Eustis-Farnam FFA Place 3 Teams into Top 10 Nationally
Eustis-Farnam FFA Chapter
The Eustis-Farnam FFA Chapter traveled with three judging teams to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, the week of October 18. The week was very successful with all three teams placing in the Gold Division. Within the Gold Division, the Food Science and Technology Team, made up of Joleen Rupe, Waylan Bellamy, Anson Hueftle, and Britt Edson, placed 5th with two individuals placing in the Gold Division and two placing in the Silver Division. The Meats Identification and Evaluation Team, of Bryant Keller, Miranda Schurr, Jaimee Easterday, and Ashley Pleschourt, placed 6th as a team with three members in the Gold Division and one in the Silver. Finally, the Agronomy Team, of Blake Gengenbach, Devin Koch, Derek Aden, and Paige Vyhlidal, placed 7th as a team with three Gold individuals and one Silver individual.
“I am very proud of our students here at Eustis-Farnam. They continue to humble and amaze me at their dedication and hard work and their willingness to help each other to get better each day. I’m proud of every one for the dedication that they gave. It’s pretty neat that South Central Nebraska students can compete with anyone in the nation,” says Chad Schimmels, Eustis-Farnam Agriculture Educator.
Miranda Schurr, Eustis-Farnam FFA Vice President, echoes those sentiments, “I am very excited for how well all of our teams did at the 2009 National FFA Convention. Their work and dedication throughout the year was shown at this year’s convention. They all did very well as individuals, and as teams.”
The opportunity to compete at the National FFA Convention & Career Development Events (CDEs) came as a result of the effort the E-F FFA Chapter put forth back in April, at the Nebraska State FFA Convention. Teams must win their respective State Championships to have the honor of representing their State Association at the National FFA Career Development Event in which they competed. Eustis-Farnam won the Agronomy, Food Science, Meats and Jr. High Agricultural Quiz Bowl State Championships, qualifying them to compete at the National FFA Convention in those events (Jr. High Agricultural Quiz Bowl isn’t a National Competition). All schools large and small compete against each other; there is no class system. After winning the four State Championships in April, the three teams that would be competing at the National FFA Convention began practicing again the last week of June.
Bryant Keller, Eustis-Farnam FFA Chapter President, had this to say about the experience, “The continued drive and determination I see in my classmates and fellow FFA members inspires me every day and makes me proud to be a part of this great organization. In all that I have been involved in during my time here at Eustis-Farnam, I have never seen such commitment to succeed. Not only in competition but also in personal improvement as I have in this group of people. I am very honored to have witnessed the growth of this chapter in its individual teams as well as personal relationships. Congratulations to everyone and thanks for the experience that I will never forget.”
Once the School Year began, the amount of practices the teams had greatly increased. Finally, Sunday, October 18th arrived. There were 21 students, and six sponsors, who headed for Indianapolis. The teams all worked while traveling, as well as stops for all three teams to work at along the way. The first night was spent in Davenport Iowa, then to Crawfordsville where they stayed throughout convention. On Wednesday, October 21st, competition began for the teams.
Food Science began with a 50 question test Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday morning began the final portion of their contest which consisted of; product development, difference testing, triangle testing, aroma identification, safety pictures, and customer complaint letters. This year’s Product Development Team Problem asked the teams to make a yogurt product marketed to women on the go. The teams actually put the product together, along with designing the package, including the Nutrition Facts Panel. The team competed against State Champion Teams from all across the United States, placing 5th in the Gold Division out of 28 teams, with Joleen Rupe placing 2nd individually, Waylan Bellamy 11th, Anson Hueftle 40th, and Britt Edson 75th. By placing 2nd individually, Joleen earned the right to walk across the Main Stage at the 9th Session of the 82nd National FFA Convention Session.
“The National Convention was an awesome experience that helped me grow as a person and become more confident in myself and everything that I do,” says Joleen Rupe, Eustis-Farnam FFA Food Science Team Member. Rupe continues, “I realized what it was like to be a part of something huge that helps us as FFA members grow and learn about not only our CDE but we learn about ourselves as individuals.”
The Meats Identification and Evaluation started off Wednesday evening with a written test, and a meat formulation problem of German Sausage. The German Sausage meat formulation problem had students use both beef and pork products to come up with the least cost formula, using approved ingredients that were available. Thursday the rest of the event took place at the University of Illinois Meat Laboratory. The activities included 6 beef Yield Grading carcasses, 6 beef Quality Grading carcasses, six classes including two sets of questions, and forty retail meat identification cuts (out of a possible 135 cuts of beef, pork & lamb), along with a team problem. The team placed 6th out of 39 teams from all across America, with Bryant Keller placing 14th individually, Miranda Schurr 26th, Jaimee Easterday 31st, and Ashley Pleschourt 56th.
“When you have prepared for contest after contest, one would think it to become natural, however, every contest is different just like every competitor. We prepared hard and came together as one entity and competed giving it our all....and it paid off,” says Jaimee Easterday, Eustis-Farnam FFA Meats Team member. She also said, “The medals on our jackets symbolize more than a placing, it represents our year of preparation, hard work, not to mention the teamwork that was poured into a National competition. I personally couldn't have asked for a better way to end my career as an FFA member than on a Eustis-Farnam FFA judging team.”
The Agronomy Competition began Wednesday as well with a team problem. The objective of this year’s team problem was to grow a quarter section of white corn for human consumption. There were various insects, weeds, and diseases that had to be addressed and controlled, by various pesticides. The team had to successfully construct a plan to grow the crop, including fertilizing, pesticide usage, tillage, and figure a profit or loss statement. Thursday, they finished off their contest with a soils test, insect identification, a diagnostic lab, seed and plant identification, classes and reasons, disease identification, grain grading, seed analysis, a written general knowledge exam, and machinery identification. The team placed 7th out of 34 state chapter teams that competed, individually Blake Gengenbach 17th, Devin Koch 26th, Derek Aden 29th, and Paige Vyhlidal 47th.
“Back in December, our team started out with little, if any knowledge of Agronomy. As the year went on, we put a lot of time and effort into practices, and soon learned a little more about what we were doing. Being able to be a part of this team meant a lot. The National Convention was a great experience that we all learned a great deal from. After it was all over, we all realized that the hard work paid off,” said Blake Gengenbach, Eustis-Farnam FFA Agronomy Team Member.
Scott Aden and Randy Sheffield earned their American FFA Degrees at the National FFA Convention. To earn the American FFA Degree students must earn and productively invest $7500, have been a member for 36 consecutive months, graduated from high school more than 1 year previously, and participated in 10 school and community events, besides FFA. Scott and Randy received their American Degree on Saturday morning at the Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Eustis-Farnam FFA Chapter would like to thank those sponsors who supported us throughout this endeavor. These include; E-F FFA Alumni and Friends, the E-F Booster Club, Eustis Chamber of Commerce, First Bank and Trust-Eustis Branch, Eustis Lions Club, Midwest Seeds, H & J Grocery Store, Gary Krejci & Alisa Schurr, Farnam Co-op, Brent and Kelly Gengenbach, and Thrushwood Farms in Galesburg IL. There were enough donations this year to pay for 10 meals for students. They would also like to thank Mrs. Nancy Bellamy, Mrs. Anita Hueftle, Mr. Lee Hueftle, and Mrs. Sherry Hueftle. They would like to especially thank Mr. Chad Schimmels and Mrs. Angie Schimmels for everything they have done to help them succeed in the events listed above. Without help and support of all those listed, none of this would have been possible.
Mr. Schimmels added, “It’s also very exciting to me that our community supports us enough to donate enough money for us to cover 10 meals. That’s over $2400. We would like to say thank you to all who donated.”
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