Editor's note: "Leaders of Tomorrow" is a weekly series that profiles area youth who are doing good things in the community and leading by example. Be sure to check out the video with this story on our website, columbustelegram.com. You can also check out previously published stories in this series on columbustelegram.com.
It doesn’t take very long for anyone who talks with Lakeview High School senior Mason Klug to notice his love for agriculture.
Klug – who is the Lakeview Future Farmers of America vice president – said he's been raised on his family farm that dates back to his great-grandfather. Klug, 17, said ag has been “a part of my life since I was born and it’ll be a part of my life until the day I die.”
When he started high school, Klug didn't hesitate to join FFA.
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“It was an obvious choice to experience FFA and agriculture, just with my farm perspective,” said Klug. “I’ve seen it on the national level and not just the community level.”
The Lakeview senior said he’s gained more jobs on the farm as he’s gotten older. He first started helping herd the cattle through the chutes so his grandfather and dad could give the cows medicine. Klug also cleaned out water tanks but joked he passed that job down to his younger sister.
In the last three or four years, Klug has ridden the tractor while tilling the fields. He said he hasn’t yet planted or harvested the land itself but will eventually. That task is normally completed while he's in school.
“I’ve just slowly been working up to where I am more and more involved,” Klug said.
His family’s operation has 2,000 head of cattle, 800 acres of farmland and an extra 400 acres it helps tend, Klug said. The Klugs mostly grow corn but also have a few fields of beets, he added.
Meanwhile, at Lakeview, Klug is involved in more than just FFA. He's also part of Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society and plays football, basketball and soccer for the Vikings.
Lakeview Junior-Senior Principal Steve Borer said Klug has been “instrumental” in volunteering for FFA, adding the senior has also shown leadership by helping with various activities.
“Mason is a tremendous volunteer,” Borer said. “I always see Mason volunteering for the activities he is involved in and I even see him volunteer for activities that he is not directly involved in, regardless of whether it's early in the morning or on the weekends, Mason shows up to help out.”
Klug has already set his plans following graduation. He’s going to attend Kansas State University next year, studying agricultural economics with the hope of adding minors down the line. Klug said he knew he wanted to study ag economics because he’s always been interested in cattle and markets, seeing how the prices fluctuate.
The Lakeview senior said deciding on which school to attend came down to KSU or Iowa State University. He originally thought he was going to the latter of the two, but K-State "felt like my home" when he visited.
“The town was similar to Columbus. Maybe a little bigger, but it wasn’t giant high-rise buildings. It seemed like a rural area,” Klug said. “I also met a lot of great people there and it felt like where I should go.”
Klug said once he’s done with his university studies, his goal is to come back to Columbus to help with his family’s operation.