Capital FFA students yield bushels of awards in state competition

CARSON CITY — Nineteen Carson High School Capital FFA students yielded bushels of awards at the Nevada State FFA Conference held at the University of Nevada Reno March 20-24. Most notably, the CHS Career and Technical Education students were honored with the Best Dressed Chapter Award, recognizing the chapter as the most professional chapter at the conference.

More than 550 students statewide competed at the conference in various fields including nursery and landscape planning, marketing and agribusiness management, environmental natural resources, animal management, veterinary science and floriculture, among others.

Having earned second place in Soils Judging (evaluating land for its capability to grow cash crops) at the Nevada State Soils Contest in Eureka, Nev. this past September, the chapter received their award at the State FFA Conference in March and will continue to represent Carson City Thursday, May 3, at the National Land Judging Contest in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Additionally, with a first place finish in Nursery Landscape, CHS FFA students will again represent the city and community at the 91 National FFA Convention October 24-27 in Indianapolis, Ind.

Charlie Mann, CHS CTE agriculture and natural resources management teacher, said his students in agricultural studies represent the heart of Carson City.

“These kids understand that agriculture is critical to life, beyond the concept of ranching,” Mann said. “They understand it’s about our food supply, science, business and technologies surrounding plant and animal production as well as environmental and natural resources. These awards only evidence further their comprehension.”

Agriculture and natural resources management studies is one of many Career and Technical Education pathways offered at CHS. The CTE program is part of Governor Sandoval’s CTE initiative, providing education at industry levels in six career cluster areas including professions in information and media technologies, agriculture and natural resources management, business and marketing, hospitality and tourism and skilled and technical sciences.

Veterinary science students graduate with their CPR certifications and plant sciences students graduate with their Environmental Protection Agency Handler Verification certification covering worker protection standards for working with pesticides.

“Our students work hard all year long to gain or improve the skill sets and knowledge to succeed in agricultural studies,” Mann said. “I couldn’t be prouder of these students.”

State awards earned by CHS students:

Nursery Landscape: First Place Team – Maritza Filson, Hayden Story, Conner Arnold and Alexsandra Knowlton. This team will again represent the Capital FFA and the Carson City community at the national FFA Convention October 24-27 in Indianapolis, Ind.

Second High Individual Nursery Landscape: Hayden Story.

Third High Individual Nursery Landscape: Alexsandra Knowlton.

Milk Quality and Product: Third Place Team – Maritza Filson, Jose Cazares, Conner Arnold and Madalynn Amos.

Third High Individual Poultry Evaluation: Mackenzie Meza-Moreno.

Agriculture Sales: Fourth Place Team – Zion Belcastro, Marvin Escobedo-Ramirez, Maxwell Fontaine and Keefe Warren.

Best Dressed Chapter: Capital FFA (This award is for the most professional chapter at conference).

Nevada FFA State Degree: Maritza Filson, Whitney Bibee, Jose Cazares and Katie Cullen.

Soils Judging: Second Place Team – Maritza Filson, Hayden Story, Conner Arnold and Whitney Bibee. This team will continue on to represent Carson City Thursday, May 3, at the National Land Judging Contest in Oklahoma City, Okla.

About FFA
FFA, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, was formed in 1928 to bolster confidence and leadership in young men who were leaving farming to explore other opportunities. Congress recognized FFA as a national charter in 1950. In 1969, female students were admitted to full membership rights. Today, more than 45 percent of FFA members nationwide are female and FFA curriculum has expanded to include biology, chemistry, veterinary science, engineering and entrepreneurship to round out relevancy to agricultural education. Nationally, more than 653,000 FFA members earn $4 billion annually through student-run businesses or supervised agriculture experiences.