A few members of the Cedar Rapids FFA Chapter Attended the Ag Days event. They listened to former Ag Secretary Mike Johanns speak about how far agriculture has come since he was a kid, and he also discussed the many job opportunities that there are in agriculture. 

The students also took a tour of the Double Dutch Dairy. The students learned a lot, including that there are 4,100 cows at their Shelby site. Most of the students had a good time as well as learned a lot.

 

Husker Harvest Days
The Cedar Rapids FFA Chapter attended Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island. Many of the students had a good time. Delilah Choat said, “It was a blast as well as a good experience.” Along with getting a lot of neat souvenirs the students also learned some interesting things.

When asked what her favorite part of Husker Harvest Days was, Keri Beierman replied, “Getting all of the free things.” Brian Choat enthusiastically replied (to the same question) that his favorite part was “the Mustang.” In the end it was a unanimous decision that we should definitely go back soon.

Chapter Installs Officers
Newly installed 2008-2009 Cedar rapids FFA officer team.
New officers are: Chelsey Autry, Jr. Advisor ; Delilah Choat, Parliamentarian; Chris Hellbusch, Treasurer; Kevin Beierman, Vice President; Melissa Mogensen, President; Sammi VanDeWalle, Secretary; Ashley VanDeWalle, Reporter; Michael VanDeWalle Sentinel; Keri Beierman, Historian.

 

Range Judging results
Sept. 17th @ Elm Creek
Jr. Division
Andrew Armatys, 6th; Adam McIntyre, 7th; Andy Reardon, 26th, out of a group of 146 contestants.
Sr. Division
Kevin Beierman, 10th; Josh Ritterbush, 18th; Sammi VanDeWalle, 20th; Michael VanDeWalle, 26th; Jake Greger, 33rd, out of group of 136 contestants
Overall, Cedar Rapids FFA members placed on average better than we ever have in the past. Range judging consists of: Identifying 24 plants and listing four to six characteristics; Determining the range site name at three different stations, evaluate each site for range condition and degree of use; making recommendations for range improvement on a map along with determining the proper stocking rate of livestock; and answering 10 general quiz questions.

State Fair Results
The local FFA Chapter had great results at this years’ Nebraska State Fair. We had many different entries, and had a lot of new experiences while working with our projects. Here are our results:
Kevin Beierman, Welding Board-Blue; Melissa Mogensen, Corsage-Blue; Dillon Busch, Ag Mechanics-Purple/Reserve Champion; Chris Hellbusch, Welding board-Red; Chelsey Autry, Boutonniere-Purple; Michael VanDeWalle, Range Board-Purple; Samantha VanDeWalle, Beef/British Commercial Heifers-Purple/Reserve Champion, Boutonniere-Purple; Elle Choyeski, Range Board-Blue, Boutonniere-Blue; Jennifer Sanchez, Boutonniere-Purple; Keri Beierman, Ag utility-Blue, Range Board-Blue, Boutonniere-Blue; Ashley VanDeWallem Ag Utility-Blue, Range Board-Purple, Boutonniere-Purple; Delilah Choat, Ag Mechanics-Blue, Range Boards-Purple/ Reserve Champion, Boutonniere-Purple, Swine/ Other Breeds Gilts-Purple/Reserve Champion Chester White Swine/Spotted Swine Barrows-Purple, Swine/ Yorkshire Gilts-Blue; Evey Choat, Ag Mechanics-Blue, Swine/Other Breeds Barrows-Blue, Swine/Spotted Swine Barrows-Red.