Last Minute Preparations for CDE and LDE Contests!

1. Sleep
You may think that the night before a contest is crucial but one thing you never think about is the night before the night before. I know that sounds complicated, so let’s think about it a little bit. If you have to compete bright and early Saturday morning, Thursday night is the night you need the best sleep. If you stay up all night Thursday, all you’ll be doing Friday night is catching up on Thursday’s sleep. Make sure you’re well rested for your contest!

2. Eat a good breakfast
And by good breakfast, Red Bull does not count. Whether your go-to breakfast is a granola bar, a bowl of cereal, or a big plate of scrambled eggs and bacon, make sure you’re eating before your big day. Everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

3. Practice
I know, if you hear your advisor say “Just one more time” One more time, you might lose it. But there is a method to the madness, if you rehearse enough times you’ll step into the room and your presentation will be second nature. How can you get nervous when you know it like the back of your hand?

4. Prepare your things the night before
Unless you’re somehow a morning person (and if you are, respect to you), you are not going to be a fan of packing at 6:00am before the bus leaves. Chances are, you’ll throw a few things in a bag and head out the door. The chances of you forgetting something at home is much higher if you’re half asleep while packing!

Best of luck as we head to sub-district and district contests!

Wherever Corn is Grown,

Laken Mullinix

2018-2019 Iowa FFA State Secretary

Officers Go South, to South Africa

Recently Iowa had a 4 officers attend the International Leadership Seminar for State Officers or ILSSO in South Africa. The four officers that went on this trip all took some time to write about their favorite part and this is what they had to say.

Lexi- Attending ILSSO in South Africa was an eye-opening experience for me. I enjoyed every aspect of it, from learning about the types of agriculture to the immense amount of history. Some of my favorite parts of attending ILSSO were visiting the Roos Farm, the Cape of Good Hope, and connecting with state officers from across the United States. On the Roos Farm, we learned about sheep, cattle, and crop production. I thought it was very interesting to learn how similar the practices used are to agriculture in the United States. At the Cape of Good Hope, the views were amazing. I couldn’t believe I was standing in a place full of so much beauty and history. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a more educational and amazing experience.

Gwen- My favorite part of IlSSO was the true beauty of the country. Around every turn, we saw the most amazing sights. The nature, the people, the culture, the food, all were so beautiful. Looking over the mountains and smelling the ocean over the Cape of Good Hope was of the most surreal moments I have ever experienced. The amazing sights and sounds here were breathtaking. Truly the most beautiful part of the trip was the new friends I made. The experience of this trip was made even better by the friendships I made. Getting to see all these beautiful sights with friends from around the country made it even better.

Jake- ILSSO 2019. 11 days spent in the beautiful country of South Africa studying agriculture and culture. This experience is something that I will not soon forget! My favorite part of this trip happened on the last day of our journey. We went to a place called Table Mountain that overlooks the city of Cape Town. This nearly 4000 feet tall mountain is known around the world as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The sights were breathtaking and symbolic of the trip as we could see not only the rest of the African Continent where we had been but also the ocean, in which we would fly over on our way home the next day. Though this part was my favorite, I am beyond blessed for all of the sights we saw and most importantly, the people met!

Laken- My favorite part of South Africa was the Hoërslool Erasmus High School. We had the opportunity to tour the school's agriculture department which included their own farm complete with goats, chickens, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and peppers. It was so neat to see a school that had its own farm, as many schools near me have similar operations. We were also able to interact with the students there. I love this opportunity because we were able to talk to people our age and see what they liked to do for fun, and how teenage culture was in South Africa. It was an amazing experience with amazing people, and I am so fortunate to have been able to participate!

In Blue and Gold, 

Lexi Berte, NC State Vice-President,

Gwen Black, SW State Vice-President,

Jake Hlas, NE State Vice-President,

Laken Mullinix, State Secretary

Beef it's What's for Dinner.

So-called “clean meat and clean milk” has taken over the food and agricultural news. Every time you go through the milk section at the supermarket there it is almond “milk”, the non-dairy way to drink something that is like milk. Over at the meat counter, beef and other products are now under attack by companies who plan to make a product that tastes and looks the same with similar benefits in consumption. These products have even made it to the mainstream like the veggie burger or the “Impossible burger” that is growing in popularity. With an increasing number of people looking into meat alternatives, it is highly important that we as agriculturists know facts that can help us combat the altering opinions about our products.

The biggest thing that anyone in the beef business or other meat industries can do is know the facts of your products. Take beef for example - it provides the Big 10 Nutrients - zinc, iron, protein, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorus, selenium, choline, and two B vitamins - nutrients that are critical to a nutritious diet. Other meats provide important ingredients to muscle growth and development, metabolism, healthy blood circulation.

Although many claims are out that beef production is bad for the environment, protein food sources have a unique advantage to using land that is rocky, steep, and land that is not favorable for producing row crops or vegetables. Using cattle or other livestock on land that is highly erodible helps protect the soil, keep the overgrowth of vegetation under control and naturally fertilize the land, much like bison when they roamed the land. It’s not only natural but also safe.

With high criticism of GMOs from activist groups, it’s hard to understand how they can see this cultured fake meat as anything better. In REAL meat the only time for contamination to happen is when the meat is exposed to air, the so-called “clean” meat is always exposed to air and contamination at all times makes it a high-risk product that could lead to easily making consumers sick.

Secondly, fake meat is not a practical product. Products that are made in a petri dish take 3 months to grow. The demand from extremest humane groups claiming that their products don’t hurt animals is also a false claim. In order to get the cells to produce the lab-grown meat scientists must first collect fetal calf serum, this is the fluid around the calf in the womb. In order to collect these cells, they must first abort the calf. That seems like a lot of waste for a few cheeseburgers. Add in the equipment and energy required to grow it - lights and incubators - all using carbon that is put right back into our environment. The expense of these products hurts the average consumer. Almond “milk” costs more than traditional dairy products and a petri dish hamburger costing up to $280,000 to produce, it is entirely too much to push on to the American consumer.

Lastly, we need to end misleading advertising. We, as farmers and ranchers, are always led to doing as the consumer wants. However, when groups lead the consumers in a way that, in the long run, will hurt our markets, we have to change the tides. We need to educate consumers on the misconceptions that these groups have led them to believe. Legislation needs to be made to regulate against names of meat that are misleading through cattlemen’s organization. Almond “milk” should be called juice, veggie “burgers” should be called veggies you can grill, and so-called “clean meat” should be called what it is, lab-grown cells. These names will not turn off the die-hard veggie people who will eat these products - no matter what, but they will help shed light on the unequal labeling that has happened in recent years. We must show our disgust with meatpackers like Tyson and Cargill, who have helped fund and invested in these movements. They should be removed from agriculture organizational boards and do our best, as commodity groups, to reprimand those companies who are driving down the cost of our products for their own business dealings.

At the end of the day, we as producers can't stand outside of labs and grocery stores and hope that things will improve. We have a job to do: raise a healthy, safe, and nutritious product for consumers, while maintaining the health of our livestock and natural resources. As President John F. Kennedy once said, “The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.” It’s time to change our food and labeling system to bring fairness to American agriculture and win the battle with fake meat.

Long Live Cowboys, 

Chase "CD" Brinegar

Iowa FFA Association

2018-2019 State President

New Year. New You

Ah yes, New Years Resolutions, the things we swear to change about ourselves but seemingly fail to do. You ever wonder why gyms have cheap memberships this time of year? Because people tell themselves that this is the year they’re going to get in shape and kick the junk food. They buy the membership and hit the gym twice. One thing leads to another and all of the sudden they are sitting on the couch in February, eating Doritos, drinking a Pepsi and watching an ad for Anytime Fitness.

“Oh yeah… I should really cancel that membership.”

We have the best of intentions to usher in change and then ultimately usher change out. According to Body and Soul, most resolutions have failed by January 12. Why is this the case? Because the changes we often want to make don’t accurately reflect who we are as people.

We have certain things that make us tick, our own set of unwritten rules we follow. If your strong suit is working with your hands, then you may struggle with a resolution that involves reading fifty books. Likewise, if you’re the type of person who is an avid reader, then handcrafting a shed for your family may be an uphill battle. Why? Because you’re overestimating yourself and your abilities.

Have you ever watched a toddler try and walk? The toddler isn’t focused on running, the first work on that initial small step. The same goes for how we should act as people. If your resolution is something you have never done before, then don’t set your goal to something outrageous.

Going back to our gym example, your first goal shouldn’t be to get in shape. You first need to become a frequent resident at the gym. Not much of reader? Get in the habitat of reading before you set your eyes on reading fifty books. When we try and force some brand new skill into our lives too quickly, we end up wasting our time.

If you feel like you are wasting your time, then realize you may be biting off more than you can chew. So often in society, we’re pumped full of this idea we have to be great at everything we do immediately. Which is an incredible lie. We are not capable of being good at everything our first time. Everyone was a beginner at some point and that’s ok. In fact, it’s great! If we were all good at everything on “go” then life would be as bland as vanilla pudding. There would be no challenge, no adventure, and no reward.

I pray 2019 is your year. Strive towards your resolution, if it doesn’t work, then adjust your sights. Don’t ever be afraid to take small steps at first. Because those small steps can lead to an incredible reward.

Go Get Em,

Chandler Jahner

2018-2019 SC State Vice-President