SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Jackson DeWitt and Mailynne Rudnicki, of Global Impact STEM Academy, have qualified for the regional agriscience fair competition hosted by The Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts this September.
Out of the 36 state winners from Ohio, only six student projects were selected to advance to the regional event. DeWitt’s research project, titled “Seed Varietal Impact on Soybean Yield,” examined four different soybean seed varieties commonly used in Ohio. His goal was to determine which seed variety produced the greatest yield, emphasizing the importance of optimizing agricultural land by planting the most productive seeds. Rudnicki’s experiment, “The Effect of Wheel Track Type on Soil Bulk Density,” utilized robot model tractors with various wheel and treaded track configurations to measure soil compaction. She applied a soil bulk density formula to calculate which wheel or track type resulted in the least soil compaction. Rudnicki’s project seamlessly integrated her passion for mathematics with her knowledge of soil science, structure and porosity gained from her agriculture classes.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Six students from the Global Impact STEM Academy FFA have been named national finalists this year in the National FFA Agriscience Fair that will take place during the National FFA Convention & Expo from Oct. 23-26 in Indianapolis.
In the Environmental Services and Natural Resource Systems category, Mailynne Rudnicki will compete in Division 1 and Elise Hess will compete in Division 3. In the Plant Systems category, Joseph Antinori will compete in Division 1 and Jackson DeWitt will compete in Division 3. In the Power, Structural and Technical Systems category, Levi Webster will compete in Division 1 and Phoebe Green will compete in Division 5.
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WEST SALEM, Ohio — The Northwestern-Wayne FFA chapter attended the Wayne/Ashland County Dairy Service Unit Twilight Tour located at the Wayne County Fairgrounds on July 16. Members of the chapter were able to dump the trash, serve ice cream and cheese, check people in and restock the water and milk. The Twilight Tour products were showcased by the local producers from all over Ohio and the Wayne County area. The members that were present at the 2024 Twilight tour were Chet McNeil, Triston Flinn, Emma Connelly, Makenna Connelly, Brooke Hershey, Mallory Gilbert and McCullough Porter. The Dairy Twilight Tour is an event hosted each year for members of the community wishing to learn more about the dairy industry while enjoying dairy products.
WEST SALEM, Ohio — Northwestern FFA participated in the parade to celebrate the 175th Wayne County Fair. Members of the chapter took time the week of Aug. 15 to begin constructing the float for this celebration. The theme for the float was production agriculture, depicting topics learned and discussed in the classroom. The chapter enjoyed passing out agriculture activity booklets, stickers and squishies.
WEST SALEM, Ohio — The officers of the Northwestern-Wayne FFA chapter gathered for the 2024-2025 officer retreat from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at Northwestern High School. The officers worked together to create personal and team goals and also decided to choose a word to look back on throughout the year. The team chose the word PLANT — Plan, Lead, Act, No one left behind, Teamwork. After this, the team defined its responsibilities and expectations for the year before reflecting on last year’s activities, selecting which to continue and which to remove. The officer team wrapped up the retreat by creating a monthly planning calendar that will help the organization throughout the year.
WEST SALEM, Ohio — Mallory Gilbert of the Northwestern FFA chapter was among the students traveling to D.C this summer to attend the Washington Leadership Conference to engage with legislators, hone civic engagement and leadership skills and create community impact projects to take back to their cities and towns.
Gilbert attended the conference June 18-26 and spent the week under the guidance of professionals, counselors and FFA staff. In workshops, seminars and small groups, members focused on identifying and developing their personal strengths and goals while undergoing comprehensive leadership training that will help them guide their local FFA chapters. The capstone of the event was a civic engagement activity where participants applied what they had learned to a hands-on activity.
The students participating analyzed the needs of their communities, developed wide-ranging and high-impact community service initiatives and implemented their plans with the help of their FFA chapters upon returning home.
Students in recent years have promoted agricultural literacy, brought attention to abuse, collected and distributed shoes to individuals in Haiti, created a hunger awareness plan and more.
FFA members were able to experience the history of our nation’s capital and tour landmarks, including the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol building, the White House, Ford’s Theatre, Arlington Cemetery, the Smithsonian museum and the WWII, Vietnam and Hiroshima memorials. Each day of the conference focused on a different principle taught through the context of our nation’s capital: exploration, encouragement, advocacy and service.
The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 1,000,000 student members as part of 9,163 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The mission of the FFA is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
