FFA honors: Wyoming youth impress at National FFA Convention
Youth from sea to shining sea donned their navy and gold and gathered in Indianapolis for the 97th National FFA Convention and Expo Oct 23-26.
While there, chapters hailing from the state of Wyoming proved a competitive force in multiple competitions.
Top 10 teams
Awards were presented to national event winners throughout the week, and on Oct. 24 winners of the National FFA Agricultural Sales Career Development Event (CDE) were announced.
According to the National FFA Organization, the Agricultural Sales CDE allows students to apply classroom knowledge to real-life situations through sales presentations, a written exam and a team sales situation.
The top 12 individuals and the national winning team in the event received cash awards.
The Torrington-Lingle FFA Chapter, made up of Connor Booth, Natalie Speckner, Louden Bremer and Anna Frederick, finished ninth overall and received a gold team emblem.
Additionally, Bremer, Speckner and Frederick received individual gold emblems in the event, and Booth received a silver emblem.
The next day, during the National FFA Livestock Evaluation CDE, Casper FFA took home honors as the fourth-place team overall and secured a gold team emblem.
Casper FFA Members Garrett Burkett and Carter Cox earned individual gold emblems, while Emerson Hornecker and Madison Dickinson earned silver emblems.
National Proficiency Awards
Also on Oct. 24, 10 winners of the 2024 National FFA Agricultural Proficiency Awards were named during the third session of the national convention, and one Wyoming resident was called to the stage.
According to the National FFA Organization, Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through supervised agricultural experience (SAE), have developed specialized skills which they can apply to their future careers.
Hayden Hubbard of the Burns FFA Chapter earned the National FFA Agricultural Proficiency Award in the Diversified Livestock Production Entrepreneurship and Placement category.
Hubbard runs a show hog, show cattle and market steer operation, which he has diversified to also include selling processed meat direct to consumers.
Team and individual emblems
In addition to recognizing top-performing teams and individuals, judges rank competing chapters into three categories – gold, silver and bronze – based on how well they accomplish the organization’s mission and strategies in each event.
Including those earned in the Agricultural Sales and Livestock Evaluation CDEs, Wyoming teams returned home with emblems in 18 of 26 competitions held during the 97th National FFA Convention.
In the Agronomy CDE, where participants’ knowledge of agronomic sciences in tested, Wheatland FFA earned a silver team emblem, while team members Corinne Gaby and Nolan Allen earned individual silver emblems and Jazlynne Gonzalez and Landon Thomas earned bronze emblems.
The National FFA Creed Speaking Leadership Development Event (LDE) tests members on their ability to present the National FFA Creed in a competitive setting, and Addisyn Perkins of Lovell FFA earned a bronze emblem in the event.
During the Extemporaneous Public Speaking LDE, members are given 30 minutes to prepare a four- to six-minute speech and respond to five minutes of questions on a specific agricultural issue. Hubbard took home an individual silver emblem in this event.
Likewise, the Public Speaking LDE requires members to prepare and deliver an eight- to 10-minute speech from memory and respond to five minutes of questions. Trever Campbell of Casper FFA was recognized with a silver emblem in the contest.
Wheatland FFA impressed during a few national events throughout the week, earning a silver team emblem in the Veterinary Science CDE, with team members Kaylee Rasnake and Megan Sagner earning silver emblems and Lily Nichols and Sabella Douglas earning bronze emblems.
Additionally, Wheatland FFA team members Hunter Furl and Rylie Davis earned individual gold emblems in the Farm and Agribusiness Management CDE, while Karly Jones and Jessie Graves earned silver emblems.
The Wheatland chapter also earned a bronze team emblem in the Environmental and Natural Resources CDE, which tests students’ problem-solving and decision-making skills regarding topics such as soil profiles, water quality, waste management and the use of global positioning systems.
Ace Keil of the Wheatland FFA earned an individual silver emblem, while fellow team members Clayton Dahlstedt, Carter Herb and Cooper Meyer earned bronze emblems.
In the Meats Technology and Evaluation CDE, Cheyenne Frontier FFA took home silver emblem honors, with members Haylee Bruckner and Brody Medina earning gold emblems and Regan Allen and Gage Broda earning silver emblems.
Bearlodge Sundance FFA had a strong showing in the Horse Evaluation CDE, with Tessa Sanderson and Savannah Peterson recognized with gold-emblem honors and Avery Marchant and Cienna McGuckin earning silver emblems.
Casper FFA was honored again with a silver emblem in the Poultry Evaluation CDE, with Lily Smith and Jonathan Danford earning individual gold emblems, Nathan Danford and Noah Danford earning silver emblems and Madalynn Magee earning a bronze emblem.
The Ag Technology and Mechanical Systems CDE includes a written exam, a team event, demonstration of problem-solving skills and hands-on performance activities. In this CDE, Douglas FFA earned a silver team emblem. Team members Dean Shatto and Miles Chapman earned individual silver emblems, while Tyler Bevers and Waylon Boynton earned bronze emblems.
Also during the week, Cheyenne High Plains FFA earned a bronze team emblem in the Agricultural Issues Forum LDE, Snowy Range FFA earned a gold emblem in the Parliamentary Procedure LDE and Casper FFA earned a gold emblem in the Marketing Plan CDE.
Sarah Birdsall of the Torrington-Lingle FFA earned a silver emblem in the Employment Skills LDE as well.
Lastly, the Conduct of Chapter Meetings LDE is a contest for seventh, eighth and ninth graders who conduct an orderly and efficient chapter meeting using parliamentary procedures. Cheyenne High Plains FFA earned a gold emblem in the contest.
American FFA Degree
According to the National FFA Organization, the American FFA Degree is the highest degree achievable. It shows a FFA member’s dedication to his or her chapter and state FFA association and demonstrates the effort FFA members apply toward their SAE, as well as their outstanding leadership abilities and community involvement.
To be eligible for the American FFA Degree, members must receive a State FFA Degree, be an active FFA member for the past three years, complete at least 540 hours of ag education, maintain records of at least $10,000 in earnings with $7,500 productively invested, maintain a record of leadership abilities and complete at least 50 hours of community service.
Twenty-four Wyoming FFA members received the American FFA Degree this year, including Charmayne Dewey, Jerikah Huelle, Anna Kassens and Sonja Post of Shoshoni FFA; Carleigh Dugger and Klacie Groene of Torrington-Lingle FFA; Kody Feldmann and Destre Kaisler of Little Snake River FFA; Nolan Hornecker, Harper Pollock and Afton Stewart of Casper FFA; Macie Hopkin and Zenaena Tryon of Rocky Mountain FFA and Savanna Metz and Caden Wade of Wheatland FFA.
Other American FFA Degree recipients include Kinley Grace Anderson of Ten Sleep FFA, Lainy Duncan of Lander FFA, Caytlin Heatherington of Cheyenne Frontier FFA, Jackson Hill of Riverton FFA, Riley Miller of Snowy Range FFA, Allison Morrison of Powell-Shoshone FFA, Karina Mysse of Buffalo FFA, Katherine Olson of Burns FFA and Brand Terrell of Gillette FFA.
National officers
To round out the national convention, a new National FFA Officer Team was elected to serve a one-year term from 2024-25.
Those elected include Thaddeus Bergschneider of Illinois as president, Luke Jennings of Ohio as secretary, Mary Schrieber of Wisconsin as Central Region vice president, Caroline Groth of Kentucky as Eastern Region vice president, Abigale Jacobsen of California as Western Region vice president and Jack Lingenfelter of Georgia as Southern Region vice president.
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
