Pictured are: General Livestock Team at the Ohio State Fairgrounds; Sam Wilhelm, Madison McAlexander, Max Anderson, Nathan Deere, and Jonathan Hildebrand.
Submitted photo
Pictured are Milk Quality and Products Team at the Ohio State Fairgrounds; Kianna Gsell, Mason Farmer, John Chambers, Aeriana Hernandez.
Submitted photo
Urbana FFA members took part in the State Career Development Events on March 25. The Dairy Products, Equine, and General Livestock teams competed in this event. These competitions promote leadership and life skills for the students involved. All students take part in practices before the contests, to learn the skills they will need for the competitions. Teams are made up of up to eight members, and are given an accumulative score on the three highest ratings.
In the Dairy Products Contest contestants have to identify and score milk defects. They must also ID different cheeses, do CMT scores on samples of milk, score and ID defects on milker units, score sediment pads, and tell the difference between Dairy and Non-dairy products. Finally they must take a test based on the dairy industry and trends within the industry. There were 31 schools present at the competition and over 130 individual contestants. The participants from Urbana were Aeriana Hernandez (2nd), Kianna Gsell (12th), Mason Farmer (18th), and John Chambers (89th). The team placed 4th overall.
In the Equine Management contest contestants have to judge halter classes, riding classes, hay class, and have to identify general tact and equipment. They are also tested on equine science and management. There were 108 teams present at the competition and over 300 individual contestants. The participants from Urbana were Amari Jones (268th), Morgan Richards (349th), and Emily Fisher (351st). The team placed 71st.
The General Livestock students judge two classes of beef, swine, and sheep based on market and breeding characteristics. They also have three female selection classes and two paper scenario classes. Individually, there were 1072 individuals who competed in the competition. The individuals who competed were Jonathan Hildebrand (107th), Samuel Wilhelm (165th), and Nathan Deere (229th), Madison McAlexander (248th), Max Anderson (425th). Overall, the team placed 29th out of 191 teams. Congratulations to all the contestants on a job well done and for all the hard work this spring.
-Submitted by Kianna Gsell
Urbana FFA Reporter
