In late October, over 70,000 high school students attended the National FFA competition in Indianapolis, Indiana.
All members repping the blue jacket competed in various events such as meats, food science and floriculture, traveling hundreds of miles to attend.
Big Sky members attended the national competition as a part of one of three teams: meats, floriculture, and food science. Those on the meat team focus their attention on identifying the cuts of meat and understanding industry-specific terminology, along with communication and evaluating meat products through team activities.
Those on the floriculture team participate in hands-on events that test employment readiness and plant identification and maintenance www.ffa.org
Every year, the FFA national competition brings together thousands of individuals ready to show their months of preparation in a selected field and perform tasks for judges they will be scored on.
In an interview with Cassidy Schelvan, a junior at Big Sky, she talked about attending nationals for the first time this year. She said it was one of the most exciting experiences she’s been to. Something that shocked her was the number of people who attended.
“Many FFA members over the country go..there are like eighty thousand. It’s the largest youth convention in the country,” Schelvan said. She competed in meat evaluation and prepared herself by studying on her own and practicing weekly.
Schelvan continued with some advice to those new to FFA.
“Try all the competitions they can see what they like and stick with it..work hard..it’s easy to go to nationals if you work hard in the competition.¨
A common similarity among Big Sky FFA members was the personal shock to the vast amount of people that attend nationals.
In an interview with Josleyn England, a junior at Big Sky, who also attended nationals for the first time and was a part of the meat teams, she said, ¨Meeting all the different people from 52 states..it’s pretty incredible.¨
She continued.
¨It’s one of the highest quality competitions you will compete in through FFA.”
In 1930, the Montana Association of Future Farmers of America became a formal state organization by the National Future of Farmers of America. Today the Montana FFA organization has grown to over 5000 members, according to montanaffa.org.
When asked about what new skills she’s gained from nationals, England said, “Identifying the cuts of meat that you have, how to grade those carcasses..learning about the meat industry and how it’s grown and what are the changes it’s had.¨
Like Schevlan, England also had advice for those new to FFA.
“Don’t let it discourage you. I know there’s a lot of stuff that seems scary, but if you work hard, all your hard work pays off and it’s great to see that accomplishment,” England.
