FFA News

By: Jessica Millenbaugh, Colonel Crawford FFA Reporter

David Wagner and Duane Shawk received The American FFA Degree at the 84th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis on Saturday, October 22th 2011. It is the highest degree awarded by the National FFA Organization and it recognizes these students’ leadership abilities and outstanding achievements in Agricultural business, production, processing, and service programs. Less than one in 154 FFA members advance through their local chapter and state degree programs to earn this national degree.
David Wagner, a 2010 Colonel Crawford H.S. graduate, and the son of Dick and Joan Wagner, has chosen to attend The Ohio State’s Agriculture Technical college in Wooster, where he is a sophomore majoring in Power and Equiptment. David’s SAE projects included various home improvement projects, working on the family farm, and taking dairy beef cattle to the fair. He received his American Degree by keeping records on all of his SAE projects from the past 5 years, his school, leadership, and community service activities, and participation in many Chapter, State, and National FFA activities.… Continue reading

By: Stephanie Glass, chapter reporter

On Tuesday, November 8, Zane Trace FFA students Sarah Cox, David Glass, and Stephanie Glass participate in the Agricultural Communications Career Development event (CDE). The teams placed sixth in the contest, with Sarah Cox placing fourth overall individually. She was followed by David, who placed tenth, and Stephanie, who placed sixteenth. This contest is made up of three parts: a presentation, and editing exercise, and individual practicum. The presentation is based on a media developed by the students; this year’s subject was FFA recruitment. The practicums, chosen by the members of the team based on their personal strengths, include writing a press release, developing a plan for using social media as a means of advertisement, and creating an add using graphic design.… Continue reading

To kick off the month of October the Fort Loramie FFA chapter sent 9 first year FFA members to the 2011 State Greenhand Conference hosted by the Versailles FFA Chapter. These members included Hailey Wray, Amanda Seger, Sara Maurer, Ashley Pleiman, Lindsey Pleiman, Janell Hoying, Bailey Koverman, Elizabeth Kunkler, and Sara Bornhorst. The theme for this year’s conference was “First Down and Life to Go.” First year Greenhand member, Janell Hoying said, “Attending the Greenhand Conference made me aware of all the different opportunities throughout the FFA; it was also a lot of fun and a good way to meet other FFA members in the area.”  Members attended several workshops to learn about opportunities in the FFA, setting goals, working together as teams, and proper communication skills. They also had the opportunity to gain experience with a variety of Career Development Events.

The Fort Loramie FFA is a satellite program of the Upper Valley Career Center.… Continue reading

By: Stephanie Glass, chapter reporter

Zane Trace FFA members David Glass, Stephanie Glass, and Audrey Hoey attended Pickaway Ross’s Farm Safety Day on Saturday, November 19. They spent the morning educating kids ages 3-11 about wildlife safety. They identified wild animals common to this area, and stressed the importance of never approaching, feeding, or running from a wild animal. They also shared with the children and their parents tips for avoiding dangerous run-ins with wild animals while camping. David, Audrey, and Stephanie found the experience very gratifying, and look forward to future opportunities for educating young children.… Continue reading

By: Katelyne Ackley, chapter reporter

On November 14, 2011 Benjamin Logan had forty-six FFA Members who earned their Greenhand FFA Degree. For more information you can visit https://www.ffa.org/programs/degrees/Pages/GreenhandDegree.aspx#. The officer team helped with the tie- tying and trivia contests. The first place trivia winner was Erik Weeks with second place going to Kaitie Crum. Our tie tying champion was Zak Wirrick with runner up Brady Bechtel. As a prize, winners received an FFA tie or scarf. Following the meeting the chapter celebrated with refreshments.… Continue reading

On Tuesday, November 15, the district FFA Food Science Career Development Event (CDE) was held at Zane Trace. Zane Trace’s team included: Jessie Proehl, Sarah Cox, Kassandra Dalton, Stephanie Glass, Eva Bugg, Heather Yeater, Beau Belik, Whitney Bellomy, and Nicole Jordan. Participants competed in four separate activities. These activities included: aroma identification, response to customer complaint letter, safety violation identification, and a triangle taste test. Zane Trace won the contest, with three members placing in the top four individuals. Jessie Proehl, Sarah Cox, and Kassandra Dalton placed second, third, and forth, respectively. These three, along with Eva Bugg, will advance to the state contest at The Ohio State University.… Continue reading

Recently the Miami East FFA Food Science and Technology Team and Agricultural Communication Team competed in the District 5 Contests hosted by St. Henry High School.

In the Food Science and Technology Contest contestants included Jacob Eidemiller, Amanda Bartel, Angelina Henger, Corrine Melvin, and Andrew Kowalak. The team placed 4th out of 31 teams. The highest placing individual from Miami East was Amanda Bartel, who placed 2nd in the entire contest. There were more than 120 individuals in the contest.

During the contest the team members were asked to complete a product development scenario in which they calculated the nutritional facts for a new food product and design a new package.  Also they completed an aroma identification section, took a written test, responded to a mock customer complaint letter, identified sanitation errors in the food industry, and completed a taste sensory test.

Additionally, the Agricultural Communications team competed in the District 5 competition.… Continue reading

Eight Fort Loramie Agricultural Education students recently attended the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN. These members include: Katelyn Seger, Taylor Broerman, Brandon Barlage, Sara Meyer, Doug Seger, Amy Holthaus Laura Poeppelman, and Lindsey Pleiman.

FFA members first started of their trip by getting involved with Community Service at Agape Food Pantry in Sidney where they helped to package and label items.  During their trip they also went on a variety of different tours to experience all types of Agriculture careers. These tours included trips to a Chevy truck manufacturing plant, Beck’s Hybrid Seeds, Tyson Meat processing plant and Fair Oaks Dairy. First year member Lindsey Pleiman said, “Visiting Beck’s Hybrid was an awesome way to experience another side of agriculture outside of our community.”  Members also attended several sessions of the National Convention lead by the national FFA officers.

Six former Fort Loramie FFA members received their American FFA Degrees. … Continue reading

By Emily Cordle, Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Reporter

On October 19^th through the 22^nd, the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA chapter had the opportunity to send members to attend the 86^th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. There were 29 members, 1 chaperone, and the 2 advisors, Mr. Tilley and Mr. Sharp, who attended the trip. The members attending were:

• Freshmen:

o      Cheyenne Gallant, Susan Householder, Kayla Luft, Nicole Parrish, Kaylee Reed, Autumn Spencer, Morgan Thompson, Alek Doss, Cole Genders, Josh Kempton, Johnny Lemaster, Josh Metzon, Austin Stai, and Adrian Wymer

• Sophomores

o      Katerina Sharp, Rachel Stoneburner, and Devan Boyer

• Juniors

o      Mikaila Drake and Carrie Stoneburner

• Seniors

o      Caitlin Robinson,  Sierra Jepsen, Cody Brewer, John Miller and Seth Sayre.

• Graduate Members

o      Kelsie Sharp, Hannah Chenetski,  Aaron Miller, David Sams and Tyler Van Horn

The group stayed at the Ruth Lily Outdoor Center, which is part of the Flat Rock YMCA.… Continue reading

Miami East High School went “healthy” during the week of November 14 with activities sponsored by the Miami East FFA Chapter.  This project was made possible due to a $500 grant by the Ohio Small Grains Marketing Group.

The Healthy Lifestyle Committee sponsored a Food For Thought Log in which students and staff would record all the food and drink that they partake of during a day. During study halls, students received a healthy snack for keeping their log updated. Snacks included an apple, orange or banana, a low-fat whole grain snack bar, or water and a non-fat yogurt. About half of the high school participated in this activity. A special thank you goes to the Dannon Company for their donation of yogurt.

Additionally, the high school attended a Healthy Lifestyles Fair during lunch. Displays were provided by the Upper Valley Medical Center Sports Medicine, Miami Valley Hospital, Stone’s Throw Cooperative, Miami East Schools Nurse Jeanelle Adkins, and the Farm to Consumer Foundation.… Continue reading

On October 1, 2011 first year members of the Benjamin Logan FFA attended the Versailles Greenhand Conference. The theme was “First Down and Life to go.” Throughout the conference, members attended different sessions to learn more about various Career Development Events. Versailles’s officers assisted with each session along with State and Ohio’s National Officer Candidate. The main focuses involved: opportunities, in FFA and Leadership, teamwork, goal setting, and communication. Members attending were: Bobby Brown, Trenton Harshfield, Shelbi Henault, Noah Henry, Taryn Johnson, Harvey Mcann, Taylor Miller, Mylee Monterroza, Carly Shaffer, Ryan Stamford, Kia Tevis, Alex Bickham, Tyler Harshfield, and Tyler Tevis.… Continue reading

On Saturday November 5th, the West Holmes FFA sent 10 members to the District 8 trap shoot at Bethesda Sportsman Club. They were separated into two teams, Team A which consisted of Travis Campbell, Derek Reutter, Brandon Bowles, Atlee Miller and Terry Medley. They placed 4^th out of 15 with a score of 148..  Team B consisted of Chris Sprang, Vincent Schlauch, Wyatt Mellor, Jace Freewalt, and Wes Adams. They placed 11^th out of 15 teams with a score of 113. While there, members participated in shooting clay pigeons in two sets of five rounds with a maximum score of 250 points. Great job to those members who participated.

During the 2011 Antique Festival, the West Holmes FFA presented a float in the youth category of the parade. Members prepared, designed, and decorated the float during study halls, lunch periods, and after school. The float consisted of fall mums, pumpkins, corn stalks, and ribbon along with highlighted events the Chapter has done over the past year and upcoming events.… Continue reading

Written by: Keirston Pangborn

On November 12th 2011, Mt. Gilead FFA hosted a sporting clay shoot at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio. In attendance were Clearfork FFA and Mt. Gilead FFA. Clearfork took first place in both junior and senior divisions. Senior division top overall shooter was Brandon Mugrage of Mt. Gilead. Top overall junior shooter was Jonah Albert of Clearfork
We would like to thank Brian Mugrage and Dale Minyo for putting together and running the shoot. Also to the Mt. Gilead FFA alumni for helping score, and everyone who participated in the event. Also we would like to give a huge thank you to the Cardinal Shooting Center for letting us use their facility. The Cardinal Shooting Center is open Wednesday and Friday: Noon to dark, and Saturday and Sunday: 9am to dark. If you would like more information on shooting their lodge number is 614-500-8794. Again we thank everyone who made this event possible.… Continue reading

The Miami Trace FFA is now holding its annual fruit sale which began on October 15^th and is going through November. The fruit sale, held every year by Miami Trace FFA, helps the chapter and students raise money for students to go on trips and for freshmen to receive their FFA jackets. During the sell, the students sell many different fruits such as apples, grapefruit, oranges, and also sell other items like calendars, and this year a cookbook composed of recipes from FFA families. The fruit is delivered from many different states and sent to Miami Trace.   Also, the students who sell over a certain amount of fruit receive a cash prize award sponsored by the FFA alumni. If anyone would like to purchase any fruit from the FFA please contact the Ag department at, 740-333-4760.… Continue reading

By Elizabeth McAvoy, Chapter Reporter and Amanda Evans , Chapter President

On October 30, 2011, the Mount Gilead FFA chapter held their annual Fall Fun day. The chapter invited younger kids to take part in backyard games and enjoy hotdogs, candy, and desserts. FFA members enjoyed spending time with the children while informing them on various farm animals and plants. Not to mention, the fall recreation including sack races, egg races, tractor pulls, apple bobbing, and musical chairs. Members and guests also let their creative side shine by face and pumpkin painting. At the end of the event, everyone was invited to take a ride on the hay wagon and Case tractor provided by Scott Gompf of S and J Stock Farms. The Chapter found this event a success and hope to see more kids and guests next fall!… Continue reading

Chapters in 12 States will compete for $300,000 of incentives provided by Monsanto

Connections within the community and financial resources are two of the most helpful ways for FFA chapters to grow their influence and reach. Now, chapters in 12 states can register for the opportunity to use one to get the other – thanks to the 2012 FFA Chapter Challenge.

After a successful pilot program last year, FFA and Monsanto have expanded FFA Chapter Challenge to  12 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. More than 3,300 FFA chapters and their combined 236,000 FFA members can take part in the FFA Chapter Challenge.

Beginning Jan. 16, registered FFA chapters in eligible states will be challenged to reach out to farmers in their communities and learn more about their livelihood. In turn, farmers will go online to vote for their local FFA chapter.… Continue reading

Riverdale FFA students showed their knowledge of Parliamentary Procedure as they competed in the Wyandot County contest last week. Riverdale had two participating teams, the Chapter Team and the Beginner Team. Teams traveled to Mohawk to present their knowledge and to show off their official dress. The teams were judged on their ability to run a timely and accurate business meeting with multiple tasks to accomplish. Both teams finished third in the contest.… Continue reading

By Stephanie Glass, ZT FFA Reporter

Sarah Cox, a senior member of the Zane Trace FFA Chapter, was named as a finalist in the FFA National Agriscience Student of the Year competition during the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.  Sarah earned this honor based on her research on treating hoof rot in goats with an extract from concord grapes.  During the convention, Sarah presented her research to a panel of judges and answered questions from them regarding her work.  She was recognized on stage with a plaque and awarded a scholarship of $750.00 from the National FFA Foundation.

In addition to these honors, Sarah was given the opportunity to visit the Monsanto research facility in St. Louis, Missouri along with the other seven finalists in the award area from November 9^th-11^th.  During their trip the students learned about the role Monsanto is playing in helping to improve agriculture by touring their research greenhouses,

job shadowing with Monsanto employees and participating in discussions on sustainable agriculture and the use of technology to solve problems facing our world food supply. … Continue reading

By Stephanie Glass, ZT FFA Reporter

During the recent National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, five members of the Zane Trace FFA Chapter had the opportunity to participate in the National Agriscience Fair.  These members earned their entry into the fair by placing first and earning gold ratings in the Ohio Agriscience fair held in May.  The members competed in areas of Botany and Microbiology/Biotech/Food Science with their research projects that they conducted as a part of their supervised agriculture experience program through their agriculture classes at Zane Trace.

After the judging was completed, the five students attended an Agriscience awards brunch sponsored by Dow Agrosciences, Monsanto and Syngenta.  During the brunch, results of the competition were announced.  David Glass and Audrey Hoey were the top placing students out of the group, receiving 2^nd place and a gold rating in the Botany Senior Team division.   Stephanie Glass and Jessie Proehl also received a gold rating on their project in the Food Science/Biotech/Microbiology Senior Team division while Beau Bilek earned a bronze rating in the Botany Junior individual division. … Continue reading

By Stephanie Glass, ZT FFA Reporter

“I believe in the future of Agriculture, with a faith born not of words but of deeds.”

Any FFA Member would recognize those words as the beginning of the FFA creed. The theme of the 84th National FFA Convention was centered on the first two words of the creed: I Believe. Many of the speeches and activities during this convention encouraged students to establish and stand up for what they believe in.

To begin their convention journey, 39 members of the Zane Trace and Paint Valley FFA Chapters met at Zane Trace on Wednesday, October 19, and from there they set off to Indianapolis. They kicked off the trip by touring the career show as a group, then dining at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro where they learned to properly use chopsticks and enjoy fortune cookies. From there, the group headed over to Conseco Field House for opening session with Dave Roever, a Vietnam veteran and purple heart recipient. … Continue reading