Amanda-Clearcreek FFA News

March of 2018

By Allie Poston, Reporter

Next FFA Meeting

The next FFA meeting will take place on Monday, March 19th 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 chosen from each grade level. Freshman will go against Sophomores and Juniors will against seniors. The last grade level standing will be the winner!

Upcoming Events

Ag Breakfast: The April Ag. Breakfast will take place on Friday, April 6th at 6:15 A.M. at at a location to be decided at the March meeting. All members are welcomed to attend enjoy good 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 we made to our mulch sale last year. As before, the chapter will be selling 2 cubic foot bags, not 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.
• Price. This year, the price per cubic foot of mulch is actually cheaper for 3 of the 5 types of mulch when comparing the 2 cubic foot bags versus the 3 cubic foot bags. In the past, the 3 cubic foot bags were the “better deal” but that has changed this year. The chapter always strives to provide a quality product for a quality prices.

In addition to the mulch bag size change, we will be selling black mulch ‘fines’ that should be 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 the next few weeks! If there are ever concerns about mulch, please contact an FFA advisor and we’ll try to help you.

Upcoming  Contests:

• Equine Management CDE: Testing your knowledge of the equine industry, this contest consist of an online test, judging of a class of horses, IDing different types of poisonous weeds and judging hay. This team consists of Audra Reid, Cassie Brewer, Aurora Queen, Harley Poling and Peyton Euliss. This team will compete in the State Preliminary contest on March 24th. 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 best specimen to the poorest. There is also a online test that will question you on animal diseases and their history. This year the team consists of Cole Kleinline, Cole Bryan, Lara Peters, and Allie Poston. This team will compete in the State Preliminary contest on March 24th. Good luck to the A-C FFA members participating in this contest!

• Nature Interpretation CDE: This CDE tests participants on iding equipment, mammal pelts, skulls, reptiles, amphibians, songbirds, and non-wood plants in the form of a written test, pictures, and actual items. There is also two practicums that the participants have to do as well. The team this year consists of Bryson L’Huillier, Garrett Drake, Hunter Hughes, Trevor Spence, and Jules White. This team will compete in the State Finals contest on March 24th. Good luck Nature Int. Team!

• Poultry CDE: For this contest members are tested on their understanding of the poultry industry. This contest consists of a test, candling eggs, identification of meat cuts, judging live birds, judging processed patties, and judging carcasses. This team consists of Jay Sahr, Cierra Andrews, Stephanie Bowers, Quinton Lott and Alli Cramer. The State Preliminary contest will be held on March 24th. Good luck to the participating members!
• Wildlife Management CDE: In this contest, members will have to be able to identify game birds, fish, plants, equipment, mammal pelts, and skulls. This team consists of Cade L’Huillier, Ruth McNight, Tyler Poling, Timothy Smith, and Dalton Stump. The Wildlife Management team will compete at the State Finals contest on March 24th. Good luck to the team at they take on State!
• State Agronomy CDE: Testing your knowledge and understanding of the crop industry members have to be able to ID crops and weeds by their seeds, leaves, or whole plant, ID insect pests, and take a multiple choice test. This year’s team consists of: Riley McClure, Kristian Lobo, Emmalee McGee, Tanner Bennett and Alison Eveland.
• 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 Savannah Carrruthers, Sarah Doner, Paige Hinton, Allie Poston, and Cort Kleinline. The state competition will be on April 28, good luck team!
• Animal Management CDE: This contest requires members to study various things about small animals, such as their history, breeds, characteristics, diseases and how to properly handle and care for them. Members of this team include: Tanner Bennett, Drew Evans, Darren Harvey, Bailey Knox, Bryson L’Huillier, Lexi Carruthers, and Emily Woida. Good luck to the team as they compete at the State Finals contest on April 18th if they qualify. The qualifying test will be held on Wednesday, March 21st.
• 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. This year’s team consists of: Cierra Andrews, Sarah Doner, Mikaila Hicks, Chloe McClure, Courtney Metzon, and Katie Vickroy. The State Finals competition will be held on April 18th, again, like Animal Mngt, if they qualify. The qualifying test will be held on Wednesday, March 21st. Hope everyone is studying!

• District 7 Ag Mechanics Skills CDE: This contest has three members demonstrating multiple mechanical tasks that pertain to welding, brazing, engines, wiring, hydraulics etc. The team will be representing our chapter this year at Teays Valley HS on March 15th.

• State Ag Sales CDE: This CDE consist of four members who have ten minutes to prepare to sell a product to a judge and also have to participate in a practicum. The team includes Hunter Teagardner, Ellie Sahr, Savannah Carruthers, and Abbie Stats. They will be competing on Saturday, March 3rd.

• State Public Speaking CDE: Consists of Senior Prepared Speaking (Emma Dearth), Beginning Prepared Speaking (Allie Poston), Creed Speaking (Morgan Anderson), Advanced Creed (Lara Peters) and Extemporaneous (Aaron Sharp). Results will be in the next newsletter as they will be competing March 3rd.

Past Happenings

Ag Breakfast: The March Ag. Breakfast took place on Thursday, March 1st at 6:15 A.M. at Frisch’s. All members were welcomed to attend to socialize with their peers.

Greenhand Quiz CDE: Freshmen members took an online test that questions members on their knowledge of the history of FFA and parliamentary procedure. The team consisted of: Morgan Anderson, Dalton Stump, Stephanie Bowers, Timothy Smith, Emily Woida, Olivia Hutchison, Jay Sahr, Abby Workman, Kaylee Sharp, and Abbie Stats. This is the BIGGEST contest in the FFA. Congratulations to the team for placing 12th in the State. A BIG congrats to Stephanie Bowers, who placed 8th individually out of over 2000 FFA members statewide!

FFA Meeting: The most recent FFA meeting took place on Tuesday, February 20st at 7:00 P.M. in the Ag Center. During this meeting, officer elections were held and a new officer team was elected; the team includes; Noah Smith as President, Ellie Sahr as Vice-President, Sydney Sharp as Secretary, Bryson L’Huillier as Treasurer, Allie Poston as Reporter, Garrett Drake as Sentinel, and Paige Hinton as Student Advisor.The A-C FFA Chapter is very eager to see where the new officer team takes 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 go to the National Farm Machinery Show. The trip started on February 16th and ended on the 18th. On the 16th members left for Louisville making two stops on the way. The first stop was at the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton where members were able to see everything that the museum had to offer and learn about some of our nation's history. The next stop was at Young’s Jersey Dairy where members ate a delicious lunch and enjoyed ice cream. After the days events the members went back to the hotel, and then went to see a movie at a local mall in Louisville, KY. On the 17th 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 18th, the day was spent traveling back home but there was one more stop. It was at Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati, Ohio where members looked and bought various food items from around the world. By the time everyone got home, they were beat but they had a 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 that the chaperones who attended the trip with the members. Thank you to Charlie Tooill, Auggie Smith, Tom McClure, Matt Kleinline, Julie Wymer, Beth Poling and Joy Sharp.

212º Leadership Conference: On February 24th and 25th, members enjoyed an overnighter at Union Local High School, interacting in six sessions learning how to become a better leader by improving our characteristics and managing our 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 brought in bounce houses, mechanical bull riding and provided ice cream. Many friendships and memories were created. This leadership conference was a great learning experience for all members that attended.

State FFA Degree Recipients: The State FFA Degree is given to the top members of a 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 that a State can bestow on it’s FFA members. This year our FFA Chapter has three members who are waiting to hear if they will be receiving their State FFA Degree at the State FFA Convention in May; these members include: Emma Dearth, Mikayla Hicks, Cassie Brewer, and possibly Noah Smith (Noah is still awaiting confirmation from the state). Congratulations to these members for all their time, hard work and dedication they put in to earn this 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% of FFA members making it 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: Austin J. Smith, Kaylee Reid, and Kayla Luft. They should be earning their degrees at the National FFA Convention this coming Fall. Congratulations to these members that will be receiving this degree. This is the highest degree that you can be awarded in the National FFA Organization!

2018-2019 A-C FFA Officer Team

Left to right: Sydney Sharp (Secretary), Allie Poston (Reporter), Garrett Drake (Sentinel), Ellie Sahr (Vice-President), Noah Smith (President), Bryson L’Huillier (Treasurer), Paige Hinton (Student Advisor).

A-C FFA members who attended the 212 Leadership Conference.