Chandler Jahner-
Soils Judging has always held a special place in my heart. For one, it opened my eyes to more areas of agriculture. Growing up on a livestock operation, I had no clue as to what it took to be successful with row crops. Why it's my favorite is because, at my home chapter, the soils judging team was the team that was always the closest. They were the ones who hung out outside of school, spent extra time practicing and developing a way to play off of each other's strengths. When I had a chance to be a part of that club, I was amazed to see how close a group of people could get over a contest. Whether it was not washing a pair of lucky jeans, staying up late the night before the contest or hanging out at someone's grandmas to go over materials I loved every second. To this day, when I talk agriculture with people I reference what I learned in those Southern Iowa soil pits.
Cole Reiman-
Being a student that has never participated in a skills CDE, this year is my first year seeing the process and let me tell you - These members work HARD. Never before have I seen so many members dedicated to doing what they love and mastering their craft. The town I grew up in is named “Ayrshire” like the dairy cow, coincidentally, this last week I had the privilege of helping out with the dairy CDEs. Now, going into this contest I didn’t know what to expect. I kind of just thought it was just going to be a bunch of kids who love milk, I guess. After I got about halfway through the day, I saw the tests that they have to take and boy let me tell you what. If these students want to succeed, it isn’t just a walk in and go type of thing. Just from looking at a couple sheets of paper, I could tell just how hard skills CDE students have to work to do well. I was thoroughly impressed with the work that these students did and can’t wait to see where their passions take them. While all skills CDEs impress me, I think I have to stick with my roots and say that Dairy has to be my favorite.
Laken Mullinix-
After having the opportunity to be around a lot of CDE’s this summer, I have come to the conclusion that the Floriculture contest is my favorite. I loved being able to see the beautiful product of the member’s hard work, and it amazes me that people my age and younger can create flower arrangements so beautiful they look professionally made. It was also fun to see how a lot of teams dressed up, it was another way they showed their dedication to their contest because they were dressing the part. Before presenting awards, I went around and looked at a few of the corsages and I could see the pride on the member’s faces as they showed off their hard work and I loved seeing this with members of all CDE’s!
CD Brinegar-
My favorite skills CDE is Agriculture Mechanics and Technology in June, it consists of different mechanics and technology that is helpful to use around the farm, ranch or in many ag jobs. It consists of welding, woodworking, electrical wiring, along with a test and small engines area. This contest is always a fun one for a couple reasons, one you can be good at or learn about many areas within the mechanics and technology field and show off many skills at once. Or if you're like me a and not really good in all of the areas but maybe one you can really show off your skills and talents on that one area. This contest is at Iowa State University on the 450 farm a live working farm and is all around just a great experience to compete and learn a lot.
Lexi Berte-
Out of all the skills, CDE’s that FFA members across Iowa compete in, I would have to say Livestock judging is my favorite. As a member, I competed in different livestock judging events throughout the year. I always loved getting to improve my skills after each contest and discuss the reasons my team and I had for placing classes the way we did. Many members spend a great deal of time on this CDE and let me tell ya oral reasons are not the easiest. Or at least they weren’t for me! Something I also really enjoy about this contest is that members do not have to have a livestock background to be successful. Even though many of them do, it is still possible to learn the correct way to judge livestock. Iowa FFA members continue to surprise me with their hard work and dedication to the many skills CDE’s our state has to offer!
Jake Hlas-
Skilled CDE’s were always one of my favorite aspects during my high school career! From practices after school to early morning van rides to contests, I enjoyed every moment of these events. My personal favorite skilled CDE was by far Livestock Judging. Not only did I love the contest portion of livestock judging, I also enjoyed the countless hours of practices and workouts that went into being successful. The connections and networking opportunities in the livestock industry that came with judging are something I wouldn’t trade for anything. Many can relate to the hard work that it takes to be successful and win or lose knowing that you put 100% effort into an opportunity is a very rewarding feeling. I encourage everyone I meet to do something they may not be comfortable with or used to because you never know how much you can grow from that moment!
Lane Morrison-
This summer I was able to help run some of the Skilled CDE events across Iowa. Although all of the events were a lot of fun, I enjoyed the Meats judging CDE the most. I worked in a butcher shop as my SAE over the past few years so I already had a knowledge of the meat products the students were tasked with judging. All of the students that participated did a tremendous job and put in many hours of hard work for the event. The work they put in will definitely benefit them in the future when putting in situations that require them to work effectively and efficiently. Seeing these members participate in something they enjoy shows that they want to work hard for something and make themselves better.
Jodie Mausser-
My all-time favorite skilled CDE was definitely dairy judging! I remember sitting at the farm looking through the cow magazines and trying to decide what cow would be placed as the best. Whenever a cow would come into the parlor, I would judge her by her udder, how she walks on her feet and her teat placement. When it came time for the Dairy Judging Skills CDE, I was ready to put my knowledge to the test! Every year, it was my goal to do better than the previous year, and I’m proud to say that I had. Another thing I loved about the Dairy Judging CDE, was that I would get to see all of my dairy friends! While it was a competition, we all might not have been as competitive as we should be, because we were just happy to be with our friends, even the four-legged ones! Dairy Judging will always hold a special place in my heart because, at the end of the day, I could go back home and talk to my family about the day, and keep learning how to better myself and my judging skills!
Gwen Black-
My favorite Skilled CDE has always been Horse Judging. I always enjoyed that early morning ride to Kirkwood for an amazing day spent with friends and meeting new ones. This CDE has constantly pushed me to become a better horseman. Any open show I would attend I would judge the horses in the classes before and after me, giving my reasons to friends and family around me. Sometimes my friends and I would even make small bets to see who would match with the judge. This year I did not judge but rather had the opportunity to watch all of you judge. It was so amazing seeing all of your hard work pay off this June. I was beyond proud of awesome everyone did, and all of their dedication to be better. I can’t wait to continue to watch the success of our amazing horseman in the Iowa FFA!
Living to Serve,
2018-2019 Iowa FFA State Officer Team
No comments:
Post a Comment