DANVILLE, Ohio — Danville FFA finished third in the state Environmental Natural Resources contest held at the Gwynne Conservation Area at the Molly Caren Agricultural Research Facility in London, Ohio on May 9. Team members were seniors Catlin Ball, Dakota Ricketts and Alayna Wittel and sophomore Ethan Swendal.
This is Danville’s first top-five placing in the ENR contest, and the third state contest where they’ve placed in the top 10 this school year.
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WARREN, Ohio — Trumbull Career and Technical Center FFA has chosen Aria Vargas, Carter Howard, Malia Cozad, Zoe Edenfield, Nick Frantz, Lyric Culp, Addison Kistler and Wyatt Piper as its 2024-25 officers.
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HOWARD, Ohio — Four members of the East Knox FFA competed May 9 in the State Environmental/Natural Resources Career Development Event hosted at the Conservation Area of the Ohio Farm Science Review grounds in Madison County. A team of Aiden Kapper, Andy Rettig, Mackenzie Wilson and Jesse Wolford placed fourth out of a field of teams from across Ohio.
East Knox FFA has placed in the top five in the state in the Environmental/Natural Resources CDE every year except two since the contest first started in 2007, when they won the initial event. They have finished second four out of the past seven years and won the event again in 2021. They will receive a banner for this year’s fourth place finish.
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WEST SALEM, Ohio — Northwestern Wayne FFA invited the preschool students to the school’s greenhouse on May 8 to hand paint flower pots and plant flowers from the school’s greenhouse in for Mother’s Day. The students had the opportunity to tour the greenhouse, see all of the colorful flowers and pick their own flower to plant. They also planted a sunflower seed and packaged their gifts up into bags to give to their moms for Mother’s Day. Additionally, Ella Saal conducted an activity where the students had to identify the stages in a plant life cycle, and taught them about what plants need to survive. The members who participated in this activity were Ella Saal, Jacoby Gilbert, Mallory Gilbert, Kaylee Cherry, Brooke Hershey, Kirsten Boreman, Kate Johnson, Kaleb Badger, Gabi Riedel, Neveah Kirk, Alysa Troyan, Bri Lance, Jack Morris, Chet McNeil, Preston Wilcox, Haley Caldwell, Caydence Scale, Easton Thomas, Mallory Bloom, Taylor Wurst and Kade Tegtmeier.
WEST SALEM, Ohio — Northwestern Wayne FFA participated in the County Fun Night hosted by the Smithville FFA chapter on May 21. Northwestern Wayne FFA members were able to have a fun night with Norwayne and Smithville FFA members during the event. The event featured a slip and slide, kickball game and cornhole. Dinner was provided as well. The members that attended this event were Mallory Gilbert, Robby Hunt, Savannah Blount, Olivia Scarbrough, Brooke Nolletti, Alivia Welch, Mallory Bloom, Kaylee Cherry, Morgan Ervin, Jacoby Gilbert, Allison Wellert, Alivia Aicone, Alysa Troyan and Neveah Kirk.
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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Northwestern FFA helped with the Reading Under the Lights from 6-8 p.m. on May 28. Students were able to read a book under the lights on the football field. The FFA chapter was asked to bring animals for a small petting zoo that included goats, sheep and rabbits. The students were able to see the animals as they entered and exited the stadium. The students were able to pick out a book and follow along to the reading of it out loud. The members that attended were Taryn Stoller, Emma Connelly, Addy Connelly, Makenna Connelly, Kate Johnson and Lilly Boreman.
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MILLERSBURG, Ohio — West Holmes FFA toured the Certified Angus Beef headquarters in Wooster, Ohio May 1. The tour started out by learning the basics about Certified Angus Beef and how they operate. Then, the members split up to tour the offices and the meat lab. While touring the offices, members had the opportunity to learn about the different professions within Certified Angus Beef and what they do for the company. In the meat lab, members learned about the different factors that classify beef as Certified Angus Beef. They then concluded the tour with a meal prepared by Certified Angus Beef staff that included different cuts of beef as well as other entrees.
MILLERSBURG, Ohio — West Holmes FFA participated in the Spring Trap shoot at the Sugar Creek Sportsman’s Club on April 27. The team placed fifth with a score of 164. Individually, Grady Hawkins shot a 37, Carson Horn shot a 34, Maison Carter shot a 33, Wyatt Myers shot a 32, Keith Hawkins shot a 29 and Dylan Sours shot a 28. The highest scoring team shot a 191 and the highest scoring individual shot a 48.
MILLERSBURG, Ohio — Four West Holmes FFA members participated in the State Wildlife Contest at Hocking College on April 6. The team placed 19th. Individually, Dylan Sours placed 65th, Grady Hawkins placed 70th, Maison Carter placed 105th and Keith Hawkins placed 164th. There were 43 teams and 224 individuals at the contest.
MILLERSBURG, Ohio — West Holmes FFA members Wyatt Schlauch, John Maloney, Laina Croskey and Taelor Patterson competed at the State Dairy Cattle Judging finals held at Ohio State ATI on April 24. The team placed second and earned a banner and a trip to Madison to judge at the World Dairy Expo in October. Individually Wyatt Schlauch placed second, John Maloney placed 12th, Laina Croskey placed 17th and Taelor Patterson placed 21st. Alternates included Tyler Zimmerly and Blake Patterson.
MILLERSBURG, Ohio — West Holmes FFA volunteered their time at the Nashville Fun Fair on April 26. The chapter helped with the setup before the event and throughout the afternoon they helped run games such as basketball, Plinko, bowling, putt-putt, muffin pan toss, musical chairs, duck pond and face painting. The chapter assisted with serving food during the fair and helped clean up all games after the conclusion at 7:30 p.m. The helpers from the chapter included Jenna Sheldon, Madison Pearce-Laferty, Gabby Yates, Maison Carter, Jenna Brumme, Blake Patterson, Tyler Zimmerly, Taelor Patterson, Madison Ringwalt, Hanna Bruce, Laina Croskey and Wyatt Schlauch.
MILLERSBURG, Ohio — West Holmes FFA participated in an Adopt a Highway clean-up before its meeting on May 21. Members walked the sides of State Route 39, one mile on each side of the high school, picking up trash. Participants were Cassidy Holasek, Shane Lorentz, Rowan Holasek, Andi Schuch, Ben Forrer, Claire Drzazga, Blake Patterson, Ava Eberhard, Torrie Savage, Emma Eberhard, Megan Hughes, Madison Ringwalt, Jenna Sheldon, Garrett Fowler and Logan Van Dalen.
MILLERSBURG, Ohio — West Holmes FFA conducted its last meeting of the year on May 21. At the meeting, members had the option of arriving early to play cornhole, nine square, gaga ball, giant Jenga and kickball. The new officer team shared with the chapter the treasurer’s account, the secretary’s minutes and the articles the reporter had sent out. Then the chapter broke into committees to discuss end of the year planning, home visits, the summer schedule and the Memorial Day parade float.
As main motions, the chapter discussed approving the summer schedule, creating a fair booth and paying for supplies, holding its annual hog roast, participating in kid’s day at the fair, holding an officer retreat, paying for the ice cream for the banquet, participating in the Memorial Day parade, a motion to assist Historic Downtown Millersburg with Thunder over Holmes County from noon to 6 p.m. on June 29 and a motion to hold its annual banquet on May 10th, 2025.
At the end of the meeting, secretary Garrett Fowler handed out Member of the Month certificates to Grady Hawkins and Miley Snow for their contributions. Certificates were also handed out to retiring officers Maison Carter, Wyatt Myers, Maren Drzazga, Claire Drzazga and Quentin Vehrs for their countless hours of service.
Afterward, the Seniors gave their final words of wisdom to the younger members, and the meeting was adjourned.
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OBERLIN, Ohio — The Firelands Agricultural Science/FFA members who earned the Ohio AgriBusiness Association Agribusiness and Production Systems Certification during the 2023-24 school year included Jocelyn Bednar, Jack Copley, Ava Fontaine, Amy Gerber, Garrett Schlechter, Grace Tansey and Jolee Wissinger.
For more information about the Ohio AgriBusiness Association student credential, including requirements and past recipients, visit their website at www.oaba.net/student_credential.
OBERLIN, Ohio — Firelands FFA had several members who recently received top honors in proficiency.
Kyleigh Klingshirn earned second in the state for accounting proficiency. Ava Fontaine was second in Ohio for equine science placement.
Callie Finnegan won equine science entrepreneurship and Garrett Schlechter won diversified crop production placement, and will both move on to the national competition.