What was Your Favorite Part of FFA Week?

CD Brinegar - 

FFA week is like the 4th of July for rodeo people, there are more events than you can make it to in a week but there are some amazing things that FFA members, chapters and local schools are doing. This week I went to Sub-Districts in the Southeast District on Monday, I got to travel with Ridge Hughbanks to Starmont, and traveled south to West Marshall and after a snowstorm, I made it to Cardinal. Over those one thousand miles that I traveled my favorite part has to be hands down the people in the small towns that I met at gas stations, restaurants or other places. Anytime that I walk into a Casey’s or a Kwik Star in the jacket it always starts a conversation, about FFA when the old timer was in high school, or about farming over the years. The conversations usually are short but FFA Week led to a few of these conversations that made me grateful for the opportunity to travel and see the state.

Chandler Jahner - 

FFA Week was honestly everything I love about state office rolled into one week. Whether it was the travel, the interaction with members, the stories told or the speeches gave, it was awesome! Every single chapter visit I went on rocketed into my top ten list. 

I will say, Monday was incredible for me as I spent the day in Leon with the Central Trail chapter. What made that special was I had the chance to present to their entire school and meet the gentleman who had taught at the school from 1963-1990. It was incredible to see how far we as an organization have come and the lives we have impacted. Wrapping up the day I had the chance to be present when the Bondurant-Farrar chapter signed their National charter. Which showed a brief glimpse of what’s to come for our organization. A true full circle day!
You all never ceased to amaze me with your love and care for this organization. It makes me strive to be a better member myself! Thank you for a wonderful National FFA Week!

Gwen Black - 

What an awesome and eye-opening adventure FFA week has been! This past week I have been able to see some stellar, members, advisors, and chapters all across the Southwest District. Starting my week off about as Southwest as you can be in Iowa, to ending it with Goat Yoga, I witnessed some amazing growth. I believe I gained more from the students across the district than they did from me. Everyone had so much pride in their home, communities, and FFA chapters, and all were eager to become even better. I thank you all for that! I also want to say thank you to my District Officers that got to experience the fun-filled miles with me! I am truly blessed with the Southwest!

Cole Reiman - 

FFA week has truly opened my eyes into the lives of the FFA members across this state. Getting to see the passion and drive of you all have been remarkable. Every day a new adventure with a new chapter, no, a new family. From the “FFA Degree Tree” at East Sac on Monday to the class goats in GTRA on Friday, each day had a chapter that was unique in its own ways and I couldn’t express how thankful I am to have gotten the chance to share this last week with the FFA members that make this year so fulfilling for me. Thank you for everything you do Iowa FFA. Never stop being unique!

Jodie Mausser - 

FFA week is for sure my favorite week out of the year. It is a week where FFA members can all come together and advocate for what they love and represent the blue jacket. From chapter visits to visiting with members, and even talking about dairy cows, this past week was one for the books. The photo challenge was for sure one of my favorite parts! Seeing all of the cool pictures and what chapters were doing throughout their schools was so neat to see! Iowa FFA thank you for an extraordinary week.

Jake Hlas - 

If I had to describe the 2019 National FFA Week in the fewest words possible it would go something like this, miles, members, contests, and cancellations. Miles. As a team, we made it a point to reach every corner of the state during the week, and even one quick trip into Wisconsin. As a team, we put on just over 10,000 miles! FFA Members. Wowzers, personally I feel as though we may have seen almost every single one of you last week and the best part of it all was the passion I saw each day. Y’all were having a great time and because of that, it made our week a bunch of fun! Contests. I made my way to three sub-district competitions in the Northeast district and can honestly say those nights may have been some of my favorite ones of the year up to this point. Now even with all of the nerves, we kept the room light and always had a good time. Cancellations. Well, mother nature did not want to cooperate last week or for the whole month of February and practically any plans we had for Wednesday went out the door. Road conditions were less than preferable for much of the week and it made travel slow. With all of this being said it was still an amazing week and every detail of it made me extremely proud of this state and the FFA members that call it home!

Lexi Berte - 

National FFA Week was definitely one to remember. After having North Central District Officer Interviews rescheduled four different times, we finally got to kick off the week with them! This was a great way to kick off the week! Now, even those interviews weren’t canceled, we did manage to sneak in more snow and more cancellations during the week. I spent the rest of my week going on chapter visits to Nashua Plainfield, Belmond, and Boone. I even got the opportunity to visit Clear Lake where they will be starting a new agriculture education program. Overall, I can definitely say my favorite part of the week was catching up with those who I had met before and making new connections. Thank you Iowa FFA for an unforgettable National FFA Week!

Lane Morrison - 

This week has been one of the best weeks I have had this year. Traveling around southeast Iowa has shown me how incredible FFA members are and how bright their futures will be. I had the pleasure of attending Fairfield high school and North Mahaska for chapter visits and other activities. The day at Fairfield went great because the students were very engaging and had a lot of fun. The day at North Mahaska was filled with fun activities and ended with their annual Ag Olympics in the gym with the whole school. Having these opportunities will be something I will never forget.

Leaky Mailbox - 

FFA week was one of the busiest, snowiest, fun-filled weeks of the year. I had the awesome opportunity to visit schools in Northwest Iowa and see the different projects that FFA Chapters were working on. West Lyon was building chicken coops for people in their community, Central Lyon builds mini houses, and Rock Valley has their very own Rocket Manufacturing business. All three programs showed projects that were great for career-based learning, and it was amazing to see young students putting so much time and effort into these projects! There is so much value in hands-on learning and I was lucky to experience it with these awesome chapters!

In Blue and Gold,

2018-2019

Iowa FFA 

State Officer Team

Winter Weather

To say that this year’s winter weather has been rough on our everyday lives is an understatement. Schools have canceled, work has been canceled, well to be honest just about every event that has been scheduled in the last three weeks has had to be postponed or canceled. The weather has been tough on our livestock. Any livestock producer in the Midwest can agree that it hasn’t been prime conditions. When the waterers freeze up in no more than 20 minutes, or when the tractors are gelling up, it isn’t easy going.

In high school, I always loved snow days. It gave us a chance to forget about school for a day or in the scenario of this year, a whole week. One would be pressed in trying to find some good in the last few weeks of weather, but it has allowed me to notice something that I had not realized in my rich history of snow days. This realization came last week while traveling for an FFA event.

The day started like any other. Chandler, CD, and I gathered in Ames and left en route to Edgewood- Colesburg. The drive there was uneventful. With a quick stop at Kwik Star to fill the truck and our stomachs up, we made good time. As we arrived at the school, the day went as planned, except for one minor detail. Now in Iowa we see a lot of snow, rain, wind, humidity, and just about every weather condition you can think of, and the craziest thing is that in one day we can see all of these combined. Now there is one condition that I have left out and it turns out to be the one that even the best Midwest drivers refuse to drive in. I will give you a hint, it rhymes rice. ICE. Now as the day progressed we heard a few reports of this three- letter word, but had work to get done, so we kind of brushed it off. A few of the advisors had told us that we probably should get going, so we did. As the three of us walk outside we almost all fall as there is a thick sheet of ice on the sidewalks. This continues as we make our way to the vehicle. As we let the ice melt off the windshield, we devise a plan to make it home safely. Slow and steady wins the race, so we take off. The first 50 miles or so were normal driving conditions, but as we pass Waterloo on Highway 20, the conditions change. A semi hauling hogs pass us at a good clip, but quickly slows down. I make the decision to fall in behind him and slow down the pace. Not too long after that we came upon flashing lights and slowed to a creep. In a two-mile stretch, there were 7 cars in the ditch including one semi. After seeing this, we made an executive decision to stop at another Kwik Star to wait it out. The next part of this journey made me realize something.

After our hour-long stop, we decided to keep moving, but this time on the back roads and at a 20 mile per hour pace. To not bore you with any more details we made it back to Ames just before 2 am. A 2 ½ hour drive had turned into a 5 ½ hour journey, but in the last 3 hours, the time seemed to fly by. By going slow, we were able to have a great conversation about varying topics, the present, and life, something I realized I take for granted. All too often we go 100 mph to get through our daily lives. Sports, work, school, and the various activities we partake in making our lives move fast. It’s crazy that such an awful icy situation could make me open my eyes to slow down and smell the roses. An old cowboy artist by the name of Chris Ledoux sings a song called, “It Ain’t the Years, it’s the Miles.” We put on a lot of miles in our daily lives, maybe not in distance, but in what we do with our days. Slow down and enjoy those miles, because we never know when those miles might run out.

I don’t mean to get somber in the ending of this, but it is definitely something to think about. Our teachers, coaches, parents, and family always tell us that time flies, so don’t blink, because you might just miss a few years of your life. I will end with a challenge for y’all. Live in the moment, take in your surroundings, and most of all make your time count by being intentional.

God Bless,

Jake Hlas

2018-2019

NE State Vice-President

5 Unique Ways to Fundraise in Your FFA Chapter.

After talking to FFA chapters around the state, I found out that there are so many different ways they fundraise for their chapters and community service projects. Now wouldn’t it be helpful to share those ideas, so that chapters all over can fundraise in their own communities? Here are five ideas that I found were unique in their own ways.

1- Pancake Feed/Labor Auction: Each year, the Algona FFA Chapter holds a pancake feed and labor auction. FFA members, people in the community, and families gather together for supper before the labor auction starts. Members of the Algona FFA chapter pair up and sell 4 hours of their labor. All of the money raised from the free will donation pancake feed and the labor auction go towards community service projects that the chapter does.

2- Hanging Planters: The Gilbert FFA chapter has a greenhouse where they plant numerous flowers and plants. Students who take care of the greenhouse sell planters. When Mother’s Day comes around, they sell the hanging flower planters to help support their chapter.

3- Pig Show: The Agri Power and Oskaloosa FFA chapters team up to host an open hog show each year. At this event, the students put up the gates, run concessions, and develop a list of sponsors to help out. Profits are made off of the entry fees. All of the profits are split between the two chapters.

4- Porktober Meal: During October which is pork month, the Aplington Parkersburg FFA Chapter hosts a Porktober Meal. In their community, the pork producers are very involved. They donate the pork burgers to the chapter. They sell meals which include pork burgers, potato salad, cookies, and water for $7 each. Members of the chapter deliver them to local businesses. Community members come into the agriculture education room and also learn more about the swine industry as a whole.

5- Petting Zoo: The Greene County FFA Chapter sets up a petting zoo at the Deal’s Orchard Fall Festival. A local farmer brings his animals. Some of the animals include pot belly pigs, goats, donkeys, and llamas. Children at the festival pay $1 to walk through the petting zoo. FFA members watch over the animals and explain to those walking through how to care for them. The profits go towards supporting their chapter activities.

After hearing all of these great ideas, I encourage you all to go make a difference in your communities and fundraise for your chapter or a cause near and dear to your heart.

Keep It Real,

Alexis Berte

North Central State Vice - President 

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