ASHLAND – Agriculture students in Ashland County and across the country have spent the last seven days celebrating National FFA Week, a decades-long tradition dating to the 1940s.
Ashland County’s students have participated and placed in various competitions so far this year, and they spent this week sharing their FFA knowledge and pride with their peers.
In Orange Township, Mapleton Local Schools agriculture students have decorated their school with blue and gold balloons and planned a Spirit Week.
Similarly, there is a spirit week occurring in Hillsdale, ranging from “wilderness Wednesday” to national Wear Blue Day on Feb. 25. Students will be wearing their blue corduroy jackets with blue jeans, and non-FFA members are invited to wear blue attire.
“We also had our FFA members send thank you notes to our FFA alumni for everything they do for us,” Hillsdale FFA member and chapter reporter Emily McGovern wrote to Ashland Source.
FFA week events in the region range from agriculture trivia to luncheons to workshops. Ashland City Schools FFA is also incorporating some philanthropic efforts, as members have been making blankets to donate to the cancer society.
As students and educators celebrate throughout the week, here is a look at what Ashland County’s FFA chapters have been up to so far in 2022:
Ashland City Schools
Ashland City Schools is beginning a busy stretch with competitions spanning the next couple of months, horticulture teacher Tod Fox told Ashland Source.
Regarding contests so far this year, members from Ashland FFA recently competed in the Buckeye meats contest at Ohio State and placed seventh.
Mapleton
Mapleton FFA students participated in the meat evaluation career development events at The Ohio State University Invitational on Feb. 12 and earned 12th place, agriculture teacher Ashley Sherman told Knox Pages.
Other recent achievements for Mapleton include several individual placing in the top 50% for the Greenhand Test as well as an overall team placement of 56th out of 90 teams for the eight students who participated in the farm business and management CDE.
These feats occurred on Feb. 15.
Hillsdale
Braydon Rakovec earned member of the month for Hillsdale at the chapter’s January meeting.
At the end of 2021, Hillsdale’s advanced parliamentary procedure team finished third in the state competition at the Delaware Area Career Center.
This competition involves FFA members demonstrating parliamentary law in the setting of an FFA meeting.
Loudonville-Perrysville
Earlier in February, three of Loudonville-Perrysville’s FFA members participated in a public speaking competition. All three — Tess Shultz, Emma Lentz, Carlee Young — earned third in the sub-district competition.
FFA member Emma Burkhalter achieved another feat. She placed 21st out of 384 Ohio FFA members in the recent grain merchandising career development event — within the top 5%.
The hard work of several others in the chapter also paid off as three earned Gold Ratings on their 2021-22 officer books this year, including for the secretary’s book, treasurer’s book and chapter scrapbook.
Black River
On the north eastern edge of Ashland County, Black River’s FFA chapter had state officer books reach a 100% gold rating at the end of January, including reporter Madison Bias, treasurer Ridge Martin and secretary Katie Seger.
On Jan. 25, the chapter placed 13th for state grain merchandising, specifically members Chloee Howard, Ridge Martin, Kylie Leonard, Charlie Hollan, Allysa Hamilton, Jake Mennell and Summer Sooy.
Madison Bias, Abigail Groesser, Kylie Leonard, Shane Zacharyasz and Nathan Moore received their Ohio FFA State Degrees. Molly Cordonnier, Joe Mennell and Cassidy Mrakuzic received their American FFA Degrees.
The state degree is the second highest rank that can be achieved in FFA. The American degree is the fourth and final degree that can be attained. Typically, less than 1/2 percent of the national membership attains the American degree annually.
The chapter also participated in the agricultural industrial power diagnostics system district career development event, which occurred at the Wayne County Career Center.
The teams placed fourth, fifth and sixth overall.
Learn more about the future of agriculture locally in the “Successful Succession” series, featuring Ashland County agriculture educators and students.
