(Atlantic, IA – by FFA Reporter Maddy Anderson) – Each year the Southwest FFA District and Iowa FFA officers plan and facilitate Greenhand Fire Up Conferences for FFA members in the Southwest District. Atlantic High School welcomed 375 FFA members from 29 FFA chapters from all over the Southwest District on Wednesday October 9th.

While at Atlantic High School on Wednesday, district and state officers lead four interactive workshops for first year high school FFA members, also known as Greenhands, for the annual Greenhand Fire Up Conference. The workshops facilitated were leadership focused with an emphasis on the experiences that occur in the lives of beginning high school students.

Iowa FFA President, Collin Bauer, stated, “Greenhand Fire Up provides a chance for first-year high school members to get a sneak peek of the opportunities that FFA holds, and is a conference for members to meet and interact with state and district officers.”

This year 11 Atlantic FFA members participated in Greenhand Fire Up Camp. Rylan Martin said, “I had a great time at Greenhand Fire Up Camp. It was a good experience and I had a lot of fun meeting new people.“ Clara Kennedy said, “I had a lot of fun and I think that every 8th and 9th grade FFA member should go to this conference.”

left to right
Front row
Chloe Sonntag, Jovie Richter, Dylin Ball, Jackstin Lucas, Zack Boes
Back Row
Paislee Klever, Clara Kennedy, Rylan Martin, Ciara Tasto, Mia Kloewer, Kourtney Ross

The officers prepared and facilitated workshops of: authenticity, balancing priorities, communication, and FFA opportunities – in order to provide the first-year FFA members with skills they would use both within and outside of FFA. The goal was to engage FFA members in learning about the tools that would allow them to be successful in anything they are part of through high school and beyond.

Greenhand Fire Up is made possible with support from the Iowa FFA Foundation.

(Marysville, M).) – Atlantic FFA Reporter Maddy Anderson reports that on October 3rd (2024), 27 Atlantic FFA members attended the fall contest held at Northwest Missouri State University located in Maryville, Missouri. The members got the opportunity to compete in several different contests. The Floriculture Team had 5 members compete placing 1st in the Iowa Division and 5th Overall.

Floriculture Team Left to Right:
Rylan Martin, Jacquie Freund, Journey Saffron, Paislee Klever, Nataile Smith

Team members Rylan Martin placed 11th, Jacquie Freund placed 13th, Journey Saffron 27th, Paislee Klever 41st and Nataile Smith placed 70th. The Floriculture CDE includes three phases: Identification of Plant Materials, Identification of Greenhouse/Floriculture Tools & Supplies, Disorders and Diagnosis, and a General Knowledge Examination. Jacquie Freund said “ It was a fun new experience and I loved meeting new friends and looking at all the pretty flowers.

This year, the chapter had 5 members compete in the Livestock Evaluation contest, placing 4th out in the Iowa Division and 9th overall. The scores from Atlantic FFA Miraylie Stuart 22nd, Addalyn Sonntag 51st, Aly Dreager 65th, Maddy Anderson 76 and Tenley Cappel 108th out of more than 170 contestants. Addalyn Sonntag said “ I felt like it was a great day to do some livestock judging, and I enjoy learning more about judging and getting better at it.” In this contest, members had the opportunity to display their agricultural knowledge of various livestock breeds. Those who competed had to place breeding and market classes of beef, swine, and sheep, while also doing three classes of oral reasons.

The Horse Judging Contest had Atlantic FFA members place 3rd in the Iowa Division and 5th Overall. Team members Kayedance Sturm placed 9th, Callie Rudy placed 15th and Clara Kennedy placed 26th overall. The Horse judging contest consisted of a 25 question written exam, 3 halter classes, 1 performance class and two sets of oral reasons.

Horse Judging Team
Left to Right:
Kayedance Sturm, Callie Rudy and Clara Kennedy

The Dairy Foods contest had 7 members compete in the contest placing 2nd in the Iowa Division and 11t overall. The team was made up of Lola Comes 20th, Dani Bennett 55th, Hayden Kleen 66th, Keston Schmitt 81st, Hunter Quist 96th, Braden Wood 98, and Frank Freund 101st. This contest has members try different types of cheese, find the defects in milk, look at milking equipment, and take a written exam. Together they placed as the top Iowa team. Hunter Quist said “ I had a great time eating dairy foods like cheese and drinking milk,Also I disliked the written test.”

In the FFA Knowledge Exam Atlantic FFA placed 2nd in the Iowa Division and 10th overall. Members Lily Johnson placed 7th, Lauren Comes placed 23rd and Mia Kloewer placed 140th overall. This contest consisted of a 100 question written examination covering general FFA knowledge. Lauren Comes: “I enjoy going to the northwest to try a new contest that I haven’t done before.” In the Dairy Cattle Evaluation contest, Dylen Dreager and David Retallic competed in this contest. Dyle placed 24th and David placed 104th even though he did not have time to complete the entire contest. The purpose of the District Dairy Cattle CDE is to enable students to develop skills in dairy animal selection and dairy herd management. They evaluated and ranked dairy animals based on visual factors of selection.

Finally, in the Farm Business Management exam Atlantic FFA member Jarrett Hansen placed 32nd out of 106 individuals. The Farm Management CDE consisted of an objective test over management principles, record analysis, marketing, budgeting, and farm business organization. Jarrett Hansen said “ It was a really fun time going to a different state to compete with kids I never met.”

FFA Knowledge and Farm Business Exam
Left to Right:
Mia Kloewer, Lily Johnson, Jarrett Hansen, Lauren Comes

Dairy Foods Left to Right: Dani Bennett, Lola Comes, Braden Wood, Hayden Kleen, Keston Schmitt, Frank Freund and Hunter Quist