Sea of Blue Inundates Bozeman

A sea of blue jackets inundated the campus of Montana State University-Bozeman (MSU) from November 14-16. With 1,900 registered attendees, the university hosted high school and middle school students from across the state for the annual Montana FFA Ag Expo. Members from both Chinook High School (CHS) and Turner Public School (TPS) competed in FFA activities, such as quiz bowls and livestock judging. Events were hosted not only on Bozeman's campus but also at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds.

From that event, two Blaine County FFA Chapters brought home Top Ten wins in the Milk Quality and Products contest. With 25 teams competing in Bozeman, Chinook placed third and Big Flat earned tenth place. Chinook also tacked three additional Top Ten scores to their win column.

Although a trade show took place on November 15, featuring representatives from the agriculture industry, the focus for the FFA membership was on competition. Fielding ten members, Chinook's Milk Quality team consisted of Madison Dunkin, Carter Rayburn, Julian Powell, Rangler Skoyen, Jacob Metcalf, Madilyn Gruszie, Jameson Nordboe, Kohen Sullivan, Evan Davies, and Ayden Alisch. They went to work on Thursday morning, November 14. In order to secure their position in third place, team members not only sat for an exam on Milk Production, but also solved problems, identified dairy and non-dairy products, labelled various cheeses, and detected defects in milk flavor.

On Turner's team, Finn Janczik claimed: "It was challenging to taste all the milk. Once I had a metallic taste in my mouth, I couldn't get rid of it." Joining Janczik, other members competing from Turner included Landon Hickel, JR Brown, and Joe Trautmann.

In attaining their team score, Hickel, a junior at TPS, also captured tenth place in individual scoring amidst a field of 108 competitors. For Chinook, the top competitor was Dunkin, who scored ninth individually.

Adding to Chinook's win column, the Junior Horse Evaluation team: Sydney Bowles, Megan Flanagan, Bella Brown, and Zoe Scofield earned third.

Chinook's Senior Meats Evaluation Team: Carter Rayburn, Bryce Elliot, Gus Buck, Ivey Lenz, Cooper Standiford, Carter Alisch, and Wyatt Matteson bagged ninth place.

And the Ag Mechanics Team comprised of Brock Elliot, Ayden Alisch, Kolton DePriest, Julian Powell, Kenneth Gruszie, Evan Davies, Rangler Skoyen, Eyan Hofeldt, and Oliver Standiford took tenth. Helping his team to seal that win, Elliot finished at seventh place individually in a field of 339 competitors.

Sponsored by Montana John Deere dealers, the Ag Expo is the result of a partnership between MSU, the Montana FFA Foundation, and C&B Operations, Frontline Ag Solutions, and RDO Equipment Company. Its mission is to cultivate partnerships, promote awareness, and secure resources to enhance agricultural education and opportunities for students. In fulfilling that mission, the annual event includes leadership development workshops, education about career options with industry representatives, and tours of MSU research and academic facilities.

Up next for the FFA Chapters is Winter Districts.