FFA News

By: Madeline Hutton, Chapter Reporter

The West Liberty- Salem FFA had their annual officer interviews on September 30^th. A variety of questions were asked of the applicants, making sure that they were fit for the positions. Positions were elected on November 1^st. Cooper Havens is the new FFA President, Morgan Damron is the Vice President, Trinity Perkins the Secretary with Gavin Woodruff as the Co-Secretary, Madeline Hutton Reporter with Dylan Glunt as the Co-Reporter, Marissa Bailey the Treasurer with Hayden King as the Co-Treasurer, Maddox Havens the Historian, Dawson Jenkins the Sentinel, and Olivia Muirhead the Student Advisor. The FFA chapter is very excited to have the new officer team in swing for the 2020-2021 school year.… Continue reading

Recently, Beck’s Superior Hybrids of Atlanta, Indiana donated an FFA jacket to two members of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter. The jackets were made available through a special project of the Ohio FFA Foundation. The Blue Jackets Program was founded to help new FFA members earn their first FFA jacket. Participating FFA members pledge to meet the Blue Jacket Program requirements and the jackets will be awarded to them.

Requirements of the Blue Jacket Program include attending FFA events, completion of community service, submission of satisfactory plans for a Supervised Agricultural Experience Program, service on an FFA Program of Activities committee, completion of a high school agricultural education course, and attendance at the FFA chapter meetings. Additionally, the members selected agree to maintain a positive and cooperative attitude.… Continue reading

By: Georgia Gamble, chapter reporter

Utica FFA’s first CDE (Career Development Event) this year was the State Ag and Urban Soils CDE. This year the whole competition was done online due to COVID- 19. The Ag team was composed of Emily Hill, Abby Paxton, and Kenneth Davenport. The team placed 74th out of 164 teams. Emily placed 107th, Abby Paxton 351st, and Kenneth Davenport placed 749th out of 1,096 participants.

The Urban team placed 93rd out of 108 teams. Chris Young placed 199th and Matt Hite placed 472nd out of 587 participants.  Students were able to watch videos to identify soil textures, viewed pictures of soil pits, took an online knowledge test and a soil survey test.… Continue reading

By: Georgia Gamble, chapter reporter

This year’s National Convention was held online through online sessions and a custom website. There were many other activities offered through the website to make the National Convention experience even better.

This allowed for all FFA members to participate in the National Convention. Members participated in the Connect rooms, where they chatted with other FFA members across the country, the Blue Room about new technology, and checked out the expo.  The Utica FFA Chapter hosted a watch party to view one of the sessions. 35 of our FFA members came and participated. The session included National Chapter Awards, Agricultural Proficiency Awards, Yomar Roman’s retiring address, and many other awards and events. After the session, the members were all given a snack to go.  We also celebrated graduates Seth Blake and Trina Orr for earning their American FFA Degrees, which less than 1% of all FFA members earn.… Continue reading

By: Chloe Shumaker, chapter reporter

On October 22nd, the West Holmes FFA chapter held its annual meeting at West Holmes High School. The meeting was brought to order by President Jayme Pennell. After conducting opening ceremonies they went onto officer reports and new business. The following motions were made: Kyle Mowery moved and Dawson Doretich seconded to have either Koleson McCoy or Janessa Hill as our speaker for the Greenhand Initiation and Chapter Degree Ceremonies. Motion passed. Pacee Miller moved and Kyle Mowery seconded to hold an awareness fair before the November meeting. Motion passed. Dakotah Ringwalt moved and Garrett Houin seconded to send two teams to the District 8 trap shoot and have each member pay $15 for registration. Motion passed. Jess Miller moved and Sarah Irwin seconded to participate in a virtual leadership night. Motion passed.  Garrett Houin moved and Kyle Mowery seconded to have all fruit money due by December 16.… Continue reading

By:  Chloe Shumaker, chapter reporter

On October 20th, 11 West Holmes FFA members participated in the state soils contest. The Rural team placed 39th in the state out of 164 teams. Individually Sarah Irwin was 182nd, Becca Schuch was 211th, Alysa Pringle was 315th, Dakotah Ringwalt was 417th, Jess Miller was 486th, and Garrett Houin was 515th, out of 1,083 individuals. The Urban team was 68th out of 106 teams. Individually Maria Steiner was 265th, Olivia Sampsel was 307th, Blaine Winkler was 397th, Pacee Miller was 457th, and Kadan McDougale was 486th out of 572 individuals.

On October 14th, 10 West Holmes FFA members participated in the district soils contest. This contest consists of finding the slope of the soil, ribboning, and an online test.  The Rural team placed 3rd out of 9 teams. Individually Sarah Irwin was 4th, Becca Schuch was 8th, Dakotah Ringwalt was 14th, Jess Miller was 21st, and Alysa Pringle was 26th, out of 47 individuals. … Continue reading

By: Jadeyn Berry, chapter reporter
Unfortunately, this year FFA members around the country couldn’t attend the National FFA Convention due to the Corona Virus. Some of the chapters in Wayne County were able to put on a watch party to watch this year’s virtual National Convention. Twenty-five students from the Northwestern FFA and Smithvillie FFA Chapters met at the Buckeye Agricultural Museum to watch the 4th session of the Convention. During this session, members heard the retiring address from Kolesen McCoy, the former National FFA President as well as the former Ohio State FFA President.  … Continue reading

The November 2020 Miami East-MVCTC FFA Member of the Month is Landin Putnam. He is a freshman and first year member of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter.

Landin recently competed in the State FFA Urban Soils where he was the highest placing individual from the chapter. He placed 69 out of 572 individuals. He also attended the 2020 National FFA Virtual Convention and has participated in the fruit sales fundraiser.

Every month of the school year the Miami East-MVCTC FFA will select a student to be the FFA Member of the Month.  The officer team will nominate one member that has been actively involved in the FFA chapter, school and community activities.  If selected, the member will be recognized at the monthly FFA meeting, have their picture displayed in the Miami East Ag Room, and will receive a special accolade in celebration of their accomplishment.… Continue reading

Benjamin Logan FFA Graduate Members, Landon Wenger and LeAnn Regula were recently awarded the coveted American FFA Degree at the 93rd National FFA Convention virtually. 

FFA members and supporters from across the country celebrated agricultural education and agriculture during the 93rd National FFA Convention & Expo, Oct. 27-29. In a normal year, if so chosen to, some FFA members would have travelled to Indianapolis, Indiana for the National FFA Convention. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, convention is required to be virtual this year. More members are able to participate in the 2020 convention because of the reason that they are not responsible for making any travel payments. FFA members representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are expected to participate in the virtual event. It’s an opportunity for students to be exposed to new career paths and opportunities – while celebrating the accomplishments these future leaders have made over the past year. 

Students are completing online activities to help make the online convention come to life. Throughout the week, national convention and expo attendees experienced  the FFA Blue Room, which showcases cutting-edge technology, research and innovation in agriculture.… Continue reading

The 93rd National FFA Convention is the largest event hosted by the National FFA. Because of COVID-19 and social distancing restrictions, the 2020 National FFA Convention was held virtually. Members of the Miami East-MVCTC participated in various virtual sessions of the National FFA Convention. Those members included from Miami East-MVCTC FFA were Erin Baker, Isaac Beal, Maya Bowsher, Sydney Brittain, Luke Brunke, Libby Carpenter, Keyara Davis, Ashlee Deaton, Martin Desautels, Katelynn Dill, Dottie Everett, Ethan Fine, Carter Gilbert, Chloe Gump, Fletcher Harris, Kylie Haught, Alaina Helsinger, Reagan Howell, Abigail Kadel, Keira Kirby, Katie Larson, Kyle Larson, Brayden Link, Madison Maxson, McKayah Musselman, Jillian Niswonger, Devan Nix, Elisabeth Norman, Lindsey Ott, Ethan Paulus, Logan Phillips, Adi Richter, Caleb Richter, Ty Roeth, Kaitlyn Roop, Sera Rush, Jimmy Sutherly, Brooklyn Taylor, Sumsaar Thapa, Thomas Wallace, Seth Wells, Lauren Wright, and Brayden Zekas.

Convention activities included attending several general convention sessions were members where inspired by motivational speakers such as the 2019-20 National FFA Officers.… Continue reading

            After competing in neither a county or district forestry competition, the Liberty Union FFA Forestry CDE Team competed in the state online competition on October 6th, 2020. In this Career Development Event, FFA members learn about anything relating to forestry and trees. This CDE has different practicums that change from year to year. This year the team was required to learn forestry equipment identification, timber cruising, an online exam, wood products, tree identification, forestry diseases and disorders, and how to read a topographic map. 

            This CDE is a team competition, but only the top four members on each team contribute to the overall score. This year’s team placed 2nd in the state, with all four members placing within the top 13. Individually, Mary Chesnut placed 4th, Gavin Eastep placed 5th, Brody Poston placed 7th, and Alex Shy placed 13th, out of 404 FFA members. The team will pick up practicing again next year in August.… Continue reading

            As we continue to try and pursue a normal life through a pandemic our FFA Chapter’s Soils Team went into action Tuesday, October 20th, at the State Soils Competition. Due to the current situation the competition was 100% virtual. This was a major change from hands on in the pits to behind the desk and on computers. The contest consists of 2 teams, Urban and Ag. Our Urban Soils team of Jaden Smith, Shayla Shy, Ben Jones, Lindsay Robinson, Jillian Wagner and our Ag Soils team of Cade Craft, Case Alt, Mason Love, Tommy Wolfe, Gabby Huber, Emma Wilson and Mikayla Sage, thoroughly worked the last month to prepare for the competition. During the contest there were three pits that needed to be judged. After completing all three pits the teams had to use that information and complete the Best Management Practices for each pit. Once those portions were done the testing part began.… Continue reading

The 93rd National FFA Convention & Expo may have been held virtually this year, but numbers indicate that many members across the country enjoyed the event. There were more than 217,415 viewers and participants of the event.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision was made in late June to host the largest student event virtually this year instead of in-person. The event kicked off Tuesday, Oct. 27, and students had the opportunity to attend events on a virtual platform.

“When it was clear that the pandemic would preclude our ability to host an in-person convention, we immediately began planning for a fully inclusive virtual event,” said CEO of the National FFA Organization Mark Poeschl. “We recognized that meeting virtually created new opportunities to connect with students from across the country, including those who would never have had a chance to attend the event in Indianapolis. So while we can’t wait for the 94th National FFA Convention & Expo to be back in our home city of Indianapolis, we know that there are aspects of this year’s virtual convention that will be repeated next year and hopefully for years to come to connect with many more FFA members than ever before.”… Continue reading

By Madi Kregel, OCJ field reporter

Hannah Sykes is one of the .5% of FFA members who receive the highest honor they can possibly achieve — the American FFA Degree. It’s been over 40 years since her chapter at Adena High School has had an American Degree recipient. And as of this week, 23 men have earned their American Degree for the chapter, and one woman.

Sykes grew up on her family’s beef farm in Ross County, where she raised and showed market steers and breeding heifers for her SAE project. She had an internship that coincided with her project as well her work at Select Sires, where she was a lab intern. Sykes said the most challenging part of her SAE project was the amount of work and effort that she put into it.

“I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours out at the barn just to get to where I am at this point,” she said.… Continue reading

The National FFA Agriscience Fair recognizes students who gain real-world, hands-on experiences in agricultural enterprises. Students use scientific principles and emerging technologies to solve complex problems related to agriculture, food and natural resources. The agriscience fair is for middle and high school students. Students compete in one of six categories in the agriscience fair and under one of the six divisions — either individually or in a team. Ohio winners include:

Animal Systems: Division 4: Teylor Meyer and Lillian Hughes of the Covington-UVCC FFA

Plant Systems: Division 1: Joscelyn Layman of the Millcreek-West Unity FFA

Power, Structural and Technical Systems: Division 2: Kaylee Jennings and Joanna Hamilton of the Felicity-Franklin FFA

The National FFA Agriscience Fair is sponsored by Cargill, John Deere and Syngenta; Bayer, Corteva, General Mills, Wrangler and Zoetis are sponsors of the agriscience fair pathways.… Continue reading

The 2020 Agricultural Proficiency Winners have been named during the virtual 93rd National FFA Convention & Expo.

Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs), have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers. Students complete in areas ranging from agricultural communications to wildlife management. Proficiency awards are also recognized at local and state levels and provide recognition to members exploring and becoming established in agricultural career pathways. So far, Ohio’s national proficiency winners are:

Veterinary Science – Entrepreneurship/Placement
Bailey Lowe
Bailey Lowe of the Felicity-Franklin FFA Chapter has always had an interest in animals, but her experience was limited to mainly feeding and bathing dogs and cats. In her sophomore year in high school, she was hired as a kennel attendant at a local veterinary clinic. Her duties required her to feed, water, and walk domestic animals in addition to giving them medications and vaccinations.… Continue reading

By Meredith Oglesby, OCJ FFA reporter

Ohio FFA has 33 three-star chapters to be recognized at the 93^rd National FFA Convention and Expo. This award is the highest ranking a chapter can achieve and recognizes outstanding FFA chapters that are growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture.

The McClain FFA Chapter in Highland County is a three-star chapter being honored for the third year in a row.

“To our chapter receiving the three-star chapter award is a huge deal,” said Maysun Faulconer, 2020-2021 McClain FFA Reporter. “We are honored and very proud of our officer teams who have worked hard and paved the way for our chapter to reach its goals.”

To become a three-star chapter, McClain sets goals, improves events, uses the National Quality FFA Chapter Standards and outlines a program of activities. For each event, the chapter sets goals, outlines the process to achieve the goals and then executes the event.… Continue reading

The National FFA Organization has announced the 2020 National FFA Agriscience Fair finalists. The winners will be recognized during the 93rd National FFA Convention & Expo, which will be held virtually this year.

The National FFA Agriscience Fair recognizes students who gain real-world, hands-on experiences in agricultural enterprises. Students use scientific principles and emerging technologies to solve complex problems related to agriculture, food and natural resources. The agriscience fair is for middle and high school students. Students will compete in one of six categories in the agriscience fair and under one of the six divisions — either individually or in a team.

The recipients that finished in the top three, listed alphabetically from Ohio are: 

Animal Systems: Division 4 Lillian Hughes of the Covington-UVCC FFA

Food Products and Processing Systems: Division 2
 
Faith Jennings and Ayla Rutherford of the Felicity-Franklin FFA

Plant Systems: Division 1 
Joscelyn Layman of the Millcreek-West Unity FFA

Power, Structural and Technical Systems: Division 1
 Alora Siegel of the Millcreek-West Unity FFA 



Power, Structural and Technical Systems: Division 2
 Kaylee Jennings and Joanna Hamilton of the Felicity-Franklin FFA

Power, Structural and Technical Systems: Division 4
 
Matthew Ruff and Joseph Elder of the Westfall FFA


Social Science: Division 5
 Madisen Jolliff of the Ridgemont FFA.… Continue reading