Monday, January 27, 2014

98th Annual Pennsylvania Farm Show--CV FFA Builds the Future!

Along with students showing animals during the jam-packed schedule at the Farm Show, CV FFA members were also garnering awards for their dedication and hard work during the school year.

The highlight of the Farm Show for many FFA members is the annual Pennsylvania FFA Mid-Winter Convention where the prestigious Keystone Degree is awarded to deserving seniors.  To qualify for the degree, a student must have completed at least 2 years of Agriculture Education classes, earned or productively invested $1,000 in their Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE), or work 300 hours in excess of class time.  This year, 8 CV FFA seniors earned their Keystone Degree with 351 other students from across the Commonwealth.

The 8 Keystone Degree recipients pose with other chapter members attending the Mid-Winter Convention.  Holding their Keystone Degrees (L to R) are K. Paulus, J. Griffin, M. Slike, A. Emig, L. Shatto, S. Christie, and J. Karns. Missing from photo is T. Yount.

CV FFA also had 5 students compete in the FFA Agriscience Fair with their research projects.  Students that have an interest in conducting research to supplement their current Agriculture coursework are encouraged to choose a topic and design a plan to test their hypothesis.  Students then conduct their experient, create a tri-fold display board, and present their results to judges at the event.  Projects receiving 1st place in their respective category have the opportunity to qualify for competition at the 2014 National FFA Agriscience Fair in Louisville, KY.  Here are a listing of the projects that competed in the 2014 PA FFA Agriscience Fair:

  • Feast or Famine: Investigating the Diet of Red-Eared Sliders (E. Goodhart and A. Klinger)
  • What is Happening to the Ogallala Aquifer? (T. Yount)
  • Bovines, Biohazards, and Biological Impacts: How Do They Intertwine? (A. Pauletta) **2nd place
  • Equine Ethics (P. Smith) **1st place
P. Smith presenting her project to a judge.  She received 1st place for her "Equine Ethics" survey project and will be applying to compete at the 2014 National FFA Agriscience Fair in Louisville, KY.

A. Pauletta poses with her project "Bovines, Biohazards, and Biological Impacts." Pauletta placed 2nd in the Environmental Systems division and will be competing at 2 other science fairs this spring with her project.

T. Yount patiently awaits to present her project "What is Happening to the Ogallala Aquifer?" to a panel of judges.  She spurred an interest to further investigate this disappearing resource after competing in the Agriculture Issues Forum CDE at the 2013 National FFA Convention.
In addition, 8 first-year FFA members received their very own blue corduroy jacket as part of the Pennsylvania FFA Alumni's First Year Member Jacket Scholarship program.  To qualify, each student submitted an application that asked them what they hoped to achieve in FFA and what an FFA jacket means to them.
Jacket Recipients pose after zipping up their jackets for the very first time! (L to R)-P. Smith, A. Pauletta, J. Robinson, M. McGee, C. Noss, and A. Klinger.
K. McCarty also received
her FFA Jacket.
K. O'Connor poses with her
mom after receiving her
jacket.


Finally, CV FFA senior A. Hamilton spearheaded the creation of a 5-7 minute video to participate in the Agriculture Career Connections contest.  She completed interviews with a park ranger within the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to learn about the opportunities in Environmental Education.  The videos were posted online at the Lancaster Farming website and each participating chapter presented a 20-minute informational session about career opporunities they learned about during the creation of the video. Hamilton poses below with the check presented to the chapter on behalf of Lancaster Farming. 



Sunday, January 19, 2014

98th Annual Pennsylvania Farm Show--Show Ring Scenery


During the first full week of January, most students are getting back into the routine of going back to school after a much-needed holiday break.  However, for Cumberland Valley FFA members, the beginning of January signaled the beginning of the 98th Annual Pennsylvania Farm Show.  The Farm Show boasts many opportunities for FFA members from across the Commonwealth to display their talents and assist in promoting the story of agriculture to over 1 million visitors at the week-long event.

Saturday, January 4th--Junior Market Goat Show

Four members of CV FFA were preparing to exhibit a market goat in the Junior Market Goat Show against 150+ youth from across the state.  Market goats need to weigh between 65 and 120 pounds to be exhibited at the Farm Show.  In addition, the goal is to have your animal qualify for the Youth Sale of Champions on Tuesday of the following week.  For market goats, only the top 5 placing animals qualify for the sale, making it a very stiff competition.  Here are photos of the competitors and their results:
L. Shatto (Pink shirt) and N. Short (on right) exhibit their market goats in Lightweight Division I.  Shatto placed 5th with her 65-pound market goat, earned "Master Showman" status, and qualified for the Youth Sale.  Short placed 6th with his 65-lb market goat out of 15 entries.
N. Crain (red shirt) exhibits his 72-lb market goat in Lightweight Division II.  Crain placed 8th out of a competitive 15 entries.

A. Emig (far right) placed 3rd in Lightweight Division III and qualified for the Youth Sale on Tuesday.

Sunday, January 5th--Junior Market Lamb Show

A. Miller exhibited a Crossbred market lamb during the Junior Market Lamb Show with his lightweight market lamb.  Miller placed in the middle of Lightweight Division I in the crossbred lamb show.

Monday, January 6th--Junior Market Swine Show

M. Myers exhibited a home-bred crossbred barrow to a 3rd place finish in the one of the most competitive junior events at the PA Farm Show.  By placing 3rd, she too qualified for the Youth Sale of Champions.

Tuesday, January 7th--Junior Livestock Sale of Champions
Even with sub-zero temperatures on a brisk Tuesday morning, three CV FFA members eagerly anticipated the Youth Sale in which they would sell their prized project animals to local businesses that support the 4-H and FFA programs across Pennsylvania.  Shatto, Emig, and Myers eachs sold their respective projects to Cumberland Valley Cooperative, Hoss's Steak and Sea House, and Corner Top Farm.  A hearfelt THANK YOU goes out to each of these buyers for supporting these and other Cumberland Valley FFA members throughout the years at both the PA Farm Show and the Shippensburg Fair.

M. Myers directs her hog in the Sale Ring.  Her barrow was purchased by Corner Top Farm (Ryan and Andrea Brown) of Mechanicsburg.
L. Shatto braces her wether, "Landon" in the Sale Ring.  Cumberland Valley Cooperative was the buyer of this FFA project animal.

A. Emig shows off her 3rd place market goat during the Youth Sale.  Hoss's Steak and Sea House had the final bid on Emig's market goat.