FFA Agronomy Contest Results

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We were thrilled to have several local FFA Chapters participate in our interactive Photo Aug 14, 3 53 41 PMagronomy learning day on Tuesday, August 14th, as part of the Bag to Bin Crop Tour program.  The learning day capped off with an agronomy contest where the winning chapters took home $1,750!  The Bag to Bin FFA Agronomy Contest was comprised of a combination of interactive presentations, in-field activities and hands-on demonstrations where students learned more about the technology available when planting corn, proper planting practices, and how to maximize production and yields.Photo Aug 14, 1 24 02 PM

Students heard from agronomy and product experts on topics such as Crop Production Systems and Tillage Practices; Data-Driven Decisions in Farming Operations; Harvest Preparation; and Yield Variances Affected by Singulation, Spacing, Depth and Down Force When Planting. After the presentations, the students took a timed exam consisting of agronomy related questions.

Almost 50 students participated, representing the following chapters: Auburndale, Marshfield, Thorp, Bonduel, New London, and Loyal. New London FFA earned the highest score and took home $1000 for their chapter. Auburndale took second place and won $500, and Loyal had the third highest score for $250.

We were able to visit with the winning chapters at their school during their FFA meetings in the past couple of weeks. Each chapter filled us in on the exciting things they have planned this year, as well as their ideas on how they plan to utilize their contest winnings! Keep reading to see what awesome activities each chapter have planned for this year.

Photo Aug 14, 4 09 50 PMNew London was the first-place winner, receiving a $1000 check. We visited New London’s FFA chapter during their lunch meeting, and were greeted by a PACKED room full of smiling faces! We were impressed to learn the chapter has over 50 members! The chapter has an active agronomy team, which was the group of competitors that participated in our Bag to Bin Contest.  The team consists of Freshman Abigail Weyland, Sophomores Sarah Heideman and RaeAnn Raduliffe, and Juniors Jeffrey Smolinksi and Peter Gormon, along with their advisor, Mrs. Retzlaff. We presented the check to the entire chapter and talked to the students about the importance of Photo Sep 13, 1 01 55 PMinvolvement in the FFA and the excitement of working in an ag-related field. The New London FFA chapter has some very exciting events they are planning for this year, including hosting their annual Ag Olympics, coming up on October 6. Ag Olympics are held at Golden Hillview Farms and is a great opportunity for other FFA Chapters and 4-H groups in the area to get together and play ag-related games in a friendly, fun competition. Other activities the chapter is planning include Food for America, Adopt A Highway, showing and participating at the fair, their pizza and plant fundraiser, and cleaning barns for local farms. The chapter also plans on using their $1000 winnings to promote ag in their school. We can’t wait to see what great things the New London FFA Chapter does this year!

 

 

Auburndale was the second-place winner, receiving a $500 check. We visited the Auburndale FFA Chapter’s officer team during their lunch meeting, and got to enjoy Photo Aug 14, 4 05 40 PMsome pizza and ice cream (deliciously covered in maple syrup) with the students! The Auburndale FFA Chapter has 150 members in the chapter, and let us tell you, they are one busy, involved group of students! The officer team took time to tell us about the numerous school and community events they participate in or plan, including various school forest activities, including tapping trees and making their own maple syrup, a 3-acre field plot, caroling during the Christmas season, Food For American and an annual farm safety event. The groupPhoto Sep 10, 12 43 07 PM also stays busy with students attending various leadership development workshops, new member night and attending the World’s Toughest Rodeo. With so many activities, the chapter also hosts several fundraisers throughout the year including a meat auction, basket raffle, and pork dinner, their annual spring pancake breakfast and the annual fruit sale! The officer team consists of President Jenna Snortheim, Vice President Logan Loveland, Vice President Cheyanne Nothnagel, Parliamentarian Brooke Awe, Secretary Sara Snortheim, Treasurer Laney Shmitt, Sentinel Jake Baur, Reporter Autumn Richardson, Historian Brice Thiel, Advisor Mr. Cournoyer, and we were also joined by FFA member Colmen Becker, who participated in the agronomy contest. We were quite impressed with the energy and enthusiasm of the Auburndale FFA and look forward to hearing more about their activities and accomplishments this year!

Photo Aug 14, 4 11 58 PMThe Loyal FFA Chapter was the third-place winner, receiving a $250 check. We visited the Loyal FFA Chapter during one of their quarterly night meetings and being the beginning of the year, the meeting was primarily focused on encouraging younger students to get involved in FFA. The Loyal FFA currently has a whopping 100 students, and I think it will certainly be growing after that meeting! The two girls who participated in our agronomy contest, juniors Kaycee and Saydee Benz, were there to accept the check, and graciously let us be on their team for the FFA games we played following the meeting! Kaycee, Saydee, along with their advisor Ms.Wilsmann, have decided to donate the $250 winningsPhoto Sep 17, 7 03 33 PM towards the Loyal School District’s NOW Lunch Packing Program.  The program packs 20-30 lunches each Thursday for students in the district who may not have access to regular, healthy lunches on the weekends. Various groups take turns packing the lunches and the FFA members volunteer the second Thursday of each month. We were quite inspired and commend the students for taking part in such a meaningful program.  The Loyal FFA chapter has quite a few exciting activities coming up including their paintball trip geared towards new members, Sectional Leadership Workshop, World Dairy Expo, National FFA Convention, and the 212/360 Leadership Conference.

These students truly are our future agriculture leaders and it’s so exciting to see how involved they are in their FFA Chapters, and how passionate they are about agriculture in general! Thank you to all of the winning chapters for letting us visit and sharing more about their members and activities. We can’t wait to see the great things you accomplish and wish all the FFA chapters a great year ahead.

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