FFA News

It was a beautiful, brisk morning in early October on the Fairfield County farm of Walter Bader for the 2016 Ohio FFA state soil judging competitions.

In agricultural soils the top five individuals were:

1. Ethan Cockerill, Greenfield McClain
2. Holly McClay, Fredericktown
3. Spencer Crauder, Talawanda
4. Rebecca McCarty, East Knox
5. Ryan Matthews, Fredericktown

The top five teams in agricultural soils were:

1. Greenfield McClain

2. East Knox

3. Fredericktown

4. Talawanda

5. Buckeye Central High School.

In urban soils the top five individuals were:

1. Kendra Stahl, Buckeye Central
2. Kendra Denton, Fredericktown
3. Austen Wood, Northwestern (West Salem)
4. Cody Kiefer, Talawanda
5. Craig Jasin, Centerville.

The top five teams in urban soils were:

1. Buckeye Central
2. Talawanda
3. Centerville
4. Greenfield McClain
5. Northwestern (West Salem).

The October 2016 Miami East-MVCTC FFA Member of the Month is Anna Puthoff. She is the daughter of James and Cheryl Puthoff of Conover. She is a sophomore and first year member of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter.

Anna recently participated in the county and district rural soils Career Development Event. Her scores helped the team place in the top 20 teams in the district. Anna also attended the State Greenhand Conference at Versailles High School.

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 student 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

The 2016 A-C FFA Environmental and Natural Resources Career Development Event team, consisting of Billy L’Hullier, Bronowyn Cummings, Blair Farmer and Michael Montoney, placed seventh in the state of Ohio in this very challenging Career Development Event area.

The Environmental and Natural Resources Management CDE is a team oriented contest with four members working together to solve different problems and perform different tasks related to natural resources management. In addition, the team must make a presentation about an environmental topic to a panel of judges. Currently, this is an invitation-only CDE.

To participate, a chapter must have a CDE team place in the top 5 in the state of Ohio in any of the following contest areas: Forestry, Rural Soils, Urban Soils, Nature Interpretation or Wildlife Management.

This is the eighth year the chapter has placed in the top ten in the state of Ohio, winning the state contest two times.… Continue reading

On Wednesday September 28th, four Anthony Wayne FFA officers attended the Ohio FFA Legislative Leadership Conference.

To begin the conference, several representatives from Ohio Farm Bureau taught the FFA members about lobbying, bills, and government relations. After listening to the speakers, FFA members participated in an activity that taught them about the roles of legislators and lobbyists. Once the activity was complete, members were released for a break and self-directed tour of the Ohio Statehouse before lunch. District 2 Senator Randy Gardner joined the Anthony Wayne FFA members for lunch, and shared about his journey to the senate. His aide also shared advice about pursuing a career in government. After lunch, Senator Gardner gave the Anthony Wayne FFA members a tour of the state house, that concluded with a visit to the senate chamber where the students sat in the senator’s personal chair.

The conference ended with remarks from Senator Troy Balderson, Ohio FFA President Mary Buehler, and Ohio FFA Vice President-At-Large Ryan Matthews.… Continue reading

The greenhand members of the Madison-Plains FFA chapter joined together on Saturday,
October 1st to meet their officer team and receive their FFA Jackets.

The cost of the jackets was partially paid for by the chapter as a gift for these members, for whom without the chapters future is unknown.

Kameron Rinehart, Ohio Vice President at Large spoke to the greenhands and their parents about the benefits and importance of the organization. The officer team is excited to see its newest members accell and develop into tomorrow’s leaders.… Continue reading

Members from the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter were recently challenged to participate in the annual Chapter Corn Contest. The rules of the contest were to bring in one ear of corn and earn a corn-related prize. All participants got a can of soda pop because corn syrup is a major ingredient. Overall winners were presented an FFA T-shirt from the FFA Chapter.

A winner is chosen based on the predicted yield of the corn. The grand prize winner was determined by the highest yield estimate, based on plant population per acre. Agriculture Education students in plant and animal sciences took time in class to figure the predicted yield of corn ears as part of their continuing education of agronomy.

The overall winner was Kearsten Kirby. Her corn was predicted to yield 327 bushels to the acre with a 34,000 seed population per acre. Second place went to Alyssa Westgerdes who presented an ear of corn that is predicted to produce 279 bushels per acre with a 30,000 seed population per acre.… Continue reading

The Buckeye Central FFA chapter competed in the District 2 soil judging contest on Sept. 27.

In the urban contest, BC placed second out of 16 schools with an overall score of 2576.

Sophomore Mason Stahl placed first on the team with a score of 900. Stahl was also placed second individual out of a total of 70 individual students competing.

Junior Makayla Aichholz and junior Kendra Stahl tied for second on the team and 6th overall individuals, both scoring 838.

Rounding off the team was junior Jared Clark with a score of 832 which put him in 9th place as an individual.

“I’m excited that I was able to compete and could help the team move on to state,” Clark said.

The rural team placed fourth out of 19 teams with a score of 2576.

Placing first on the team was sophomore Madi Diesch, with a score of 898. Diesch was the fourth ranked overall judger out of 84 total participants.… Continue reading

On September 20th, several Anthony Wayne FFA members took a field trip to the Sunshine facilities in Maumee. To begin the field trip, the classes toured Sunshine’s barn and greenhouse, while learning about volunteer opportunities. After the tour, the classes split up and began different activities. The Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources II and Genetics classes worked with the residents of Sunshine to build their own hydroponics systems out of gallon jugs. They will be growing basil and lettuce in these systems. Madelynn Mangold said “My favorite part was helping the residents and seeing the smiles on their faces when they knew that they were going to be able to grow their own food by hydroponics”.  The Equine & Vet Science and Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources II students cleaned horse stalls in the barn. They also painted and washed ponies to help desensitize the animals so that they are safe for the Sunshine residents.… Continue reading

The West Holmes FFA Chapter will have four American Degree recipients at the 2016 National FFA Convention. Members Elise Neville, Chris Sprang, Morgan Hoxworth, and Shyann Kick will receive their degrees October 22nd in Louisville. In order to be eligible for the American FFA Degree, members must have the following qualifications: they had to have obtained the State FFA Degree, been an active member for 3 years, have participated in activities on the chapter and state levels, have graduated at least 12 months before the National FFA Convention, have maintained records that express an outstanding supervised agricultural experience program, have earned and productively invested at least $7,500 or have earned and productively invested at least $1,500 and have worked 2,250 hours in excess of class time, and have expressed outstanding leadership abilities and have maintained a high school scholastic record of “C” or better.

Elise Neville worked as an intern at OSU, researching soil and water characteristics and studying on how to adjust plant growth.… Continue reading

The Madison-Plains FFA Chapter is proud to introduce their 2016-2017 officer team. Each and every one of these members has been chosen to run the chapter for a number of different reasons. Whether it be there skills in leadership or their undying dedication to the chapter, each of these members have special skills chosen to help push the chapter to new heights. This year’s officer team includes; President, Morgan Hunter, Vice President, Jacob Petee, Secretary, Elizabeth Macdowell, Treasurer, Alexis Zaweski, Reporter, Madeline Manning, Student Advisor, Ian Richards, Sentinel, Dillan Rice, and Historian, Haylee Henry. The assistant officers are, assistant treasurer, Martina Miller, assistant reporter, Mackenzie Wilson, assistant secretary, Courtney Cress, and finally the Program of activities director, Sarah Depugh.… Continue reading

On September 6th, six Anthony Wayne FFA members attended the Fulton County livestock judging competition at the Fulton County Fairgrounds. During the event the competitors were required to rank different species of livestock ranging from cattle to swine. They judged the animals based on their muscle quality as well as structural correctness. This event gave members a look into what it takes to properly evaluate the animals for market. The Anthony Wayne FFA team consisting of Nicole McMullen, Tayler Common, and Lila Common placed first in the high school team division. Tayler also placed second as an individual in the high school division.

Common said “It was very fun and I learned a lot about livestock”. Overall, it was a successful competition, and was an excellent opportunity for students to begin preparing for the FFA general livestock contest in the spring.… Continue reading

A visitor from The Ohio State University came to help the Madison Plains FFA chapter in a student teaching activity. David Jenner, Northeastern FFA alumni is majoring in Agricultural Education at The Ohio State University.

During his time in the FFA Jenner was a very active participant. He received his State Degree, and this fall he will receive his American Degree at the 89th annual National FFA Convention. Jenner said he can see that the ag industry growing, more people are needed to educate the upcoming generations entering the industry.

He wants to give back to the organization that helped him become the person today. When asked what message he wants to leave for the chapter members, Jenner replied with a very simple, yet meaningful message, “Don’t take the FFA for granted.” He explained the significance the organization has made in his life and encourage everyone to get involved and allow the FFA to do the same for them.… Continue reading

During the summer, the Hiland FFA officer team went to Camp Muskingum and rented a cabin for one night. Throughout the retreat the officers were divided up and had a choice of either cooking lunch, supper, or breakfast. The officers needed to clean up after the meal was finished. Another activity was stacking cups on top of one another while only using rubber bands and no hands were allowed to be used or they would be disqualified. There were four groups of two and each person had hold of one end of the rubber band. The rubber bands were tied together so that it would hold a plastic cup for the the students to continue their tower. At the end of the game the group with the tallest tower won. The officers wrote activities that they do in their free time on balloons (one activity per balloon) to see how the officers can involve their officer duties in their busy schedule.… Continue reading

Three students from the Fort Recovery High School were recently awarded Fort Recovery Vocational Scholarships of $400 each.

Students receiving this scholarship were Nate Knapke, Leah Kunk, and Adam Schmitz. This award is presented to seniors from Fort Recovery who were taking a vocational program through Fort Recovery High School or Tri-Star Career Compact.

To become eligible for the scholarship, the student must be nominated by their employer, teacher, or guidance counselor and show an interest in pursuing secondary education at a college, university, or technical school.

The scholarship committee would like to thank many local businesses and community members for donating to the scholarship fund over the years. This year’s donors were: A1 Ag Services Inc., Farm Credit Services Inc., Fort Recovery Industries, Green’s Quality Meats LLC., Hastings Auto Sales, Jutte Enterprises, Klingshirn & Sons Trucking, LeFeld Welding and Steel Inc., Mike Kahlig and Son Inc., Nature’s Corner, Reinhard Dairy Products, St.… Continue reading

Two Buckeye Valley-DACC FFA members have been recognized for their outstanding Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects.  SAEs provide students the opportunity to maintain long term, self determined experiential learning projects that directly relate to classroom concepts.

After being declared state winners in May, Curtis Harsh and Sarah Lehner had their projects forwarded to the National FFA Organization for further review.  Sarah, a Buckeye Valley junior, had her dairy production entrepreneurship project returned and rated gold. Curtis’ beef production entrepreneurship project was rated gold, and selected as one of four national finalists to be judged at the National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana this October.

Curtis is a 2015 Buckeye Valley graduate currently attending Iowa State University majoring in animal science.… Continue reading

The Hiland FFA Chapter this past June sent five members to Ohio FFA Camp at Camp Muskingum. The FFA members were registered and hiked to the cabins to find their bunk. Once campers found their sleeping area they competed in the Grassy Games, which is where the members play games to get to know each other.

Later the first night campers went with their groups, and had to work together to complete a Low Ropes Course. On day two there was a High Ropes Course, which is a team building activity, has rock climbing, and ziplining.

During camp there was an event called the International Waters, which is where the members played in the water like take part in a sand castle building contest, drip, drip splash (played like duck, duck goose), water slide, dodgeball game, and many more games. The attendees could purchase ducks during camp. The ducks are put into a drawing, and if their duck is selected they have the opportunity to pie a State Officer, a staff member, or an advisor in the face.… Continue reading

During the week of June 6th – 10th five members of the Zane Trace FFA Chapter traveled to Camp Muskingum near Carrollton, Ohio for the first session of Ohio FFA Summer Camp.

During their time at camp the members were divided into different camp chapters to help them get to know some of the other 280+ FFA members from around Ohio who attended.

The different camp chapters also participated in an Olympics themed competition in which teams received points for participation in sports tournaments, speaking competitions and other contests held during the week. When not involved in these activities students took part in various leadership building events including a high ropes course, obstacle challenges and group meetings.

Senior members also had the opportunity to serve the Carrollton community during their time at camp as they partnered with Carroll County MRDD to conduct a sports themed day at camp for adults in the MRDD programs. … Continue reading

The 2016-2017 Urbana FFA officer retreat was held on June 1st and continued through the 2nd. After taking officer photos, goals were set for the upcoming school year. The focus was on chapter and team goals while setting up percentages for improvement. The picnic table for fair was sanded and finished by several officers, and others helped clean out and transfer items from Mr. Wilhelm’s shop for the school renovations. A lunch of BBQ chicken, beans, coleslaw and macaroni salad was prepared by the team. Plans for the new school year were made, officer meetings were planned, and events were scheduled. AET was updated as far as dates and meetings. The importance of uploading photos and keeping up to date were stressed. Students then broke out to work on personal duties like officer books, articles, receipts and disbursements, and correspondences. Lots of work was diligently completed and the team headed out for Indian Lake.… Continue reading

In early June, six members of the Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter attended the first session of Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum, Carrollton, Ohio. Members attending included: Katie Bodenmiller, Daniel Everett, Jessica Gillum, Couy Moreland, Morgan Moreland, and Alex Zapadka. There were over 230 campers in attendance with additional State FFA Officers, FFA Camp Staff, and dozens of FFA Advisors from across the state.

The 2016 theme was an Olympic-themed week of “Gold Jackets, Gold Medals.” During the week members also participated in various sports tournaments involving softball, sand volleyball, basketball, tetherball, horse shoes, ping pong, and corn hole. Additional competitions included group presentations on recycling, reciting of the FFA Camp Creed, rifle, shotgun, and archery. Each morning, before breakfast, campers had the opportunity to plunge into the lake or take a sunrise walk.

During the first day members met fellow members in their camp country, camp rules, and participated in a dance.… Continue reading

The 48th annual West Muskingum FFA Banquet Was held May 13th, 2016.  Dinner was provided by the FFA Chapter, North Valley Bank, and the families of the students in the West Muskingum FFA. After the meal, President Evan Iden installed State Representative Brian Hill as our 2016 Honorary Chapter Degree Recipient. Representative Hill helped our school to secure partial funding with Zane State College to upgrade our agricultural facility.

We awarded our Fruit Sale Awards from the 2015 fruit sale. 1st Place went to Madisyn Farus;2nd Place to Joey Suchland; 3rd Place to Ryan Davis; 4th Place to Karrie Kokensparger and 5th Place to Alexis Jenkins. We recognized our career development participants from the school year, presenting them with certificates to signify their participation. As a chapter earned District Plaques for placing 5th place or higher in CDE’s during the year. Those were earned for District Forestry, District Urban Soils, Wildlife Identification and Nature Interpretation.… Continue reading