Heather Feiring is a typical 22-year-old North Dakota State University student, studying crop and wheat science as well as agriculture communications and economics. She got married three months ago and will graduate in May. But one thing sets her apart from many other students - Feiring also runs a 4,700-acre farm with her dad and brother.

Feiring received the Outstanding Young Farmer award from the North Dakota Jaycees, competing against three others. Peggy Akers, Outstanding Young Farmer manager for the Jaycees, said eligible farmers must be ages 21-39 and receive two-thirds of their income from farming. The competition is based on farming success, achievements and accomplishments, soil conservation practices and community involvement.

Dean Moos of Farm Credit Services of Mandan was a judge for the competition. He said Feiring's futuristic thinking in using technology, tremendous passion and enthusiasm for farming made her the best choice.

"The enthusiasm is something that's instilled in you, it's not something you can learn," he said.

Akers said the Jaycees are excited for Feiring to win the award, the first woman in the state to do so. She will be eligible to compete in nationals in February 2004, which 19 North Dakotans have won since the program started in 1954. She said most winners at the state level have been in their upper 20s, and Feiring will be "a unique individual" to send to nationals.

Feiring grew up on a farm in near Tioga, the daughter of Michael and Holly Davidson.

She said she became interested in farming because her only other choice was to help with cooking and cleaning. As a result, her father had a young apprentice.

"I got started in agriculture because I was a member of Future Farmers of America - my dad was a member, and I looked up to him in a lot of ways," Feiring said.

In the beginning, Feiring was picking rocks and hauling grain. In high school, she had a supervised agriculture experience through her FFA and first bought land in 1997.

Now, she works with her dad and brother on seeding, harvesting, figuring out the finances and collaborating on every decision made for the operation.

While farming is not an occupation many women are involved in, Feiring said her parents offered her the opportunity to work on the farm anyway. The only girl in many of her ag classes, Feiring said she had to earn acceptance from her male peers, but her dad never looked at her gender as a prohibitive factor.

"A lot of people were telling my parents I should be doing something else besides agriculture, but they were telling everybody we need young people in North Dakota, and they have encouraged all of us to stay on the farm if we wanted, they didn't limit it to just my brother," she said.

Feiring thinks her willingness to ask questions and never make assumptions makes her a good farmer.

"I'd rather put myself in that position (of asking questions) because I can learn more from people who have experienced problems. I let other people guide me and help me along the way so I'm better prepared to handle situations down the road and do this by myself," she said.

Even though she loves farming, Feiring said she wanted to have an education to fall back on. She encourages other young people to get a degree, and "if you love agriculture, stick with it."

She said that while she doesn't believe in setting yourself up for failure, it is necessary to have something else to fall back on.

"If you want to farm, you can find a way, it's just a matter of how much work and effort you want to put into having the life you want to live," she said.

(Reach reporter Angie Buckley at 250-8255 or angiebuckley@ndonline.com.)