Sleepy Eye FFA Members attended the Little International Contest at SDSU in Brookings, SD on Friday, April 1. The members of the Dairy, Meats, Milk Quality, and Poultry included: l to r – front- Rachel Portner, Lucia Martinez, Gracie Sellner, Katelyn Capacia, Megan Sellner, Rylee Jennisen, Jace Schauman, Alex Confer, Yuri Fernandez. Back – Adam Johnson, Isaac Lendt, Jacob Schultz, Winsten Nienhaus, Emma Fischer, Noah Rossbach, Gavin Fischer, Trevor Rathman.

The Horse Team from Sleepy Eye attended the Little I Competition at SDSU. They include: l to r – Jasmine Peterman, Leah Kucera, Sydney Zarn, Sophie Gustafson.

Twenty-one members of the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter attended the Little International Contest in Brookings, SD at SDSU on Friday, April 1. They competed in the Dairy, Horse, Meats, Milk Quality & Products, and Poultry Contests.

The Poultry Team placed first in the Little I Competition! Team members included: Adam Johnson, Isaac Lendt, Winsten Nienhaus, and Noah Rossbach. The Poultry CDE involves judging chickens and turkey carcasses, eggs, processed poultry, chicken parts identification, and taking a poultry knowledge test. Adam Johnson took 1^st in the Little I Contest and Isaac Lendt took 2^nd.

Identifying off flavors in milk, identifying cheese and its characteristics, identifying dairy and non-dairy products, and a knowledge test were all parts of the Dairy Products contest at SDSU. The Sleepy Eye team placed ninth in the contest out of 31 teams. The team members included: Megan Sellner, Jace Schauman, Rylee Jennisen, and Katelyn Capacia, who was the highest scorer on the team placed seventh overall.

For the Dairy Contest, Gracie Sellner, Lucia Martinez, Jacob Schultz, Emma Fischer, and Rachel Portner evaluated several classes of Brown Swiss and Holstein dairy cows and heifers as well as a pedigree class where they judged cows based on their records and a sire selection class where they chose the best bull for their cows. Their team placed twelfth out of 36 teams and Gracie Sellner was the highest scorer on the team.

The Meats contest was composed of identifying meat cuts by type (Beef, Lamb, Pork), wholesale, and resale. The meats team also evaluated pork carcasses and judged classes of cuts of meat. Yuri Fernandez, Alex Confer, Trevor Rathman, and Gavin Fischer judged Meats at Little I. The team placed 17th out of 41 teams. Yuri Fernandez was the highest scorer on her team.

  For the Horse CDE, members judged halter classes (mares and geldings) and took a knowledge test on horse breeds, colors, markings, tack, and more. Sophie Gustafson, Leah Kucera, Sydney Zarn, Jasmine Peterman were the Sleepy Eye FFA Team members. Sophie Gustafson was the high scorer for the Sleepy Eye Team.

On Friday, April 8, the Meats and Dairy Teams competed at the Region VI Contest in Brookings, SD. The dairy team placed first in the contest! Team members included: Gracie Sellner, Lucia Martinez, Jacob Schultz, Emma Fischer, and Rachel Portner. Individually, Gracie was the first place winner, Emma was sixth, Rachel was tenth, and Lucia was twelfth.

The meats team placed ninth. Team members included: Yuri Fernandez, Alex Confer, Trevor Rathman, and Gavin Fischer. Yuri was the top scorer on the team. Both the Dairy and Meats teams advanced to state!

The members in Dairy, Meats, Milk Quality, and Poultry will be competing soon at the State Convention in the twin cities. This was a great opportunity for them to test their knowledge and skills to prepare for upcoming contests.

The Floriculture and Nursery Landscape Teams both placed first in the Region VI Contest on March 30.  Front – Floriculture team: l to r- Presley Bauer, Miah Brown, Morgan Hoffmann, Brooke Arneson. Back – Nursery Landscape team: l to r- Austin Uecker, Leisha Martinez, Marcus Martinez, Kyle Capacia.

The Region VI FFA Floriculture and Nursery Landscape Contests were held in Windom on March 30th. Both teams placed first and will be advancing to the State Competition!

The Floriculture team placed 1st overall out of 13 teams and 55 individuals. The team members included: Brooke Arneson (1^st place individual), Morgan Hoffmann (3^rd place individual), Presley Bauer and Miah Brown. The components of the Floriculture CDE are Identification of Cut Flowers, Potted Greenhouse Crops, Annual Flowers, and Tools as well as a Knowledge Test, a Problem Solving Activity, and Arrangement Practicum.

The Nursery Landscape Team placed 1st overall out of 7 teams and 26 individuals. The Sleepy Eye FFA Team members included: Kyle Capacia (2^nd place individual), Marcus Martinez (3^rd place individual), Leisha Martinez (5^th place individual) and Austin Uecker (10^th place individual). The NL CDE consists of Identification of Deciduous Trees and Shrubs, Evergreen Trees and Shrubs, Perennials, Annuals, Weeds, Equipment, Pests, and more as well as a Knowledge Test and Problem Solving. There are also two practicums each year. This year’s practicums were calculating necessary soil amounts for potting and calculating needed material for patio and sidewalks using pavers and keystone system.

Sleepy Eye Elementary School March 2022 Students of the Month

Kdgn- Joey Seifert                    Kdgn- Lennon Braulick

1^st –    Bristol Nachreiner            1^st –   Ava Todd

2^nd–    Avery Steffl                      2^nd –  Kyson Christensen

3^rd –   Zoey Romberg                 3^rd –  Bella Eckstein

4^th –   Arianna Guerra                4^th –   Robert Ehlers

5^th –    Carsten Nienhaus             5^th –  Abigail Krzmarzick

6^th –    Madelyn Martinez             6^th –  Ava Sellner

From left: Brooke Arneson, Gunny Coulson, Alex Joramo, Mason Sellner and Adam Johnson.

by coach Alyssa Stevensen and Mindy Berkner

As things eased back to normal, the Sleepy Eye Public High School knowledge bowl team had big goals for the season. The team of juniors Brooke Arneson, Gunny Coulson, Adam Johnson, Alex Joramo and senior Mason Sellner made it a priority to make it to the state tournament this year.  Last year’s state appearance by this team (sans Sellner) was bittersweet as Covid precautions altered the experience (local tournament location and online).

This year things were back to normal and the stakes were higher.  Could they be two time state qualifiers? The start of the season brought them a few meet finishes just out of medal contention by mere points. As the season progressed, the team fell into a stride as they qualified through the subsection and section meet. Then regions came.  In each of the five rounds they climbed the rankings and by the end of the final round they claimed 2nd by two points to earn them a spot at state.

Coaches Mindy Berkner and Alyssa Stevensen are very proud of how hard they work to stay on top of their game, from weekly practices, to working on their own to gain knowledge in a wide array of topics.  One of the highlights of the season was the team vs the teachers mock meet.  The team won and earned the admiration of staff.

The state meet will once again be at Cragun’s resort on Gull lake in April. Everyone is very excited to take part to see how Sleepy Eye Public stacks up against the state’s best and brightest students.

By: Chapter Reporter, Brooke Arneson 

Member of the Month

Conor Strong is in 11th grade and has been in FFA for 2 years. He joined FFA so that he could participate in all of the fun activities that are offered. His overall favorite FFA activities include the volleyball tournaments and lock-ins. Conor is most looking forward to joining the trap-shooting team in the upcoming year. From FFA, he has learned that teamwork is everything, and farming is an important part of our lives. Conor is proud of earning multiple ribbons from the crop show.

Member of the Month

Jon Baures is in 12th grade and has been in FFA for 6 years. He joined FFA because he really likes agriculture and it has helped him learn more about livestock, which is something he wants to work with after he graduates. For Jon’s SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience), he raises beef cattle on his family farm and then sends them to Nebraska to a processing plant where they get butchered. One of Jon’s favorite FFA activities is the lock-in. He is most looking forward to the State FFA Convention. From being in an agriculture class, Jon has learned about numerous other animals besides beef cattle. An award that he is most proud of earning is the Greenhand and Chapter Degrees.

Member of the Month

Rylee Jennissen is in 8th grade and has been in FFA for 2 years. She joined FFA to learn more and explore the different parts of agriculture. Rylee is on the Milk Quality CDE (Career Development Event) Team. She likes her CDE because she gets to be part of a team and work together with others to help each other learn. Rylee’s favorite FFA activity is the Milk Quality Competition. She is looking forward to the state competition for Milk Quality in April. From being in an agriculture class and FFA, Rylee has learned how important agriculture is to our economy. Rylee is most proud of her Discovery Degree and this Member of the Month Award.

Officer of the Month

Leisha Martinez is in 11th grade and has been in FFA for 5 years. She joined FFA to be more involved in school activities. She also joined because her whole family was in FFA, which influenced her to get involved at a young age. Leisha has been serving as the Reporter for our FFA Officer Team. As the Reporter, she enjoys capturing moments in FFA activities so anyone can look back at the photographs and remember all of the fun memories that were made. She is on the Nursery and Landscape CDE Team. Leisha likes the challenges that her CDE brings, and likes to learn about cool plants, trees, insects, and tools. Her favorite FFA activity is to make holiday cards for the nursing home residents. Leisha is looking forward to her CDE competition the most this year. By being in FFA, she has learned how to speak in front of people. A fun fact she also learned from being in an agriculture class is that octopuses have three hearts. Leisha is most proud of earning the Phoenix Award.

                 February 2022 Students of the Month

Kdgn- Mavrik Saenz               Kdgn- Amilya Moldan

1^st – Samuel Petersen            1^st – Giovanni Marquez

2^nd– Noah Briones                  2^nd – Kaybree Haala

3^rd – Hudson Braulick             3^rd – Brayden Deibele

4^th –Kelly Rodriguez                 4^th – Briella Walser

5^th – Aaron Garcia                   5^th – Laylana Hoffmann

6^th – Kenley Jensen                 6^th – Karly Wendinger