Trenton FFA Members Practice For National Competition

Sep 30, 2004 | Headline News

April 16, 2004 is a day that four members of the Trenton FFA Chapter are unlikely to ever forget.

Members of the chapter?s dairy cattle evaluation team – Stephanie Gutshall, Sadie Jones, Kari Epperson and Megan Schmidt – were anxiously awaiting the results of their performance at the Missouri State FFA Convention in Columbia. Miss Jones had just returned to Trenton and was getting dressed for the THS National Honor Society induction, while the other three remained in Columbia grabbing a bite to eat. They had asked fellow chapter member Hilary Holeman to call them if their scores were posted, hoping to have reached their goal of finishing in the top 10. When Miss Holeman called with the results, the news was enough to send Miss Jones back to Columbia right away: the team had placed first among 59 teams and qualified to compete at the National FFA Convention Oct. 26-29 in Louisville, KY.

With a goal of finishing in the top 10 at nationals, the team has been practicing since late June, meeting once each week to go over tests from past national contests and preparing for the stiff competition that currently sits between them and reaching their goal. According to THS FFA Advisor Dennis Gutshall, who is helping prepare the team, the team will be evaluated in six individual areas and two team areas.

In the individual activities, members can accumulate a possible 900 points in six areas. They include:

Dairy Management Exercise (possible 150 points) – This exercise consists of a 50-question written test involving dairy management practices and dairy herd production records. Student will be asked to analyze individual cow production records and/or herd management summaries answering 15 questions concerning their use in making management decisions. The remaining 35 questions will concern various dairy management and industry related topics.

Pedigree Class (possible 50 points) – In this category, students rank one class of pedigrees (no animals present) as to their indication of the animals? ability to transmit superior production and type traits to offspring. They will also consider factors such as completeness, which is the number of daughters on record; accuracy or reliability; level of performance (type and production); and profitability.

Sire Selection Exercise (possible 100 points) – In this area, team members will utilize linear descriptive traits for two cows and sire summary information to make corrective mating. The students will rank four potential mates for each cow.

Linear Evaluation (possible 150 points) – In this portion of the contest, students will evaluate five Holstein cows using the 15 major traits recognized in the Holstein Association Linear Descriptive Traits Worksheet. The team members will be allowed a close-up view of each cow as she is paraded near them, with evaluations completed at a distance of approximately 10 feet from each cow. Students are not allowed to handle the cows. This portion of the test, according to the team members, is one of the hardest because they have to know what the judge is thinking. The correct answers are based on the judges? opinion, with points awarded by how close the students? score is to the official judge?s score for that particular cow. Two points are awarded for each trait scored within four points of the official?s score, with one point awarded for each trait score within five to six points of the judge?s score. For example, if the cow?s trait is rated a 25 by the official judges, a team member would receive 1 point if their score was 19-20; two points if the member?s score was 21-29; and one point if the team member?s score was 30-31. To prepare, the team has spent time working with a man who does this type of evaluation for the Holstein Association.

Evaluation and Selection (possible 150 points) – In this category, six classes of four dairy animals will each be placed on type, with participants allowed to view the animals from all angles, but not permitted to handle them.

Oral Reasons (possible 150 points) – Using three of the six classes from the evaluation and selection class, oral reasons must be given for placement. The team members cannot use notes during the delivery of reasons, with the exception of a card showing only their placing order. Participants will receive a minimum of 12 minutes to prepare each set of oral reasons, but have a maximum of two minutes to deliver the reasons before the judges. Team members said this is the portion of the test that makes them most nervous because their reasons must be delivered in a descriptive and concise manner, without notes.

In the team activity portion of the contest, the girls will collaborate on an analysis of individual cow production records from a 50- to 75-cow herd. Cows will be selected according to their appropriate status for culling, breeding or other management decision categories and the team can earn a maximum of 150 points. In addition, the individual scores of the top three team members will be added for a possible 2,700 additional points.

The team and Gutshall have been using every possible means to prepare for the competition they know will face them at the national contest. In addition to studying tests from the past 10 national contests, the girls, who will compete against approximately 45 other teams, have competed at the Missouri State Fair, judged at an area fair and worked with a coach and team members from Northwest Missouri State University. They have also visited dairy farms. They will continue their preparation this week, traveling to Memphis, TN to the Mid-South Fair, which is a regional FFA contest. The team was invited after placing first at state and will use the contest as a warm-up for nationals.

The team will leave for Louisville on the weekend before the national contest, stopping along the way to visit dairy farms and continue their preparation. They plan to be in Louisville on Monday, Oct. 25 and use Tuesday, Oct. 26 as a relaxation day before competing on Wednesday and Thursday. Their goal is the same as they had last spring in Columbia: to finish in the top 10 and ?see what happens from there?.

The team, which has been together for the past three years, knows there is a lot riding on their performance as they are not just representing themselves and their FFA Chapter, they are also representing the entire state of Missouri. Gutshall noted that it has been several years since a team north of the Missouri River has earned first place in the state dairy cattle contest.

?The contest has been dominated for years by schools in the south, where all the large dairies are located,? he said. ?It?s been at least five years since a northern team has won.?

Earning a trip to nationals was a long-term goal of all four girls, who will return to Trenton ready to face the next phases of their lives. Miss Epperson is now a freshman at North Central Missouri College, while the other three are seniors at THS.

Asked if they plan to pursue careers in agriculture, it becomes clear that their involvement in FFA and agriculture classes has had a profound effect on their future:

?Oh, definitely!? said Miss Jones.

And her teammates enthusiastically agreed.