Future Farmers For the Win: Juab FFA Excels at Area Contest
The Mt. Nebo FFA Chapter, Juab’s FFA program, has a notable reputation for being fierce competitors. On Wednesday January 28th, Mt. Nebo FFA took Area Contests by storm as they excelled in their events. Area contests are the FFA equivalent of a region competition. Those who win their competitions will advance to compete at the FFA State Convention. Competitions at area contests include Creed Speaking, Extemporaneous Public Speaking, Employment Skills, Discussion Meet, Conduct of Chapter Meetings Competition, and more.
The Mt. Nebo FFA had a winner or runner-up in every public speaking event they participated in. The following individuals went above and beyond in their respective competitions:
Public Speaking Competition Winners:
Ryker Watkins: 1st Place in Creed Speaking
Kate Reynolds: 1st Place in Employment Skills
Sara Winn: 1st Place in Farm Bureau Discussion Meet, and 2nd Place in Extemporaneous Public Speaking
As part of the FFA Program, FFA members must have a Supervised Agricultural Experience or “SAE” project, which helps them grow and develop life skills. SAE projects can range from working on a family farm, to starting your own business. FFA members keep detailed records of these projects, and can apply for awards in their project areas. At Area Contests, winners were announced for Proficiency Awards, Star State Awards, and Star State Greenhand Awards.
Our FFA chapter did phenomenal at Area Contests, with top awards in over 13 different categories. The following individuals were the winners of their award areas:
Proficiency and Star Degree Award Winners:
Jake Woodland: Ag Processing/Ag Sales Proficiency Award Winner and Star State in Agribusiness Winner
Gavin Walker: Ag Mechanics Proficiency Award Winner
Sara Winn: Agriscience Proficiency Winner and Star State in Agriscience Winner
Emileigh Painter: Diversified Agriculture Proficiency Winner and Star State in Placement Winner
Jacob Davis: Forage Production Proficiency Winner and Star State Greenhand in Placement Winner
Josie Wright: Goat Production Proficiency Award Winner and Star State Farmer Winner
Duncan Pay: Landscape Proficiency Award Winner and Star State Greenhand Farmer
Ryker Watkins: Swine Production Proficiency Award Winner
Karter Peters: Vegetable Production Proficiency Winner
Congratulations to the FFA members for representing our school so well. We wish all of the competitors good luck as they advance to compete at State. Blue and gold has never looked better!
Keep reading for more information on FFA Speaking Contests and Project Awards!
About the FFA Contests:
Creed Speaking: In Creed Speaking, competitors memorize and present a five paragraph statement called the FFA Creed, which describes the goals and hopes of the FFA Program. They are then asked questions about the FFA Creed and how it can be applied to agriculture. Competitors are judged on their public speaking skills, as well as question answers.
Extemporaneous Public Speaking: In this competition , FFA members are assigned an agriculture related topic at random, and are given 30 minutes to prepare a speech. This speech, which must be between 4-6 minutes long, is then presented to a panel of judges.
Employment Skills: In the Employment Skills Competition, FFA members complete a mock job interview where they present a cover letter, resume, and completed job application.
Discussion Meet: In this competition, contestants must give a 30 second statement on their views and knowledge of a pre-designated topic. They then participate in a 20 minute discussion of the topic, before making a one minute closing statement on what was learned from the discussion. The competitors are judged on knowledge of the topic, presentation, inclusion of others in the discussion, etc.
Conduct of Chapter Meetings Competition: In this contest, a team of seven individuals (7th-9th grade) conducts a mock meeting, where they present the Official FFA Opening Ceremonies, debate/discuss an assigned topic, and complete assigned parliamentary procedure motions.
About FFA Project Awards:
Proficiency Awards: These awards are given to youth who excel in their SAE project area. There are nearly 50 project categories that FFA members can compete in. One winner in each category is selected to advance to the state level, where an overall winner is selected in each category.
Star State Greenhand Award: The Star State Greenhand award is given to sophomores with at least one year of high school FFA experience. In contrast to the 50 proficiency project categories, the Star Awards have four categories: Placement, Farmer, Agriscience, and Agribusiness.Star State Award: This award is given to Juniors and Seniors who have a minimum of two years of agricultural education. It is based on time put into projects and growth shown.