The Alliance FFA chapter traveled to the Scottsbluff campus of WNCC to compete in the first wave of Career Development Events (CDE’s). Thirteen members put their skills to the test in Livestock Management, Welding, and Floriculture contests.
The Livestock Management team consisting of senior Ashtyn Shrewsbury, juniors Krista Carter, Chase Dye and Whitney Hall, sophomore homeschool student Jamie Thompson, and freshman Cody Henderson placed first overall. The team won the beef, sheep, dairy and equine areas; they also placed second in poultry and swine.
Livestock Management is a CDE designed to prepare students for careers in livestock production. The contest requires an extensive knowledge of different aspects of production and of the issues facing animal industries. The teams enter the contest not knowing what will be on the tests and need to have studied each species a mile wide and an inch deep.
AHS senior Ashtyn Shrewsbury said, “Winning four areas of the competition was definitely an exciting feeling. We had been studying for quite a while and we all felt that we had earned our first place finish, which made the overall feeling so much sweeter.” The Livestock Management team has qualified for the State competition in early April at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus.
The welding team of senior Denny Garza, junior Rhiannon Minich, and sophomore Brent Thomas did not place in the top six teams or in the top six individuals of their type of welding. Each member of the team participates in their own respective area: Metal Arc, Metal Inert Gas (MIG), and Oxygen Acetylene (Oxy). The welding competitors took a multiple-choice test over their area and welded a figure using a blueprint. Alliance’s district has some of the toughest competitors in the state; many will go on to place in the top ten at the State competition.
The welding contest is designed to test the student’s knowledge of the different welds and welding techniques. They must also be able to read a blueprint and create the figure on the print. Many competitors said that the welding machines were difficult to use and that made the contest much harder.
Alliance FFA also had a floriculture team participate. Sophomores Cheryl Aby, Tess Benham, Amanda Lower and freshman Alex Stitch gave the contest their best effort, although only Cheryl Aby placed as she received sixth place and a blue ribbon. Each member had to take a test to identify fifty different kinds of plants and flowers. As a team, they had to create a boutonniere corsage, a wrist corsage, and a bouquet, which they priced.
The floriculture contest is designed to prepare students for careers in horticulture and introduces a possible profession as a flower arranger. Tess Benham said, “The wrist corsage was the hardest part of the competition as we had never practiced making one before.” Floriculture is another area that Alliance’s district is very strong in, but the Alliance team is very young and has the potential and the drive to do well in the future.
Congratulations to the Alliance FFA advisor Lori Walla and to all of the competitors and good luck to those going on to state competition.
