Actions Influence Members - First AIM Conference

Syracuse, NY August 29, 2017

On August 26, 2017 students came into the Empire room at the Great New York State Fair, not knowing what to expect out of the next 24 hours during this brand-new conference. Students worked through multiple activities throughout the weekend to not only better themselves, but also develop skills to help improve their chapters’ program of activities. With the hope of coming out of this conference being more prepared for their year ahead. Taylor Rollins, District Five President, says “I was super excited that it wasn’t like any ordinary conference and that we were going to interact with so many different people.”

Throughout the entire conference, members were encouraged to network with other chapters. Icebreakers and other social activities allowed members to learn and really get to know the people they would be working with. One highlight from the conference was the opportunity for participants to interact with the National FFA President, David Townsend! David joined us for 6 days at the fair and was given the opportunity to see NY FFA members in action as they not only participated in AIM but also competed in multiple career development events.  

While developing their chapter’s program of activities, FFA members had to develop a new activity that would promote and educate the public about agriculture. After developing their activity, each chapter was then sent out into the fair to implement it. Three judges, David Townsend the National FFA President, Christina Layne a representative from New York State Ag and Markets, and Eileen Jenson from the New York Animal Coalition were sent out to evaluate and rank each of the activities. The chapter that received the highest score received a $500 grant to help implement their program of activities for the coming year. This year’s grant winner was the Southern Cayuga FFA chapter for how well they educated the public about bees! We received such positive feedback and many chapters look forward to coming back next year!

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 by,
Kimberly Doyle
NY FFA State Reporter, 2017-2018

Empire Farm Days - August 2017

Students build relationships and compete at Empire Farm Days

 Seneca Falls, NY August 21, 2017

From August 8th to August 10th 2017 students from all across the state traveled to Seneca Falls, New York to attend Empire Farm Days! Students had multiple opportunities to mingle with public figures, including businesses and industries across the North East. Not only did students help advocate for FFA and agriculture, they also competed in tractor driving and welding contests.  Many opportunities like these occur throughout the year for students to take advantage of. Several chapters collaborated with Empire Farm Days to help support this event through manning information booths to parking thousands of cars that come to this three-day event.

Nearly 100 students competed in the tractor driving and welding contests. These contests are not only popular but serve an educational purpose for all students. Throughout the welding contest, students must demonstrate their ability and knowledge of using MIG and arch welders, as well as a cutting torch. The tractor driving CDE allows students to showcase how to safely drive a tractor while towing a 2-4 wheel trailer behind them. However before they are able to get behind the wheel, they must complete a safety and parts ID test. The top three welders receive a scholarship from Morrisville State College if they decide to attend; third place is $750, second is $1000 and first is $1500.

New York FFA had so many opportunities at Empire Farm Days. NYS FFA member and 2014-2015 District 8 President Karen Luong attended and received the 2017 Empire State Potato Growers scholarship! Members also received the chance to connect with people from around the world, including someone from South Korea. Ethan Keller, State FFA President, interviewed with Finger Lakes Radio and spoke about his decision behind joining FFA, what the FFA is, and opportunities members can experience. Ethan and Maria Martinez, New York National FFA officer candidate, attended a luncheon where they spoke with Cornell University CALS Dean Boor about the agriculture teacher shortage and the benefits of becoming an agriculture educator here in New York!

FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agriculture education. For more information regarding FFA please visit either www.nysffa.org or www.ffa.org

Respectfully Submitted by,
Kimberly Doyle
NY FFA State Reporter 2017-2018

July 2017 NY FFA Speaks

Byron-Bergen Students Celebrate Agricultural Tradition

The Byron-Bergen community’s agricultural heritage was celebrated on June 2 with the Junior/Senior High School’s fourth annual Agriculture Appreciation Day – better known as the bring-your-tractor-to-school-day. Brothers Garrett and Wyatt Sando were the first to arrive in their carefully restored and shining 1973 white tractor. They were soon joined by other students with their farm vehicles, large and small, including a classic 1952 Farmall.

Science teacher Jeff Parnapy is excited about the important role agriculture will play in education at the school next year. He is spearheading the new agriculture program, which will launch in the fall with an Intro to Ag class and a new Byron-Bergen chapter of Future Farmers of America (FFA).

“We’ve been working with our Advisory Council, a wonderful group of experienced people from the community, to plan and organize the program,” he said. “Our Superintendent, Mickey Edwards, and Principal Pat McGee, recognize the interest our students have in agriculture and natural resources. We already have 22 students signed up for the first class.”

Junior Garrett Sando is one of them. His family owns 75 acres and he has had his tractor license since ninth-grade. “I’m really interested in trying the program out,” he said.

Parnapy is excited to work with young people who are interested in building futures in agriculture. He taught agriculture in Albion schools before coming to Byron-Bergen in 2000, and sees similarities between the two communities.

“My hope is to launch the program and expand it every year. The FFA chapter will be open to kids in grades 9-12 for the first year, with plans to extend it to grades 7-8 when it is solidly established,” said Parnapy.

NY FFA Students Tour Agriculture Colleges

While most students are typically awaiting the start of a brand new school year in August, high schoolers involved in FFA and 4H were taking part in a traveling conference over the course of 5 days across New York State. The inTENse conference takes high school students in grades 10 through 12 on the road and exposes them to agricultural college and career opportunities within New York. Students learn about college admissions and a variety of career options through hands-on experiences. The goal is that every participant will clearly understand that no matter what sort of career they envision for themselves they can do it in agriculture - and that we need them to do it in New York agriculture. This year, almost 60 students took the opportunity to tour SUNY Cobleskill, Paul Smith’s College, SUNY Morrisville, Cornell University, and Alfred State College, in hopes of finding a college and career that would best suit them.

The first day of InTENse was spent at SUNY Cobleskill. With 57,900 high- skilled jobs available in the food, agriculture, renewable resources and environmental fields in the United States, students were exposed to several of these career fields. As the tour progressed, students got hands on and made pickles as part of the culinary lab as well as groomed horses during the equine experience. During the next leg of the experience at Paul Smith’s College, students participated in timber sports, driving horses, and the rehabilitation of wildlife. While in the Adirondacks, we made a stop at the Wild Center to learn about internship opportunities that are available in this career field.
Once students left the Adirondacks, they headed to SUNY Morrisville to see the dairy incubator, equine rehabilitation center and the ag mechanics program. Students also learned about Collegiate FFA before joining Farm Credit East for a tour of Holmes Acres and Cazenovia Equipment. Once at Cornell University they were able to see the weed/crop gardens, get an in depth look at the lab of Ornithology, and explore the rumen of a fistulated cow. Following a day of tours, the students got to enjoy a meal at Coltivare. Here they learned about how the food that was used to prepare the meal was locally grown at TC3, a community college with agriculture and sustainability options. The last stop of the experience was spent touring the dairy farm and Vet Tech program at Alfred State. Students were able to use an endoscope and conduct a sonogram on a dog, prepare blood smears, perform wellness exams on calves, and observe the operation of a robotic milker before heading back home. By the end of the week, group leaders heard the students expressing their excitement about the colleges they had seen and the opportunities they couldn’t wait to take advantage of. In fact, many students began the application process to join the class of 2021 at desired universities such as Justin Rodda who said “I tried to start the application process yesterday, but it just started today and I’m going to have it filled out before I leave”. The future of agriculture is bright thanks to the incredible students enrolled in agriculture programs across New York. We would like to take this time to thank the colleges, agricultural businesses and our sponsors for giving this amazing opportunity to future generations of agriculturalists.

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 By,
Kimberly Doyle
NY FFA State Reporter, 2017-2018