When most people hear the term “Future Farmers of America,” their thoughts probably turn to high school students raising and showing cattle, pigs, goats, and other animals in preparation for a possible career in farming or ranching.

But something happened to the traditional FFA class over the last 20 years: it became industrialized. So much so that a pair of Abilene High School graduates spent their spring showing off a 20-foot trailer they fabricated and built more than any animals they might have been raising.

“I’ve been out of high school for a minute or two, but we didn’t call what these kids are doing now ‘Ag Mechanics,’ ” AHS Ag teacher Cindy Easley said. “We just called it shop class. Ag Mech (Agricultural Mechanical) shows have been going on for 20-plus years, but it seems in the last 10 years it’s become a bigger emphasis in Texas. And it all falls under the FFA umbrella.”

Maddox Loudermilk and Austin Hendrickson – both in the Top 25 of the most recent AHS graduating class and who will be attending Texas A&M University in the fall – built from scratch a trailer to haul metal roofing material for a company in Weatherford. The company is a subsidiary of 3 Diamond Fab, also located in Weatherford.

The trailer project came together when Easley saw the trailer her son, Jamie, used in his work with the company owned by Bill Pinkerton and 3 Diamond Fab.

“I just happened to be at his shop (in Weatherford) one day and noticed the trailer he was using to haul metal roof panels, and it was falling apart,” Easley said. “I told him to get with the owner (of 3 Diamond Fab), and if they would fund a new trailer, our kids would build it for them. They talked and decided to do it.”

Easley, Loudermilk, and Hendrickson made a list of materials they would need to get started, and 3 Diamond Fab owner Bill Pinkerton gave the project the green light. That was last fall, just after the 2023-24 school year started. Loudermilk said he and Hendrickson spent about “5-10 hours” planning and drawing blueprints for the trailer, although he admits there was a good bit of trial and error in putting the trailer together and re-doing parts they didn’t like.

“Austin and I were looking for a large, more challenging senior-year project, so we both jumped on this opportunity,” Loudermilk said. “It took about four or five months to build with about 175 hours inside and outside of class.”

Loudermilk said the part of the build that took the longest was the fabrication of the tongue of the trailer, which keeps a trailer in balance when towing and keeps weight on the tow hitch. Once that part of the build was complete, Easley knew her students had built something that would serve the company well.

“The project was great, and the boys built an excellent product,” Easley said. “The finished product fits the bill for what the company wanted. I spoke with my son after the trailer was delivered and he said it’s been exactly what they needed.”

Easley said she got most of the parts for the new trailer through the local dealership, Mid Tex Trailers, but Western Trailer Equipment & Manufacturing and Big Tex Trailer World also played a role in the build.

“My favorite part is sitting down and brainstorming with the kids and trying to prevent as many delays as possible,” Easley said. “We had to return to the drawing a few times, but it was fun throwing out ideas and collaborating with them on the project.”

The students took the trailer to several Ag Mech shows across Texas during the spring and won blue ribbons at most of them.

“The boys built an excellent product, and it’s exactly what the company wanted,” she said. “Those two kids worked hard and did a great job on the project, and they filled the bill for what the company wanted. They were both very driven to put together a quality product and even when they ran into issues, they figured them out and produced a fine piece of equipment.”