Judging team participation leads to unexpected career for poultry graduate
Jacob Price expected to join the poultry industry after he graduated, fate had other plans
Poultry science graduate, Jacob Price ’14 of Katy didn’t expect to be an agricultural science teacher when he first came to Texas A&M University.
Price’s participation in agriculture classes and FFA events as a student led him to the Department of Poultry Science in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences where he planned to eventually pursue a career in the poultry industry.
Price became involved in the poultry judging program as a student in the department. That experience gave him the opportunity to set up FFA judging contests and to work with FFA judging team members and coaches.
“It was through working with FFA students that I found my passion to become an ag teacher,” said Price. “I was also blessed to grow up in an amazing FFA chapter in Gilmer, where I had ag teachers who set a great example for me to follow in their footsteps, even if I didn’t know that’s what I was meant to do at the time.”
Price has now been an agriculture science teacher for eight years, seven of which have been at Katy High School. We sat down with him to find out how his degree in poultry science helped prepare him for this role and how he brings poultry science into his classroom.
What do you do as an agricultural science teacher?
As an ag teacher, I juggle a lot of responsibilities from lesson planning, teaching classes, training leadership development event, LDE, teams and career development event, CDE, teams to supervising students with animal projects.
I teach the Principles of Agriculture course as well as the Wildlife and Fisheries Management class at Katy High. In the principles course, I teach students about FFA and the opportunities they have in our organization. We also cover basic agriculture like plant science, animal science, food science, ag mechanics, etc., so students get a taste from each ag class they can take while in high school and are exposed to the agriculture industry as a whole.
In my wildlife course, I certify students in hunter education and boater education through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and cover curriculum over all wildlife species in Texas.
In the fall, I train students for the agricultural issues team, junior creed speaking and job interview LDE competitions. In the spring, I train the poultry judging and nursery landscape teams for CDE contests. For animal projects, I supervise all students who have poultry that they will show at the various local and major livestock shows across the state.
I am lucky to work with six of the best teaching partners at Katy High School that help guide and run our FFA program.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
Watching my students set high goals and work to achieve them. I am blessed with students who continually strive for success. I love the competition side of FFA and enjoy training teams to be competitive on the state and national level. Through these competitions, students realize that developing a strong work ethic will make you successful, not just in judging contests, but in life after high school as well.
How do you bring poultry science into your classroom?
I add quite a bit of poultry science into my Principles of Agriculture course. I do an egg unit with my students where they break open eggs and label each part. I also teach how to give broken out eggs a U.S. Department of Agriculture score based on the height and width of the albumen as well as the roundness of the yolk.
Why did you choose to attend Texas A&M University and poultry science?
Texas A&M was the only school I applied to my senior year of high school. Most of my family are Aggies so you could say I was indoctrinated early in life.
Growing up in Gilmer, my family had a small cow-calf operation, so I was involved in agriculture from a young age. My exposure to the industry inspired me to pursue an agriculture degree, but my FFA experience is why I chose poultry science.
When I was a freshman in high school, my ag teacher, Russell Thomas, asked me if I wanted to raise chickens for our county fair. The following spring, he asked me to join his poultry judging team. I was hooked. I chose poultry science at Texas A&M because of the opportunities the department provides to its students during school and to graduates afterwards.
What’s a fond memory you have from your time in the department?
My fondest memory was when our poultry judging team won the 2011 and 2012 Collegiate National Championship back-to-back.
Do you have any key mentors?
I’ve been blessed to be around some of the best people who have positively influenced me. I attribute my success to a few key people who really shaped how I approach my life and career.
Russell Thomas and Sue Witt, my agricultural science teachers at Gilmer High School, had a profound impact on my life. They saw something in me and developed it from a young age. They taught me a strong work ethic, developed my character and gave me the grit to be successful in life.
The other mentor I had in my time at Texas A&M was Jason Lee, Ph.D. He was my poultry judging coach as well as my boss for five years. He gave me a job as an undergraduate research assistant in his poultry nutrition lab during my freshman year. After I retired from the judging team in 2012, he trusted me to coach the collegiate judging team for him and officiate Texas FFA poultry judging contests. He won many national championships as a coach and accepted nothing short of excellence from his teams. I have him to thank for my competitiveness and desire to succeed.
What advice would you give to current poultry science students interested in pursuing a career similar to yours?
If they are freshmen or sophomores, I would recommend adding classes from the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications as a double major. The opportunity to student teach, network and build contacts with ag teachers across the state is a big advantage. Also, they would still have their poultry degree to fall back on, so it’s the best of both worlds.
What do you enjoy doing when you aren’t busy being an ag teacher?
My wife, Kaitlyn, is my rock. Being an ag teacher’s spouse is no cake walk, and she supports me 100% in everything I do. We recently had our first child this past fall. Nora Jean is almost 6 months old now, so between our busy family life and teaching ag, spare time is a luxury. When I do have time, I do custom leather work as a hobby and also judge market poultry shows at the local, county and major level across the state.
What is your favorite poultry dish?
Eggs. I love having eggs for breakfast, they’re a great way to start the day.
