We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
After competing in both the livestock and the dairy products contests at the Montana FFA Ag Expo held November 11-13 in Bozeman, both Turner High School and Harlem High School students gained valuable experience with their performances.
According to Turner’s FFA Advisor Nathan Urie, the Dairy Products team, which consisted of Carson Maloney, JR Brown, Caleb Zellmer, and Tate Beck, placed in the top 15, earning 13th. The Livestock team comprised of Carson Maloney, Meridian King-Snider, Katie Kimmel, and Cassidy Grabofsky came in 30th, out of over 60 teams. “The students did very well for their first contest,” Mr. Urie said.
Harlem’s FFA Advisor Kylee Urie reported that her Milk Qualities team placed 16th out of over 100 participants and the Livestock team placed 29th, just ahead of Turner. Members of the Milk Qualities team were Stanley Spangelo, Erik Snell, Kaitlyn Johnson and Seth Ironchild, while the Livestock team saw Chantry Jorgensen, Thomas Champagne, Katherine Windy Boy, and Jaeden Flansburg competing.
“As a Chapter, we had so much fun and had pretty good success. Our students learned lots and had even more fun at the Expo,” Mrs. Urie reported.
Participants in the Milk Quality and Products Career Development Event (CDE) demonstrate their knowledge about the quality production, processing, distribution, promotion, and marketing of milk and dairy foods. They do this by examining properties of milk and studying various samples to determine any defects. For example, they test for and then score the milk for presence and intensity of mastitis, which is an inflammatory response of the udder tissue that yields poor milk quality. Teams also identify cheeses and respond to a series of questions about those samples. Following these labs, individual members take a written test, answering thirty questions on milk production and thirty on marketing. Along with that, they propose solutions to problems facing the dairy industry.
During the Livestock Evaluation CDE, FFA members work within teams to rank breeding and market classes of beef, sheep, and swine. In order to complete these rankings, contestants make accurate and logical observations of livestock, decide on the desirable traits in marketing and breeding livestock, and select livestock that will satisfy consumer demands and provide increased economic returns to producers. Encouraging proficient communication and data interpretation, this CDE further invites students to give oral reasons to support their ranking decisions.
In addition to their CDE competitions, FFA members from both Chapters attended college fairs, career fairs, leadership trainings, keynote speaker dinners, FFA dances, and even a Montana State University Bobcats football game.
Although the Chinook Chapter of the FFA didn’t attend the Ag Expo, things have continued to stay busy for that Chapter’s membership. “We are finishing up our fundraising and will be attending the Winter Districts in Geraldine in December,” reported Advisor Karyn Billmayer.
