LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Two Lubbock High School students, Kaylyn and Carter Baker, are preparing to compete at the National FFA Convention after winning at the state FFA convention for their science project.
“I mean, it’s very rare to get to go. They’re like, out of all the FFA members across the entire country, I mean, it truly is such a gift to get to go to National Convention,” Baker said.
Chicken probiotic study
Kaylyn and Carter Baker qualified for the National FFA Convention for their project “Pecking at Performance.” They studied the effect probiotic supplements have on Barred Rock chicks.
“To conduct this study, we patched 21 Barred Rock chicks and randomly assigned them to three treatment groups,” Baker said.
Each received one supplementation of a powdered probiotic and a liquid probiotic.
“Which is the powdered one, where it’s a manifest Hydro-Hen, and the liquid was a seed as well, bird. And the third group served as our control group. And ultimately, we found that Hydro-Hen was the best probiotic on our birds,” Baker said.
Funding from AgTexas
Kaylyn and Carter say they’re grateful to attend the competition in Indianapolis without anything coming out of their own pockets, thanks to AgTexas.
“And that it could show the other kids to do what they want to do in FFA and see what pays off. I do think it really shows that there are opportunities and that there are people out there willing to support you if you are just willing to put in the work,” Baker said.
Shelbey Goetz, with AgTexas, says without farmers and ranchers, the world would not be able to be fed and clothed. She says since farmers and ranchers give so much, this is an opportunity to give back to them.
“Yeah, so really FFA, 4-H students, students involved in agriculture, they are the next generation for us. They’re the future of agriculture. And we won’t be able to continue doing what we do, getting to work with farmers and ranchers and agriculture producers every day if we’re not supporting the next generation,” Goetz said.
Kaylyn and Carter say it’s an honor to share the same stage with the best in the state. The 99th National FFA Convention and Expo starts on the 21st.
Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.