Waukon FFA places third in Districts, Sixth in State Agronomy CDE ...

A total of 25 teams from 13 schools participated in the 2022 FFA Northeast District Agronomy Career Development Event May 18 of this year. Eight students from the Waukon FFA chapter traveled to Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo to compete in the event. During this contest, members exhibited their skills and knowledge of agronomy, including crop, weed, insect and seed identification, crop and seed judging and evaluation, and grain grading.

Participants also demonstrated their teamwork skills and problem solving while completing a team math test and individual general knowledge written exam. The team of Mallory Berns, Kendra Gibbs, Ethan Palmer and Sarah Stock placed seventh with the team of Natalie Byrnes, Alaina Gebel, Ethan Gibbs and Caleb Helgerson placing eighth. Stock led the Waukon effort with her ninth-place individual finish overall. Pictured in the photo below with their District awards are: Left to right - Front  row: Sarah Stock, Kendra Gibbs, Mallory Berns; Back row: Ethan Palmer, Caleb Helgerson, Ethan Gibbs, Natalie Byrnes, Alaina Gebel.

Pictured in the photo above, left to right, Ethan Palmer, Sarah Stock, Alaina Gebel and Mallory Berns went on to represent the chapter at the State contest held June 16 at Iowa State University in Ames. At the State competition, Gebel was recognized as the sixth-place individual in the state. Assisting the team in its fifth-place finish, Palmer placed 17th, Berns placed 19th and Stock placed 25th out of 77 individuals who competed in the event. This group placed seventh in judging, fourth in identification, sixth on the written exam, and fourth in the team event out of 21 chapters. The team was coached by Ms. Jessica O’Connor and Mr. Nate Gebel. Submitted photo. Article written by Mallory Berns, Chapter Reporter.