Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School competes in State Contests throughout summer

by Christa Heffern,
Chapter Reporter

The Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School has competed in many State Contests over the summer, and has placed well in all of them. Even while the school year was not in session, chapter members were training and competing in a variety of contests.
The summer contest season started off June 4 and included Veterinary Science, Agricultural Mechanics and Agronomy teams from the chapter. The Veterinary Science team of Carmen Wille, Chase Pladsen, Austin Day and Dani Stock placed third in the State Contest, with Pladsen also placing sixth individually. Members of the Veterinary Science team were required to complete a written examination covering general knowledge, create a practicum video on how to complete a surgical preparation, and complete a scenario letter.
During the State Agriculture Mechanics Contest, Devin Bieber placed 22nd individually. He was tested on his general mechanics knowledge, wiring, woodworking skills and environmental/natural resource aspects.
The chapter also had participants in the State Agronomy Contest, and Jacob Dougherty, Kyle Gordon, Micheal Schulte and Sarah Smith were named the Reserve State Champion Team. Smith also placed tenth individually, Schulte placed eighth individually, and Dougherty placed fifth individually. The Agronomy team was also tested on general knowledge of the agronomy industry, identified various weeds and seeds, as well as graded and evaluated many different crops. The team was coached by Nikki Schulte, who has been a major advocate for the contest and team.

August 29, nine FFA members from Waukon High School traveled to Ames to compete at many other Career Development Events (CDE). The Meats Evaluation team of Michael Schulte, Christa Heffern, Carmen Wille and Erika Johnson placed fifth overall. Meats evaluation consists of judging beef, pork and lamb carcasses, knowing the cuts of certain meats, and judging the quality of beef carcasses. Matt Schulte was the team's coach and Andy Thesing of Jets Meat Processing allowed the team to visit his business facility to practice.
The Milk Quality and Products team of Cassandra Miller, Whitney Cota and Emma Johnson placed tenth overall. The Milk Quality and Products evaluation consists of tasting milk and cheese and identifying the defects, knowing the kind of cheese they are tasting, and knowing the defects of milker parts.
Chapter members Lizzie Blake and Zachary Quandahl took part in the Livestock Evaluation competition, where Blake placed 23rd and Quandahl placed 144th. Livestock evaluation consists of judging animals such as beef cows, lambs and pigs, providing oral reasons for placings and taking a written examination.