennessee. Helena is a multi-faceted retailer and distributor in the production agriculture and specialty markets, offering innovative products and services to improve productivity for greater customer returns. This includes crop protection and crop production products, seed and seed treatments, AGRIntelligence® tools, professional application, financial services, and chemical formulation. Helena is driven by a belief in People… Products… Knowledge®… Through knowledgeable and dedicated people, superior products, and the latest, proven technologies, Helena is committed to helping customers succeed.