PHOTO PROVIDED Bailey Little, a Bellefonte Area High School alumna and local business owner, poses for a photo advertising her company, Queen B Farm, where she makes handmade western jewelry and clothing. Little was recently awarded an American Degree, the highest degree achievable in the National FFA Organization.

BELLEFONTE — Bailey Little is the first Bellefonte FFA member in at least 20 years to be awarded an American Degree, the Bellefonte Area School District recently announced.

Often referred to as “The Gold Standard,” the American Degree is the highest degree achievable in the National FFA Organization, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America.

“The American FFA Degree shows an FFA member’s dedication to his or her chapter and state FFA association,” the organization said. “It demonstrates the effort FFA members apply toward their supervised agricultural experience and the outstanding leadership abilities and community involvement they exhibited through their FFA career. American FFA Degree recipients show promise for the future and have gone above and beyond to achieve excellence.”

The requirements to earn the American FFA Degree are set forth in the National FFA Constitution. To be eligible to receive the American FFA Degree, members must meet qualifications such as receiving a State FFA Degree, holding active membership for the past three years, completing secondary instruction in an agricultural education program and operating an outstanding supervised agricultural experience program. Community service, leadership abilities and outstanding scholastic achievement are also required, Bellefonte Area High School’s Agriculture Education Teacher Myken Poorman said in a press release.

Little is a graduate from Bellefonte High School class of 2023, and has been an active member of the Bellefonte FFA chapter since her freshman year.

Little’s FFA projects include raising dairy cows, beef cattle, dairy goats, rabbits, poultry and dairy beef cattle that she exhibits at shows throughout the year and at the Centre County Grange Fair.

Little owns a small business, Queen B Farm, where she makes handmade western jewelry and clothing. She and her fiance also own Double L Cattle company where they raise beef cattle to supply meat to local grocery stores.

In her free time, Little enjoys training her horses and competing in rodeos in the barrel racing and breakaway roping events, Poorman said.