My name is Emma Stelly, and I will be a sophomore at McNeese State University in the fall. I am from Cow Island, Louisiana which is where my family farm resides. I am from a multi-generational family farm where we farm about 3,000 acres of rice and crawfish. Additionally, we have a boiling spot and a crawfish-buying dock. From a young age, my parents instilled a strong love for agriculture in me.

Growing up on a multi-generational rice and crawfish farm has offered me an opportunity to serve in many roles and have many experiences. My role on the farm is different day to day because I can either be inside doing the paperwork or outside doing more hands-on tasks. My hands-on activities consist of driving crawfish boats, combines, or tractors. My family also owns a crawfish wholesale dock, a boiling spot, and we sell bait to our local fishermen. Our crawfish boiling spot, Stelly’s Boiling Spot, is having its twenty-year anniversary of being open. I work at our buying dock six days a week and at our boiling spot about three nights a week. Additionally, my family has recently ventured off and purchased a peeling plant with a wholesale dock as well. Outside of rice and crawfish, my family also owns shrimp boats, so during the season I help by working the back deck or selling shrimp to our customers.

I attended Kaplan High School throughout the entirety of my high school years where I graduated in the top ten of my class with a 4.0 GPA. I was an active FFA member, 4-H member, BETA member, and FCA member. I also participated in four years of cross country and three of Track and Field. Throughout the clubs, I held various leadership positions such as FFA secretary, FCA worship leader, and cross-country captain. Additionally, my involvement in FFA allowed me to place first in two SAEs and an Agricultural Science fair project. My SAE’s consisted of Grain Production and Agricultural Sales with each SAE elaborating on a different branch of my family business. The Agricultural Science fair project was on hydroponics which is when I started considering applying for an internship with the LSU AgCenter. Outside of school, I am also involved with my community. I volunteer with the St. Anne’s Women’s Altar Society which conducts various community service activities for communities in need.I am also serving as the 2024 Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau Queen.

At McNeese, I am pursuing a bachelor's degree, majoring in Agricultural Sciences with a concentration in Agricultural Business and a minor in Mass Communications. I intend to pursue a career on our family farm after college with the hopes of one day taking over for my parents. Coming from a family farm is a blessing. The experiences that I have gained from growing up working outdoors alongside my family are unimaginable.

The LSU AgCenter has done multiple test fields on my family farm. Consequently, the latter has helped to deepen my passion for the LSU AgCenter. I would like to thank the Rose and Charles Broussard Family for allowing me to have this amazing opportunity to enhance my understanding of rice production and hopefully benefit my future career as a rice farmer.