FFA Shines in a Variety of Local Competitions

Jordan students in The National FFA Organization (FFA) placed first in their area contest for Envirothon and advanced to the state competition on April 24th and 25th, where they got fourth place. The Envirothon is a competition where students prove their knowledge of natural resources in events such as Soils and Land Use, Forestry, and Wildlife. There was a lot of interest in this event at Jordan this year; a total of 10 FFA members participated. 

“Envirothon… has given me more perspective on the issues that affect our environment currently… as well as [allowing me to] get closer with my teammates as we study hard and prepare for the state competition,” FFA member Zie Hatley told Falcon Post. 

FFA students at the goat show

Envirothon is not the only FFA competition that has happened recently. As many Jordan students know, spring is the time of year when students in the FFA program raise goats on campus for several months. However, these goats are more than just fun class pets; participants show them at a competition and sell them to ultimately be slaughtered for meat.

“Competing in goat showmanship has been an amazing opportunity for me to develop my confidence and stay calm in stressful situations,” shared junior Olivia Ko, an FFA Officer who participated in the Goat Project. “The whole project is an amazing way to build the FFA community in Jordan and has led to me making a lot of my closest friends. I’ve developed teamwork skills through the project by working with my partner to raise and train our goat.”

Junior Megan Ashley, who is also an FFA Officer, has a similarly positive experience with the Goat Project. “Goat project was a super fun and educational experience that allowed me to learn more about raising livestock within our more urban school setting,” she shared with Falcon Post. 

At the goat show, several students received Rob Hogan awards, where students are nominated by their advisor and compete against everyone else at the show to display exemplary traits. Olivia Ko won the Rob Hogan award for Leadership and Stewardship, and Zie Hatley won the Rob Hogan award for Inclusion and Innovation Within Agriculture. 

Other students in FFA recently showed steers, male cows raised for beef. To show the steers, students present them to judges and posed the animal properly to show off key aspects such as body proportions that make them well suited for meat consumption. The process of showing takes patience and responsibility, as showmen groom and display their animals, as well as minimizing their animals’ weaknesses to get the best reception from judges. Showing animals provides an exciting opportunity for FFA members to experience aspects of agriculture that may not be possible for a classroom setting. 

While showing their steers, Chelsea Trudeau won grand championship for feeder steers and Chloe Williams won reserve champion, Additionally, Kennedy Leonard advanced to the championship round, meaning she got first in her class.

FFA completed another successful year of competing and learning about agriculture and they are celebrating their accomplishments at their banquet on May 15th, where officer positions for the following school year will be announced.