Fairmont sent 25 students, which FFA Advisor Andrew Moeller said was up from previous years.

“It was good having us and Mr. Pease there,” he said. “That amount of students would not be manageable if we didn’t have two advisors. Having the two of us made it flow quite well.”

When it came to who did and didn’t go, Moeller said there were two determiners.

“If you qualified to compete you go,” he said. “Individuals we had qualify either received an award or were competing in livestock judging, poultry judging, horse judging, or the food science team. After that, we opened the door for those who proved over the school year they were some of the highest achieving. They’re obviously trying to get there.”

Submitted by Stephanie Wohlhuter. Martin County West Farm Business Management team, from left: Michael McCorkell, Teya Schmidtke, Barret Scholl and Richard McMains put their heads together to bring home a third place finish in a field of 42 teams.

Of all four teams, livestock judging had the highest finish of fifth out of 65 teams. Because they finished in the top five, they were able to be recognized on stage. The team, comprised of Avery Kurt, Tyler Kurt, Merritt Pomerenke and Isaac Stone, was one of the hardest-working teams Moeller said he’d ever seen.

“It was very competitive across the board,” he said. “From our region to those here competing to be on the team. Eight to nine kids were competing to be on the team of four. That brings the best out of everybody, there’s no settling when you have to compete to even be on the team.”

The highest-finishing individual was in horse judging, where Paige DeBoer finished fourth out of 206 competitors. The poultry judging, food science and horse judging teams finished 14th, 14th, and 15th respectively.

Besides the competitions, Moeller said the hot topic amongst students was the career expo.

“The career expo got the kids interested with hands-on events and meeting with different representatives,” he said. “For them to have a more informal setting where they could be themselves, over the formal lectures and speeches, was good for them.”

Submitted by McKenzie Wagelie. While their team competition finishes left room for improvement, Granada-Huntley-East Chain FFA celebrated being named the sixth best National Chapter out of 32 applicants for their overall program strength. Front row, from left: Mrs. McKenzie Wagelie, Cash Becker, Lylah Becker, Cecilia Nowicki, Aubrey Benoit, Laticianna Rosales-Wegner, Elsy Johnson, Layla Johnson, Zoe Hugoson, Kayla Mattson. Back row, from left: Jevin Garry, Leighton Hugoson, John Carr, Jonah Moeller, Levi Lewis, Colten Donohue, Hank Hugoson, Lynsie Salic, Madisen Lewis, Addison Barrick, Ava Donohue, and Ms. Gina Huhnerkoch.

With this having been his first year as Fairmont’s FFA advisor at the state convention, Moeller said it is exhausting but rewarding.

“This is the cap of our year, what everything is building for,” he said. “While you’re tired, having a team walk across the stage as a top-five competitor is great. We have a senior graduating off the team, we have many students here getting better for the future. For a lot of people there, it was their first state convention.”

Martin County West brought 41 students and had 10 teams qualify. MCW FFA Advisor Stephanie Wohlhuter said the number of students was down by a handful but for a reason.

“They did split the leadership development events,” she said. “Usually kids would come for that but part of it happened in December instead.”

Of their ten teams, Farm Business Management (FBM) finished third out of 42 teams thanks to Michael McCorkell, Teya Schmidtke, Barret Scholl and Richard McMains. Wohlhuter said FBM centers on business skills and the application of economic skills to agribusiness.

“They do a written math exam questioning economic terms, and farm procedures,” she said. “They also have a two hour practicum where they work with an actual farm’s data and make decisions and ask questions based on the data.”

Another highlight was Forestry’s 11th-place finish amongst 41 competitors. Unlike many of their competitors who had more state-experienced students, MCW’s Forestry team was comprised of one seventh grader and three eighth graders.

“Which is very impressive,” Wohlhuter said. “They have a huge list of trees to identify, samples of wood. They do things like timber cruising and very specific forestry skills.”

Beyond the skills tested, Wohlhuter said these competitions provide students with lifelong skills.

“Taking a difficult task and figuring out how to find an answer. Most of these kids won’t go into the industry these skills are for, but they will use critical thinking and other widespread skills throughout their lives. Very transferable.”

After this year’s competition, Wohlhuter said this was a year of change for MCW FFA.

“We had a lot of strong teams the last few years,” she said. “We had a lot of young kids this year who are learning from the older kids. It was a different convention for us, but an exciting one. Always looking toward a bright future.”

Granada-Huntley-East Chain (GHEC) brought 20 students and four teams. GHEC FFA Advisor McKenzie Wagelie said they brought the same amount of students last year but only had two teams.

While they did not finish top 20 in any of their four disciplines, there were some bright spots. Their best-informed greenhand finished in the top one-third, 23rd out of 75. poultry judging was 24th out of 48, livestock judging was 26th out of 65, and horse judging was 42nd out of 60.

What was cause for celebration was being named the sixth place National Chapter out of 32 entries, receiving a Gold rating and a Superior chapter recognition. Wagelie said they sent their application for judgment in March but didn’t know the result until right before the event.

“It’s based on our events,” she said. “What the kids do during the year. It comes down to unique activities like our Egg My Yard community project for easter, road ditch cleanup, and incorporating leadership opportunities like camps. It’s all the opportunities our students have for leadership, scholarship, community service, and networking.”

On the topic of networking, Wagelie said the GHEC FFA students took full advantage of the Career Expo.

“The career expo had colleges and organizations set up to connect with students on their futures,” she said. “Our younger kids got to attend that, making them more aware of what Ag can be.”

Looking forward, Wagelie said GHEC FFA is small but dedicated to growth.

“We have very committed students as we’ve seen with the effort and activities they are doing,” she said. “Seeing those kids work hard and get qualified. Our region is very competitive, sometimes 4-5 teams make it out of 30 at regionals. Im happy we have more teams at state. There was only one senior, so we are going to continue to get better and we have more chances coming in the future.”

Truman and Martin Luther did not send any students to the State FFA Convention this year.