On Wednesday March 28th, the Eustis-Farnam FFA Marketing Plan, Meats Evaluation, Agronomy, Food Science, Welding, Livestock Selection, and Quiz bowl teams left for Lincoln to compete at the Nebraska State FFA Convention and Career Development Events (CDE.)

 

“We had great success at the State FFA Convention and CDE’s where all 30 students and eight teams had a chance to demonstrate our knowledge and skills. Everyone competed to the best of their ability which paid off with two State Championships, and two State Runner-up Championship teams,” says Tyler Pieper FFA Chapter President.

 

Upon arrival, the Marketing Plan team, which consisted of Eric Vickers, Ashley Rupp, and Molly Schroeder, went into contest. In the end, they came out with a 5th place team finish. In the Marketing Plan CDE, teams promote businesses with carefully thought-out plans. This year, the Marketing Plan team used the Pool Hall in Eustis.

 

Thursday morning, the Livestock and Agronomy competitions were underway. Competing in the Livestock competition were Ben Kugler, Ashley Pleschourt, Paige Vyhlidal, and Michelle Jack. They pulled together and finished 11th place overall. In Livestock Selection, individuals have multiple classes of beef, sheep, and hogs including,  feeder calf grading, a keep-cull class, and question classes. Individual placings were Ben Kugler 46th, Michelle Jack 72nd, Ashley Pleshcourt 74th, and Paige Vyhlidal 110th.

 

Later that morning, the Agronomy CDE started with Scott Aden, Randy Sheffield, Jaimee Easterday, and Bronson Gerken, who added another year to extend the Chapter’s current winning streak to four, with a 1st place team finish. Agronomy has plant identification, plant diseases identification, insect identification, seed identification, a soil exam, and a team management problem. Individual placings were Scott Aden 1st, Randy Sheffield 2nd, Jaimee Easterday 3rd, and Bronson Gerken 4th.  This team will compete at the National FFA Agronomy Career Development Event next fall.

 

At about 2 o’clock that afternoon, the Meats Evaluation Team walked into the coolers. The team consisted of Jared Aden, Ty Schurr, Taryn Pieper, and David Hueftle. The Meats Evaluation CDE, consisted of retail meat identification, judging classes, a written test, as well as quality and yield grading portion and a lab practicum (used to determine pork color and marbling.) The team extended the streak to nine years that Eustis-Farnam has won the Meats Evaluation Team State Championship. Individual standings were: Jared Aden 1st, Ty Schurr 2nd, Taryn Pieper 3rd, and David Hueftle 5th.  These students will be competing at the National FFA Meats Evaluation CDE in October. 

 

Friday was the final day of competition and it was the Welding team’s turn. Kane Keller in Arc, Tyler Pieper in Oxy-acetylene, and Logan Glodowski in MIG, welded their way to 52nd. The welding competition consists of a written test and a welding practicum. Kane received 44th, Tyler received 49th, and Logan received 37th.

 

Not long after the Welding team set out, so did the Food Science team, who consisted of Travis Pieper who received 1st, Miranda Schurr 3rd place, Bryant Keller 6th place, and Ethan Smith 54th place, with the Team winning State Reserve Champion honors. The Food Science competition has a written test, aromas identification, a triangle test, and a product development problem.

 

While the other teams were competing, the Quiz bowl teams were hard at work on the buzzers. The first team was Derek Aden, Britt Edson, Lucas Glodowski, and Devin Koch, which finished 7th place. The second Quiz bowl team was Kory Widick, Blake Gengenbach, Adam Keller, and Anson Hueftle who won the State Reserve Champion Title.  The Junior High Agricultural Quiz Bowl Teams are testing their knowledge of agriculture against the 90-100 teams from all across the state.

 

“I couldn’t be more proud of all of these teams,” said Chad Schimmels, Agriculture Teacher at Eustis-Farnam.  He went on to say, “The work ethic that these young people show is extraordinary.”
Tyler Pieper, Ryan Wetovick, and Cressey Yeutter received the State FFA Degrees. This is the highest honor a State Association can give one of its members. They were required to fill out record books for two years, pass a test and an interview in order to obtain this Degree.

 

Scott Aden Chapter Vice-President said, “We had another great year at the State FFA Convention.  Everyone’s hard work and dedication paid off.  It’s exciting to know that a small chapter of 43 members can compete at the State level and do very well.”

 

The FFA Chapter said that it would like to thank Mrs. Angie Schimmels and Mrs. Melissa Thompson for driving vans to Lincoln and shuttling students around while there.  “We really couldn’t be as successful as we were if these two ladies weren’t so ready and willing to help all of our students,” said Mr. Schimmels.  He continued, “It is amazing to watch our upper classmen pass on traditions to the younger generation.  I am continually humbled by the work and dedication of our students and support from our communities.”