ITHACA, N.Y. — November is a month that many FFA chapters spend recuperating from the National FFA Convention and looking forward to the upcoming year. Fundraisers, promoting agriculture education, and contests all dotted the calendar for this month.
Granville FFA went above and beyond and won second place in Krone North America Division’s 1st Annual Battle of the Bales contest. (Courtesy Photo)This month Krone North America Division held their 1st Annual Battle of the Bales contest. In this competition FFA chapters from across the Northeast United States were challenged to build a display featuring hay bales, their FFA chapter, and a reference to Krone equipment. Chapters in New York accepted the challenge and created incredible displays. Galway, TST New Visions, Schoharie Valley, Tatonic Hills, and Granville FFA chapters all participated in this contest and all their hard work is evident in the displays that they created. Granville FFA went above and beyond and was second place! We are so proud of them and all the FFA chapters who participated in this contest!
November is also a month where many FFA chapters kick off their fundraising. Several chapters sell fruit and cheese to raise money for the upcoming year. As November is a month of thanks and gratefulness, FFA chapters also took the time to donate food to those in need for the holiday seasons.
The John Bowne FFA chapter had the opportunity to be on Fox and Friends in October.
“16 students from the John Bowne FFA Chapter were on Fox & Friends on Saturday October 12th. National FFA reached out to chapters in the area and John Bowne was chosen. Students participated in “Fall Fest” which was sponsored by Tractor Supply Co. FFA members worked with children to roast marshmallows, play corn hole, and paint pumpkins. Our students were also working with the petting zoo animals to ensure they were comfortable.” -Chloe Fuentes, John Bowne High School teacher and FFA advisor
John Bowne FFA is a great representation of agriculture and FFA in New York City.
Square Roots in Brooklyn. (Courtesy Photo)Promoting agriculture education is at the core of what we are as an association. For a week in November, the State Officers spent a week promoting FFA and agriculture education in Rome, Syracuse, Buffalo, Manhattan, and Brooklyn during the Growing Agriculture Education Regional Tour. This tour highlighted the components and benefits of having a successful agriculture education program in schools. In addition to promoting FFA and agriculture education in the high school, Agriculture in the Classroom was also represented to show an inclusive curriculum for all grades and ages. Along this tour we were fortunate to have the opportunity to tour several agriculture establishments and see how diversified agriculture is across the state from Apple Acres outside of Syracuse to Square Roots in Brooklyn, along with several high school agriculture programs. Throughout our tour we were very thankful to be joined by several agriculture teachers, industry experts, and legislators. In Buffalo we were grateful to have the New York State Lieutenant Governor, Kathy Hochul, join us as she shared a message of support for agriculture and spoke of the importance of agriculture education in our state. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is a large supporter of this tour and was responsible for setting up many agriculture tours in New York City and making this tour a success. As an association we are lucky and thankful to have so many incredible supporters as we continue to promote diversified urban agriculture and agriculture education.
As we round out this month we look forward to December and continuing to spread our thanks well into the end of 2019.
NYS FFA District 2 Update
Written by: Kyle Giminiani, District 2 President
November is the time for thanks and District 2 is thankful for all that they did in the month of November. The Pine Plains FFA chapter decorated the town for Christmas and participated in participated in the Parade of Lights to support their community. The Greenville FFA chapter has been busy with their annual greenery sale. Many members have been helping harvest greens and staying after school to help fill orders. The Sharon Springs FFA chapter held an ALS dinner and basket raffle. They also visited SUNY Morrisville and most recently sponsored a CPR and Stop the Bleed training as part of a National FFA Living to Serve Grant. The Cobleskill-Richmondville FFA chapter held an agriculture fair for the elementary students to help inform them about the agriculture industry. They also took a trip to SUNY Cobleskill to hear Temple Grandin speak. They went to the State FFA Officer Tour regional event at Berne Knox-Westerlo High School. The Berne Knox-Westerlo FFA chapter hosted a stop for the state officers to come during the State Officer Tour. Many of the chapters in District 2 attended and had a blast!
All the chapters in District 2 are as busy as ever in the month of November. We have continued furthering our community’s understanding of agriculture by giving back and being involved in our communities during this month of thanks.
Member Spotlight:
Anna King is a senior in high school and is the District 2 member of the month for November. Anna has been involved in the FFA for 4 years, even serving as the Cobleskill-Richmondville FFA President. Anna raises over 10 beef cows that she shows at the county fair, regional shows, and at the national level. In order to improve her herd genetics, she continues to purchase new animals that will produce better offspring. Anna makes all of the breeding decisions and develops the feed rations for the whole herd, of 60 beef cows. Anna has helped with the Ag Breakfast every year and the Ag Fair which is put on by the FFA chapter. This is when the high school students bring the pre-K through third grade students in and teach them about topics related to agriculture, such as bees, the food pyramid, and dairy. Anna has also helped organize and set up events like their chapters annual Christmas party and their Junk Food Movie Night. She has competed at the District, Sub-State, State Convention and National Convention levels, competing in the Extemporaneous Public Speaking, Marketing, Ag. Issues, Job Interview, and Creed Speaking competitions. Anna has shown that students in FFA can grow and will grow. According to Anna, “without FFA, I wouldn’t be as comfortable public speaking and FFA pushes you to be the best person you can be and has taught me many things.” Keep up the good work Anna, we are all very proud of you!
FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career successful through agriculture education. For more information regarding FFA, please visit either www.nysffa.org or www.ffa.org.
Respectfully Submitted
Emily Carey
NY FFA State Reporter 2019-2020
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