AGRIBUSSINESS … Agribusiness class of Landon Stuckey, Cameron Schlosser, Brian Guillen, Devin Dempsey, and Libbie Baker visit several area agribusinesses during the month of October.
DAIRY CATTLE EVALUATION TEAM … The Dairy Cattle Evaluation Team of Anthony Jiannuzzi, Brian Guillen, Jordan Schaffner, Libbie Baker, Conner Sanders, Aleigha Sieradzki, Gracelynn Weisz, Sophia Crossgrove, Myah Higgins, Grace Serrano, Hailey Smith, Ashtyn Sanders, Addi Smith and Rachel Dickinson place 8th in the District 1 contest.
FARMER JONES – BRIX TESTING … Ag Ed students listen to Farmer Jones Farm staff member, Kate, discuss how they use Brix testing to improve their products.
FARMER JONES – GREENHOUSE … Animal and Plant Science, Advanced Animal, and Foods students pose in the greenhouse at Farmer Jones Farm.
JOB INTERVIEW – FRESHMEN … Addi Smith places 1st and Ashtyn Sanders places 2nd in Division I (Freshmen) at the Williams County Job Interview contest.
JOB INTERVIEW – JUNIOR & SENIOR … Zakk Cammack places 1st in Division III (Juniors) and Brooke Moreland places 1st in Division IV (Seniors) at the Williams County Job Interview contest.
MILK QUALITY TEAM … The Milk Quality and Products team of Carlee Schaffner, Reese Eisel, Tina Dickinson, Eliza Higgins, and Zia Siegel place 6th in the District 1 contest.
By: Zakk Cammack
MILLCREEK-WEST UNITY FFA REPORTER
The month of October began with a unique field trip opportunity for the Animal and Plant Science and Advanced Animal Science classes.
On October 1st, these two classes, along with the Biology, Foods, and Environmental Science classes made the hour and forty-five-minute trip to Huron, Ohio where they were able to tour the Farmer Jones Farm horticulture operation.
Farmer Jones Farm is the home of The Chef’s Garden which produces and ships nutrient dense vegetables, herbs, microgreens, and edible flowers to chefs, restaurants, and home cooks nationwide utilizing regenerative farming practices that are good for people and the earth.
The staff at Farmer Jones put together a customized tour for the classes where they rotated between four different stations which included: observing the lab where food quality testing takes place, taste testing apples and learning about growing and caring for an apple orchard, taste testing different vegetables and micro greens grown on the farm and then completing a Brix test (measurement of sugar in the plant) on them, and a guided tour of the farm operations.
At the end of the tour, students were able to visit the farmers market and purchase some of the vegetables and fruits they had taste tested and observed at the farm. The classes were beyond grateful for this amazing experience!
Millcreek West Unity FFA chapter members participated in the District 1 Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Milk Quality and Products contests on October 10 in Edgerton, Ohio.
The Dairy Evaluation Team judged 4 classes of cows and heifers, completed a 25-question general knowledge test, and completed a pedigree and sire selection.
Members of the team included: Libbie Baker, Sophia Crossgrove, Rachel Dickinson, Brian Guillen, Myah Higgins, Anthony Jiannuzzi, Ashtyn Sanders, Conner Sanders, Jordan Schaffner, Grace Serrano, Aliegha Sieradzki, Addi Smith, Hailey Smith, and Gracelynn Weisz. They placed 8th as a team.
The Milk Quality and Products team completed milk product identification, cheese identification, milk flavor tests, California Mastitis Tests, a written test, and a problem-solving scenario.
The team consisted of: Tina Dickinson, Reese Eisel, Eliza Higgins, Carlee Schaffner, and Zia Siegel. They were the youngest team participating and placed 6th!
During the month of October, the Agribusiness class learned about business structures and had the opportunity to visit several local businesses to interview the owners about owning and operating a business.
On October 9th, the class traveled to Jacoby’s Ole Smokehouse in West Unity, Ohio to learn from Christal Swany about Sole Proprietorships.
Then, on October 15th, the class was visited by Millcreek-West Unity FFA Alumni, Austin Schaffner representing Pettisville Grain Company, to learn about S-Corps and his role in the daily operations of the business.
The last business visit took place at Town and Country in Bryan, Ohio where Scott Sullivan discussed the operations and legal structure of a partnership.
On Thursday, October 17, the Millcreek-West Unity FFA Chapter hosted the Defiance and Williams County Job Interview CDE.
Participants had twenty minutes to complete a job application, another twenty minutes to be interviewed by a panel of judges for a hypothetical job, and then twenty more minutes to write a follow-up letter after their interview.
Four Millcreek-West Unity FFA members participated in the contest. In Division I (Freshman) Addi Smith placed 1st and Ashtyn Sanders placed 2nd. In Division III (Juniors) Zakkary Cammack placed 1st.
In Division IV (Seniors) Brooke Moreland placed 1st. Each of them qualified to move on to the Division 1 contest on November 7th at Oregon-Clay High School.
At the end of October, several chapter members traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana for a successful National FFA Convention. During the convention, members toured Total Seed Production in Tipton, Indiana and Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana.
They also heard from guest speakers Kevin Wanzer and Dr. Temple Grandin and listened to the musical stylings of Nate Smith and Megan Moroney.
Three of our members: Ingrid Hoffman, Joscelyn Layman, and Addi Smith were named top ten National Agriscience Fair Finalists in their Division and Categories. Ingrid Hoffman placed 3rd in Division 5 Social Systems.
Joscelyn Layman placed 2nd in Division 5 Food Systems. Addi Smith placed 1st in Division 1 Food Systems. Each of these members received a monetary scholarship for their projects.
The chapter also had two members receive their American FFA Degrees during the American Degree Ceremony on Saturday, October 26th, Ian Hoffman and Matthew Wyse.
With the end of a very successful October, the chapter looks to participate in several more Career Development Events and community service activities in the month of November.