The Region VI FFA interviews were held on Wednesday, February 16 for Proficiency Award Applicants.
Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through supervised agricultural experiences, have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers.
Nationally, students can compete for awards in nearly 50 areas ranging from agricultural communications to wildlife management. Proficiency awards are also recognized at local and state levels and provide recognition to members that are exploring and becoming established in agricultural career pathways.
Five Sleepy Eye members completed Proficiency Applications. The Region VI results were:
Morgan Hoffmann – 1st place in Ag. Communications
Emma Fischer – 1st place in Dairy Production Placement
Jake Price – 1st place in Landscape Management
Adam Johnson – 1st place in Poultry Production
Isaac Lendt – 1st place in Swine Production Entrepreneurship
The Proficiency Applications will now go to the state level and the State Proficiency Judging will take place in March.
By: Leisha Martinez
Chapter Reporter
40 Sleepy Eye FFA chapter members competed in several Career Development Events (CDE’s) at the SMSU Ag. Bowl on February 11th, in Marshall including: Small Animal Vet Science, Forestry, Floriculture, Milk Quality, Best Informed Greenhand, Soils, Meats, and Fish & Wildlife.
For Milk Quality, the Sleepy Eye Team placed 1st out of 17 teams. Team members include: Katelyn Capacia (1st), Megan Sellner (3rd), Rylee Jenissen (4th), and Jace Schauman. In the MQ Contest, students identify cheese and their characteristics, identify off flavors in milk, and judging dairy vs. non-dairy products as well as identify their milk fat contents. They also take a knowledge test on dairy production, management, and marketing.
The BIG Team or Best Informed Greenhand Team took an exam on FFA including: history, officers, facts, and parliamentary procedure. Team members include: Yanellie Fernandez (8th), Adam Rodriguez, Chloe Howe, Manuelle Poplow, Lily Kallevig (6th), Cadence Okerman, Izzy Kunkel, Noemi Rodriguez, Tim Fulton, and Nolan Weicherding. The team placed 2nd in the contest.
For the Soils Contest, Maddison Helget (2nd), Mackenna Fischer, and Nathan Rathman (7th) competed for Sleepy Eye FFA. The team placed 2nd out of 12 teams. In the soils contest, members judge different soil profiles, and identify soil characteristics, including texture, depths, and erosion potential.
The Floriculture teams earned 3rd Place out of 27 teams for Ag. Bowl. Team members include: Brooke Arneson (3rd), Morgan Hoffmann (10th), Presley Bauer, and Nayzeth Luna. The Floriculture CDE tests student knowledge of flowers and plants, growing media, fertilizer, greenhouse management, design concepts, and the floriculture industry. They also are tested on their identification skills of annuals, cut flowers, greenhouse crops, and floriculture equipment and tools. The final part of the Floriculture CDE is problem solving dealing with pricing, calculating media and fertilizer, production schedules, floral design, and safety for chemical use.
Other members competed in Small Animal Vet Science and Fish & Wildlife. For Vet Science, Brissa Hernandez, Nora Coulson, Paige Haala, Paige Thoms, Taylor Berkner, and Miah Brown competed. Miah 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 18th out of 36 teams.
The Fish & Wildlife competitors included: Jake Price, Jacob Schultz, Abi Hornsby, Mateo Hornsby, and Wyatt Barnes. Jacob was the top scorer on the team. The Fish & Wildlife contest consists of three parts: identification (mammals, fish, birds, insects, reptiles/amphibians), a knowledge test, and a current events activity on lake quality. The team placed 11th out of 32 teams.
The Forestry Team members included: Hannah Meyer, Sam Price, Daniel Armstrong, and Jaelynn Schauman. Daniel earned top scorer on the Sleepy Eye team and the team was 4th out of 9 teams. For the forestry contest, members identify trees, wood, and tools used in the forestry industry; measure trees; take a forestry exam; solve business management problems; and use a compass and pacing to figure out the bearing and distance.
For Meats, the team members identified the different cuts of beef, pork, and lamb. Trevor Rathman, Maria Galaviz-Camacho, Gavin Fischer, Yuridia Fernandez, and Alex Confer. The team placed 15th out of 23 teams. Maria was the top scorer on the team.
Sleepy Eye FFA is proud to have these students work hard and excel at an Invitational Contest. Congratulations to all of the team members!
The Region VI FFA interviews were held on Wednesday, Feb. 9 for Region Office, State Degrees, and Region Star Awards.
This year, ten 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: Alexis Garza, Brennen Meyer, Carmen Lendt, Katelyn Capacia, Jacob Schultz, Maddison Helget, Presley Bauer, Sophie Kyllonen, Taylor Lambrecht, and Wyatt Barnes.
Sophie Kyllonen was named the Region VI Star in Ag. Production Placement on Wednesday after she interviewed for this honor. Her SAE is in Dairy Production Placement as she has worked at three different dairy farms in the Sleepy Eye area. Kyllonen will now advance to state competition in this award 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.
Sophie Gustafson and Grecia Navarro served as the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter voting delegates for the Region Officer Interviews. They voted on the 2022-23 Region VI Officer Slate. Leisha Martinez was elected 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.
January 2022 Students of the Month
Kdgn- Jaella Schauman Kdgn- Waylon Schauman
1st – Antonio Sanchez 1st – Brinley Peterson
2nd– Logan Hinderman 2nd – Reed Arkins
3rd – Katelyn Ludewig 3rd – Liliana Trevino
4th –Gabriel Garcia 4th – Ryder Braun
5th – Caiden Helget 5th – Oziel Lozano
6th – Breanna Lopez 6th – Caleb Oscarson
By: Chapter Reporter, Brooke Arneson
Jake Price is in 11th grade and has been in FFA for 5 years. He joined FFA because he wanted to learn more about agriculture. Jake’s CDE (Career Development Event) Team is Fish and Wildlife. For his SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience), he has his own lawn mowing business and also works part-time at Kibble Equipment. Jake’s favorite FFA activity is Timberland Camp and he is most looking forward to going to camp again this upcoming summer. So far from being in FFA, he has learned that there are many different opportunities to have a good paying agricultural job. Jake is most proud of earning State Runner-up and State Winner for his SAE project in Turf Grass Management.
Nora Coulson is in 9th grade and has been in FFA for 3 years. She joined FFA to have leadership opportunities and to have fun working as a team in activities. Nora’s CDE Team is Small Animals. She enjoys gaining more knowledge about animal development from her CDE. Nora’s favorite FFA activity is playing volleyball at the monthly meetings. Something she is interested in doing this year is the Summer Ag. Tour. From being in an Ag. class and FFA, Nora has learned about different Ag. careers in our rural community. She is most proud of earning top-seller in the fruit sales.
Yuridia Fernandez is in 8th grade and has been in FFA for 2 years. She joined because she thought it would be fun and decided to take an Ag. class. Yuridia is on the Meats CDE Team. She is glad she joined the team because she has a lot of fun. Yuridia’s favorite FFA activities are the monthly Junior High meetings. She is looking forward to competing in the Ag. Bowl for her CDE this upcoming week. From being in an Ag. class and FFA, Yuridia has learned information about plants, animals, and how to cook. She is most proud of earning 9th place in her first ever crop show.
Gracie Sellner is in 11th grade and has been in FFA for 5 years. She joined FFA because she wanted to learn more about agriculture, get involved with hands-on organization, learn new leadership skills, and meet new people. Gracie has been serving as the Student Advisor for our FFA Officer Team. As the Student Advisor, she likes that she gets to work with the advisors and her fellow officers to plan Jr. High meetings, National FFA Week, and the High School meetings. She also gets to learn leadership skills. For Gracie’s CDE she is on the Dairy Team. She likes to take her skills from judging dairy cattle to her family farm, as well as her skills to pick out dairy that she shows at the Brown County and State Fairs in the summer. For her SAE, she works on her family’s robotic dairy farm. She overall mostly works with the baby calves, does vaccinations, and does a lot of field work. Gracie’s favorite FFA event is FFA Week. She is most looking forward to meeting new people and making more friends this year. FFA has taught Gracie how to be more confident when speaking publicly. It has also taught her to be a leader when no one will step up and take responsibility. Gracie is most proud of winning 4th individual at Regions for Dairy her freshman year. She is also proud of winning the leadership award her freshman and sophomore year.
December 2021 Students of the Month
Kindergarden- Nolan Deibele
1st – Kiara Hanson
2nd– Grace Wersal
3rd – Mark Urbano
4th –Taya Bastian
5th – Lydia Boomgarden
6th – JP Montemayor
Kindergarden- Adriana Martinez
1st – Karin Barka
2nd – Isabella Seifert
3rd – Breckin Peterson
4th – Sarahi Nino-Espinosa
5th – Ian Lushine
6th – Ava Kunkel
Mary Hoffmann, Katie Emmett, and McKenzie Wagelie, Sleepy Eye Public School Ag. Teachers, attended the Minnesota Association of Agricultural Educators (MAAE) Ag. Technology Conference in St. Cloud January 20-22, 2022. This conference included attending professional development workshops, a meeting for the Agricultural Diversity and Leadership/Technical Skill Challenge Grant, award winner recognition, and updates from all major partners in Team Ag. Ed.
Hoffmann led a community building activity as part of her duties on the State Teach Ag Results Committee and gave an update on the National Council for Agricultural Education as President Elect of that board.
Hoffmann was named the Minnesota ACTE Teacher of the Year and will now complete an application for the Region III ACTE competition level. She was also recognized as a Teacher of Teachers as Wagelie was a previous student of hers at Sleepy Eye.
Emmett and Wagelie were participants in and recognized for the Teacher Induction Program (TIP) while at the conference. As new teachers, they heard from many different panelists on pertinent topics for first year teachers.
All attended the conference to participate in the professional development workshops, learn from the stakeholders in Agricultural Education, network with over 225 Ag. teachers from around the state of Minnesota, and hear updates to stay informed on legislative efforts for agricultural education as well as programs from the Minnesota Department of Education.
By: Leisha Martinez, Chapter Reporter
Some know this line – Living to Serve – as the last in the FFA Motto. For Sleepy Eye FFA members, service may be one of the first words they think of when they think of what FFA is all about.
This summer, the Sleepy Eye FFA chapter applied for a National FFA year-long living grant for $3000 in order to help with the holiday boxes which include food bags each week and Holiday Gift Boxes. With the generosity of Trinity, Central Region Cooperative, Land O Lakes, Tractor Supply Company, Cargill, CoBank, Dominos, and Elanco, the grant became a reality for the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter
The Backpack program is where students at risk for hunger receive bags of food for the weekend with a family meal – main dishes, fruit, vegetables, and a snack. The FFA grant money is being used to help with several extensions of the Backpack Food Program including: Birthday Boxes for each elementary participant, Fruit and Snacks in each Food Bag, Personal Care Item Pantry for Grades 5-8, Personal Care Items for the Holiday Boxes, and Food Pantry for Grades 7-8.
The Holiday Boxes for the families include: 8 meals and some extra snacks and goodies for the long holiday break as well as a gift certificate for meat and produce at the local grocery store, ornaments, family game/puzzle, personal care items (shampoo, body wash, deodorant, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrush).
20 of our members have been helping with this project in many ways. Whether it is packing the meals at Mark Thomas, making the Birthday Boxes, or shopping for the items, our members are excited to help out. Advisor, Mrs. Hoffmann, and Morgan Hoffmann, the Chapter President, along with members Alexis Garza and Jorden Niebuhr, shopped for the personal care items that went into the holiday boxes for the families. New this year was a special family gift of a game/puzzle and an ornament.
The FFA is thrilled to be a part of this amazing project that the Trinity church conducts, along with numerous community partners, providing food to students all school year long.
Happy Holiday cards have been made by the members and will be given to all residents at the local nursing homes and Countryside along with ornaments the FFA chapter purchased. Members also wrote a special note to Veterans and sent cards to the VA Hospital in Minneapolis as another way to serve this year.
Receiving the Living to Serve grant and helping with these projects were a great way for our members to contribute to the community and build relationships while doing so! One of the FFA members favorite things to do is participate in service projects. We are always trying to find ways to help out in the community and spread a little holiday cheer!
By: Chapter Reporter, Brooke Arneson
Manny Poplow is in 9th grade and has been in FFA for one year. He joined FFA because of the encouragement of his friends and teachers. Manny’s CDE (Career Development Team) is the Best Informed Greenhand (BIG) Team. For his CDE, he enjoys memorizing all of the FFA facts. So far competing on the BIG team is Manny’s favorite FFA activity. One thing he wants to try in the future is trapshooting. Manny has learned so far that agriculture isn’t just about plants, but includes so many other things. His top achievement is winning 2nd place on the BIG Team at regions.
Lily Kallevig is in 9th grade and this is her first year in FFA. She joined FFA so that she could meet new people and make new friends. Lily is a member of the BIG Team for her CDE. She enjoys her CDE because she gets to hang out with her friends. Lily’s favorite FFA Activity was the lock-in. She is most looking forward to going to state for BIG Team. Lily has learned that there is more to agriculture than farming, that the opportunities are endless. She is most proud of earning the Member of the Month award.
Trevor Rathman is in 7th grade and this is his first year in FFA. He joined FFA so he could be more involved with agriculture. Trevor does not have one specific favorite FFA activity, as he enjoys all of them. Something he is interested in or looking forward to the most is trapshooting. From being in an Ag. class and FFA, Trevor has learned more about plants and animals. He is most proud of the award for being the top junior high seller for fruit sales.
Morgan Hoffmann is in 12th grade and has been in FFA for 6 years. She joined FFA because it has always been a part of her life. When Morgan was old enough, she joined and participated in everything she possibly could and loved all of it! Morgan has been serving as the Chapter President and she enjoys being a leader for our chapter as well as working with her other fellow officers. Morgan is on the Floriculture CDE Team. For Floriculture, she likes designing different floral arrangements and learning about the different types of flowers. Morgan’s SAE is Ag. Communications where she posts and gets the word out about FFA and agriculture to many people. Her favorite FFA activities include Timberland Camp and FFA lock-ins. Morgan is looking forward to FFA Week and State Convention where she can meet up with the many friends she has made over the years. From being in an Ag. class and FFA, Morgan has learned many skills that will help her in future careers, and she has learned how to be more confident in herself. The awards she is most proud of are the Blue and Gold Award, Sophomore Achievement Award, Star Greenhand, and 1st Place Agricultural Education Proficiency at State.