The Sleepy Eye FFA 8th & 9th graders who competed in the State Agriscience Fair included: l to r – Daniel Armstrong, Megan Sellner, Jacob Fulmer, Clark Lazatin, Jony Flores, Alex Confer, and Carson Uecker.
By Kyle Capacia, Chapter Reporter
The Roland Peterson Agriculture Education Science Fair was held on March 9, 2023 at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul Campus. The Minnesota FFA Association uses this invitational as the Minnesota FFA’s Agriscience Fair. The highest-ranking FFA member or team of members with an agricultural project will advance to the national competition.
Our competitors for the Agriscience Fair competition included: Daniel Armstrong, Alex Confer, Jony Flores, Jacob Fulmer, Clark Lazatin, Megan Sellner, and Carson Uecker.
The Agriscience Fair recognizes student researchers studying the application of agricultural scientific principles and emerging technologies in agricultural enterprises. The Agriscience fair is for middle and high school students. Participation begins at the local level and progresses to state and national levels.
Agriscience Fair Divisions:
Students can compete in the National Agriscience Fair as an individual or with a team.
- Division 1 – individual member in grades 7 and 8
- Division 2 – team of two members in grades 7 and 8
- Division 3 – individual member in grades 9 and 10
- Division 4 – team of two members in grades 9 and 10
Our students all participated in the Plant Systems Category; Divisions 1-3. This could include: the study of plant life cycles, classifications, functions, structures, reproduction, media and nutrients, as well as growth and cultural practices, through the study of crops, turfgrass, trees and shrubs, and/or ornamental plants.
The students did these projects as part of the curriculum for the Ag. 8 course with Mr. Hendrickx. The two groups that were named in the Top 3 at state include: Division 2 competitors- Jacob Fulmer & Megan Sellner and Jony Flores and Carson Uecker. They will find out the final results on stage at the State FFA Convention in late April. One group will advance to National Competition!
To qualify for the National Agriscience Fair students must:
- Be in grades 7 – 12.
- Conduct a scientific research project pertaining to the agriculture and food science industries and present their findings to a panel of judges with a display and a report.
- Be selected as the state winner at their state Agriscience Fair.
- Be selected as one of the top 12 in their respective category and division.
The Sleepy Eye High School Knowledge Bowl team will be making their third consecutive trip to the state tournament after placing first at the Regional meet held March 20th at Mankato Loyola High School. Team members on Sleepy Eye Black consist of seniors (from left) Gunny Coulson, Adam Johnson, Alex Joramo and Brooke Arneson. The Sleepy Eye High School Knowledge Bowl is coached by teachers Mindy Berkner and Alyssa Stevensen. The team will compete at the State Tournament on April 13th and 14th at Cragun’s
Resort in Brainerd.
The FFA Fish & Wildlife team members competed at Tracy on March 1, 2023. Pictured l to r – Katelyn Wurtzberger, Abigail Hornsby, Jake Price, Jacob Fulmer, Robert Romberg.
The FFA Companion Animal Science team competed in the Region VI contest in Tracy as well. Pictured l to r – Cadence Okerman, Taylor Berkner, Nora Coulson, Paige Haala.
By: Kyle Capacia, Chapter Reporter
On Wednesday, March 1st, Sleepy Eye FFA Career Development Event (CDE) Teams competed in Tracy, MN at the Region VI Contest. The two teams were Fish & Wildlife and Companion Animal Science.
The Fish & Wildlife competitors included: Abigail Hornsby, Jake Price, Katelyn Wurtzberger, Robert Romberg, and Jacob Fulmer. The Fish & Wildlife contest consists of three parts: identification (mammals, fish, birds, insects, reptiles/amphibians), a knowledge test, and a current events activity on Technology Used in Wildlife Management . Abi Hornsby was the top scorer on the team and was the 15th place individual overall. The team placed 7th out of 17 teams and qualified for state.
The Companion Animal Science Team members were Cadence Okerman, Nora Coulson, Paige Haala, and Taylor Berkner. The Vet Science team members were tested on their knowledge of common pets, pet health, vet science terms & skills, and animal anatomy. An identification of different species including: dogs, cats, birds, fish, parasites, rabbits, and other animals kept as pets is also a large part of the contest. Cadence Okerman was the top scorer on the team.
The Fish & Wildlife Team will compete at State in late April in the Twin Cities.
Front Row: Jade Sellner English Grade 12, Kaytlyn Romberg Physical Education Grade 9, Cadence Okerman Science Grade 10, Nora Coulson Music Grade 10, Chloe Howe World Languages Grade 10
Back Row: Dillon Gerzsik Career Grade 9, Skylar Odegard Art Grade 12, Izaac Lendt Social Studies Grade 11, Jacob Fulmer Health Grade 8, Dallas Brazle Industrial Arts Grade 10, Hayden Domeier Mathematics Grade 7.
By Chloe Howe
Chapter Reporter
Member of the Month
Jacob Fulmer is an 8th grader at Sleepy Eye Public School and has been in the FFA for two years. Jacob joined FFA because he likes FFA and all of the Ag classes. Jacob is on the Fish and Wildlife CDE team because he likes learning new things about fish. His favorite FFA activity is Trap Shooting. Jacob is looking forward to going to State for Fish and Wildlife. Jacob has learned how to construct a candy dispenser since being in Ag. Class. The award Jacob is most proud of was advancing to State.
Member of the Month
Jade Sellner is a senior at Sleepy Eye Public School and has been involved in the FFA for six years. Jade joined FFA because agriculture is such a big part of life. She is on the Market Plan CDE team because she gets to learn all the different outlooks from being new on the team. Jade’s favorite FFA activities are the meetings we hold. Something she is really looking forward to is going to State and continuing learning in her Ag classes. Jade has learned more about life skills, leadership skills and how to get out of her comfort zone. Jade’s awards she is most proud of are her Crop Show Ribbons, Top Scholar and Phoenix Award.
Officer of the Month
Winsten Nienhaus is a junior at Sleepy Eye High School and this is his fifth year in FFA. Winsten joined FFA because he wanted to be a leader. He is the Student Advisor on the chapter officer team. Winsten loves being the Student Advisor because he enjoys teaching other students about FFA. Winsten is on the Soils CDE team. What he likes most about this CDE are his teammates. Winsten’s favorite FFA activities are the lock-ins and, most importantly, Nationals. Winsten is looking forward to the State Soils competition. Winsten has learned how to be respectful from being in FFA. Winsten’s award that he is most proud of is going to Nationals for the Poultry CDE team.
Officer of the Month
Gracie Sellner is a senior at Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s. This is her fifth year in FFA. Gracie joined FFA because she wanted to meet new people and make some new friends. She also found it enjoyable to teach the youth about her experiences during FFA. Gracie is the 2nd Vice President on the chapter officer team. As the Vice President, Gracie enjoys working with the president and advisors to plan and conduct FFA events. Gracie is on the Dairy CDE team because she grew up on a dairy farm and is familiar with dairy judging and animals. Gracie’s favorite FFA activities are FFA Week and State Convention. Gracie is looking forward to competing and traveling for her dairy competitions. From FFA, Gracie has learned many new social skills such as leadership and being more communicative. Gracie’s award that she is most proud of is her team earning the Region 6 Highest Placing Dairy Evaluation Team and her placing 1st Individual for Dairy.
Front Row: Madison Engesser Gr 11 English, Kaleb Butenhoff Gr 12 Social Studies, Grecia Navarro Gr 12 Careers, Ava Kunkel Gr 7 Music. Back Row: Nox Dubois Gr 11 Science, Jaden Yack Gr 8 Career Exploration, Carlos Martinez Gr 9 Physical Education, Cadence Okerman Gr 10 World Languages Samantha Price Gr 9 Mathematics Missing: Lily Kallevig Gr 10 Health Missing: Nicholas Mielke Gr 12 Agriculture
Eleven FFA members from Sleepy Eye were interviewed for their State FFA Degrees on Thursday, February 16, 2023. Pictured left to right – front: Adam Johnson, Gunny Coulson, Grecia Navarro, Cristal Schmidtknecht. Middle: Sophie Gustafson, Leisha Martinez, Gracie Sellner. Back: Jacob Price, Jade Sellner, Brooke Arneson, Conor Strong.
By: Chloe Howe, FFA Reporter
The Region VI FFA interviews were held on Thursday, Feb. 16 for Region Office, State Degrees, and Region Star Awards.
This year, eleven Sleepy Eye FFA members applied for State FFA Degrees. The State FFA Degree is the second highest degree attainable in FFA, behind the American FFA Degree.
In order to receive a State FFA Degree, the following qualifications must be met. Having a Chapter FFA Degree, being an active FFA member, completing at least 2 years of agricultural classroom instruction, having earned and invested at least $2,000 or worked 300 hours through an SAE, as well as completing at least 25 hours of community service.
The members who applied for the State FFA Degree included: Brooke Arneson, Gunny Coulson, Sophie Gustafson, Adam Johnson, Leisha Martinez, Grecia Navarro, Jake Price, Cristal Schmidtknecht, Gracie Sellner, Jade Sellner, and Conor Strong.
Adam Johnson Runner Up Region VI Star Farmer. Adam’s project is raising broiler chickens, processing them, and selling them to customers directly.
Jacob Price was named Runner Up Region VI Star in Agribusiness. His project includes his work at Kibble Equipment and his own Lawn Mowing Business.
Gracie Sellner was named the Runner Up Region VI Star in Ag. Production Placement. Her project is in Dairy Production Placement as she has worked at Sellner Farms in the Sleepy Eye area.
Region VI Officer Interviews were also held. Becoming a Region Officer helps FFA members be more active in FFA beyond the chapter level. Serving on an elite team of FFA Members simulates working with others in a professional work environment.
Chloe Howe and Noemi Rodriguez served as the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter voting delegates for the Region Officer Interviews. They voted on the 2023-24 Region VI Officer Slate. Leisha Martinez is currently serving as the Region VI 2022-2023 Reporter.
FFA helps teach specialized skills in hundreds of agriculture career areas. Opportunities such as this can add up to big life achievements!
The FFA members will receive their State FFA Degrees at the State FFA Convention in April at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
The Sleepy Eye FFA Soils Team takes 1st at SMSU Ag. Bowl in Marshall. Team members included l to r: Nathan Rathman, Wyatt Feucht, Winsten Nienhaus, Isaac Lendt, and Caleb Suess.
By: Kyle Capacia, Chapter Reporter
Nine Sleepy Eye FFA chapter members competed in two Career Development Events (CDE’s) at the SMSU Ag. Bowl on February 3rd, in Marshall including Soils and Companion Animal Science.
For the Soils Contest, the Sleepy Eye FFA team placed 1st out of 17 teams. Isaac Lendt was the 1st place individual in the contest as well. Other Sleepy Eye FFA team members included: Wyatt Feucht (7th), Winsten Nienhaus, Nathan Rathman, and Caleb Suess. In the soils contest, members judge different soil profiles, and identify soil characteristics, including texture, depths, and erosion potential.
Other members competed in Companion Animal Science. The team members were Cadence Okerman, Nora Coulson, Paige Haala, and Taylor Berkner. Cadence was the top scorer on the team. The Vet Science team members were tested on their knowledge of common pets, pet health, vet science terms & skills, and animal anatomy. An identification of different species including: dogs, cats, birds, fish, parasites, rabbits, and other animals kept as pets is also a large part of the contest. The team was 20th out of 37 teams.
Sleepy Eye FFA is proud to have these students work hard and excel at an Invitational Contest. Congratulations to all of the team members!
Megan Ahlness, of Sleepy Eye, was named to the Hamline University College of Liberal Arts Dean’s List for the Fall 2022 term. To qualify, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Sleepy Eye Junior High FFA members made 45 cards for the Divine, Care Center, and Countryside Assisted Living Residents for Valentine’s Day. These are some of the members who made the cards to lift the spirits of the residents! Pictured l to r – front: Kelsey Ladd, Jonas Ortiz, John Paul Montemayor, Heath Eckstein, Hayden Domeier, Colton Romberg. Row 2: Candy Regules Castorena, Madi Martinez, Cora Schottle, Mahlia Gable, Riley Voigt, Chloe Okerman, Maddy Goldschmidt. Row 3: Ava Kunkel, Brianna Ziegenhagen, Liana Kimbrough, Paola Gonzalez, Mia Davila, Karly Wendinger, Laila Hein. Back: McKayla Strong, Mario Gonzalez, and Jaiden Chavez.
The High School members put together the Birthday Boxes for the Elementary Students. Pictured l to r: Jade Sellner, Amy Van Bragt, Joey Lee, Breaunna Mertz, Conor Strong, Lydia Helget, Colton Domeier, Marcus Martinez, and Brandon Flores.
By: Kyle Capacia, Chapter Reporter
Junior High FFA members have been busy making cards for Valentine’s Day in order to spread some cheer at the nursing homes and Countryside Assisted Living.
More than 25 junior high members made 45 Valentine Cards to lift the spirits of the residents.
Nine High School members helped with our Birthday Box project we have for FFA. Each child in the Backpack Food Program gets a Birthday Box that includes: card, cake mix, cake pan, frosting, candles, plates and napkins. This way they have everything they need to have a little birthday party.
Living to serve is one of the lines in the FFA motto and definitely something that the FFA members take to heart as they serve the Sleepy Eye Community in so many ways.
