Amanda-Clearcreek FFA News

March of 2019

by Stephanie Bowers, Reporter

Next FFA Meeting

The next FFA meeting will take place on Monday, March 18th at 7:00 p.m. in the Ag Center. The Ag Challenge following the meeting will be “Tug of War.” Five male and five female members will be needed from each grade level. Freshmen will go against sophomores while juniors will go against seniors. The grade level left standing will be the winner!

Upcoming Events

Ag Breakfast: The April Ag Breakfast will take place Friday, April 5th at 6:15 a.m. at a location to be decided at the March meeting. All members are welcome to attend. Come enjoy fellowship and a good meal.

Mulch Sale Changes: The A-C FFA Chapter’s annual mulch sale will be starting this month. Keep in mind the BIG changes made to our mulch sale two years ago. As before, the chapter will be selling 2-cubic-foot bags rather than 3-cubic-foot bags. There are multiple reasons for this:

• It is becoming harder for the chapter to get the five types of mulch we have been offering in the 3-cubic-foot bags. The industry is shifting to smaller bags.
• The chapter has been fielding more and more concerns, and a few complaints, about the weight of the larger bags. Smaller bags should help with those concerns.

In addition to the mulch bag size change, the chapter will be selling black mulch ‘fines’ that are ground up finer than the standard black mulch (not hardwood, but dyed black). This is also per request of various customers.

So, be on the lookout for FFA members selling mulch in the next few weeks! If there are ever concerns about mulch, please contact an FFA advisor, and they will try to help you.

Upcoming CDE Contests

• Equine Management CDE: Testing your knowledge of the equine industry, this contest consists of an online test, judging a class of horses, identifying different types of poisonous weeds, and judging hay. This team consists of Ellie Duncan, Addy Jones, Eldon Williams, and Sydney Young. This team will compete in the State Preliminary contest on March 23rd. Good luck to these participants!
• General Livestock CDE: Members in this contest judge four common meat animals: beef cattle, swine, sheep, and goats. Participants are split into different groups and will rank the animals from the best specimen to the poorest. There is also an online test that will assess their knowledge of animal diseases and their history. This year the team consists of Cole Bryan, Drew Evans, Olivia Hutchison, Allie Poston, and Kaylee Sharp. This team will compete in the State Preliminary contest on March 23rd. Good luck to the A-C FFA members participating in this contest!

• Nature Interpretation CDE: This CDE tests participants on identifying equipment, mammal pelts, skulls, reptiles, amphibians, songbirds, and non-wood plants in the form of a written test, pictures, and actual items. There are also two practicums the participants have to complete as well. The team this year consists of Garrett Dearth, Bryson L’Huillier, Trevor Spence, and Jules White. This team will compete in the state finals contest March 23rd. Good luck to our Nature Interpretation team!

• Poultry CDE: For this contest, members are tested on their understanding of the poultry industry. This contest consists of an online test, candling eggs, identification of meat cuts, judging live birds, judging processed patties, and judging carcasses. This team consists of Cierra Andrews, Stephanie Bowers, Quinton Lott, Jay Sahr, and Dorothea West. The State Preliminary contest will be held March 23rd. Good luck to the participating members!
• Wildlife Management CDE: In this contest, members will be required to identify game birds, fish, plants, equipment, mammal pelts, and skulls. This team consists of A.J. Dossman, Kyle Hicks, Tim Smith, Jordan Hite, Cade L’Huillier, and Tyler Poling. The Wildlife Management team will compete at the state finals contest March 23rd. Good luck to the team as they compete at state!
• State Agronomy CDE: Testing knowledge and understanding of the crop industry, members have to take a multiple choice test, identify insect pests, and be able to identify crops and weeds by their seeds, leaves, or whole plant. This year’s team consists of Kristian Lobo, Alison Eveland, Emmalee McGee, and Brant Poston. This team will compete March 23rd.

• Meat Evaluation CDE: In this CDE, students develop the skills needed for careers in the meat animal industry. During the event, members evaluate beef carcasses for quality and yield grade; identify various meat cuts and place carcasses, and identify wholesale and/or retail cuts. Members of this team are Paige Hinton, Olivia Hutchison, Dawson Mullen, and Allie Poston. The state competition will be on April 27th. Good luck to this team!
• Animal Management CDE: This contest requires members to study various aspects of small animals, such as their history, breeds, characteristics, diseases, and how to properly handle and care for them. The members of this team will be finalized soon. Good luck to the participants as they take the qualifying test on Tuesday, March 26th. If they qualify, they will compete at the state finals contest April 17th.
• Veterinary Science CDE: The Veterinary Science CDE provides opportunities for participants to develop technical knowledge and demonstrate practical skills in the field of veterinary science. The members of this team will be finalized soon. The qualifying test will be held on Tuesday, March 26th. If they qualify, the state finals will be held April 17th. Good luck to all participants!
• Ag Sales CDE: This CDE consists of four members. They have ten minutes to prepare and sell a product to a judge, in addition to completing a practicum. This year’s team includes Paige Hinton, Ellie Sahr, Jullian Scott, and Noah Smith. They compete Tuesday, March 5th. Best of luck to this CDE team!

Completed CDEs

Public Speaking CDE: Public speaking CDE categories, Senior Prepared Speaking (Allie Poston), Beginning Prepared Speaking (Morgan Anderson), Creed Speaking (Sara Sharp), Advanced Creed (Kiley Holbrook), and Extemporaneous (Aaron Sharp), competed March 2nd. Allie Poston placed top six in the state, Morgan Anderson placed top ten in the state, and Kiley Holbrook placed second in the state. Both Sara Sharp and Aaron Sharp placed first in the state, and will be competing at the National contest in the fall!

Greenhand Quiz CDE: On February 26th, freshmen members took an online test that questioned their knowledge of FFA history and parliamentary procedure. The team consisted of Logan Craycraft, Brant Poston, Lauren Schuldt, Sara Sharp, and Cylea Sullivan. This is the BIGGEST contest in the FFA. Congratulations to the team for placing 12th in the state. A HUGE congrats to Sara Sharp, who placed 13th individually out of more than 2,200 FFA members statewide!

Past Happenings

Ag Breakfast: The March Ag Breakfast took place Friday, March 1st, at 8:15 a.m., at Frisch’s. All members were welcomed to attend and socialize with their peers.

February FFA Meeting: The most recent FFA meeting took place on Tuesday, February 18th at 7:00 P.M. in the Ag Center. During this meeting, officer elections were held, and a new officer team was elected. The 2019-2020 officer team consists of Jullian Scott as President, Allie Poston as Vice-President, Sydney Sharp as Secretary, Morgan Anderson as Treasurer, Stephanie Bowers as Reporter, Timothy Smith as Sentinel, and Aaron Sharp as Student Advisor. The A-C FFA Chapter is very eager to see where this new officer team leads the chapter!

Top Fall Fund Raiser’s Trip: Members who sold 25 or more boxes of fruit were able to go to Louisville, Kentucky, to attend the National Farm Machinery Show. The trip began on February 15th and ended on the 17th. On the 15th, members left for Louisville and made one stop on the way. The chapter stopped at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, where members were able to watch a live horse surgery and toured the facilities. After the day’s events, the members went back to the hotel and then went to see a movie at a local mall in Louisville, Kentucky. On the 16th, members spent half of the day at the National Farm Machinery Show where they were able to look at various types of farm equipment, tools, supplies, and even watch the tractor pulls. After eating dinner, everyone went back to the hotel where they spent the night swimming in the pool, playing cards, and talking to friends. Lastly, on the 17th, the day was spent traveling back home, before stopping at Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati, Ohio, where members bought various food items from around the world. Members had an exhausting, but memorable and exciting weekend. Thank you to all the members who sold fruit to help with the financial costs of the fun activities we do! Our chapter would also like to thank the chaperones who attended the trip with the members. Thank you to Dan Bryan, Jennifer Mullen, Beth Poling, Charlie Tooill, Auggie Smith, and Julie Wymer.

212º Leadership Conference: On February 24th and 25th, members enjoyed an overnight stay at Union Local High School, interacting throughout six sessions about how to become a better leader, improving skills and managing time well. During these sessions, the school provided lunch and dinner. After the sessions, Union Local FFA Alumni held a square dance, provided pizza, and even helped the members learn how to square dance. Finally, they had a dodgeball tournament, bubble soccer, and provided ice cream. Many friendships and memories were created. The 212º Leadership Conference was a great learning experience for all members who attended.

State FFA Degree Recipients: The State FFA Degree is given to the top members of the State FFA Association. To receive a State FFA Degree, members must meet the requirements listed in the Official FFA Manual. The State FFA Degree is the highest degree a state can bestow on its FFA members. This year, the A-C FFA Chapter has five members who will be receiving their State FFA Degree at the State FFA Convention in May. These members include Garrett Drake, Cort Kleinline, Bryson L’Huillier, Ellie Sahr, and Aaron Sharp. Congratulations to these members for all of their time, hard work, and dedication they put in to earn this honorable degree!

American FFA Degree Recipients: The American FFA Degree is awarded to members who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to FFA and made significant accomplishments in their supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs). The American FFA Degree is awarded at the National FFA Convention & Expo each year to less than 1 percent of FFA members; therefore, it is one of the organization’s highest honors. This year, our chapter had three members whose applications will be forwarded to the national level. These members include Lexie Kougher, Carlie Krile, and Sydney Stinson. They will be earning their degrees at the National FFA Convention this coming fall. Congratulations to these members who will be receiving this degree!

2019-2020 Amanda-Clearcreek FFA Officer Team

Left to right: Timothy Smith (Sentinel), Stephanie Bowers (Reporter), Sydney Sharp (Secretary), Jullian Scott (President), Allie Poston (Vice President), Morgan Anderson (Treasurer), and Aaron Sharp (Student Advisor)