2014-15 Mercer County FFA Chapter Agriculture Education Department Final Report
Mercer County CUSD #404 Agriculture Education Department 2014-2015 Final Report I. Scope of Agriculture Program A comprehensive total program of Agriculture Education is offered at Mercer County High School. This program consists of 20 semester courses. Dual Credit for high school and for Black Hawk College is granted for the Ag. Metal Fabrication (Welding) and Greenhouse classes. Also, students taking the Ag. Business Management 1 & 2 classes fulfill the Consumer Education requirement for the State of Illinois. II. Enrollment by Classes Fall Sem. Spring Sem. Introduction to Agriculture Industry 1 25 ------------ Introduction to Agriculture Industry 2 --------- 23 Basic Ag. Science 1 24 ------------ Basic Ag. Science 2 --------- 23 Greenhouse Production 1 9 ------------ Greenhouse Production 2 --------- 8 Ag. Machinery and Power I 25 ------------ Ag. Machinery and Power II --------- 21 Ag. Construction and Tech. I 14 ------------ Ag. Construction and Tech. II --------- 14 Environmental Science 1 20 ------------ Environmental Science 2 --------- 19 Ag. Business Management 1 15 ------------ Ag. Business Management 2 --------- 15 Dual Credit Welding 1(Ag. Metal Fabrication 1) 26 ------------ Dual Credit Welding 2(Ag. Metal Fabrication 2) --------- 24 Veterinary Tech. 1 19 ------------ Veterinary Tech. 2 --------- 15 Food Science 1 19 ------------ Food Science 2 --------- 20 Total Students in Ag. Ed. during school day: 196 182 III. FFA Organization Membership 138 members 100% Membership of all Ag. Students Officers: Clayton Truman President Quinton Ball Vice President Matthew Lloyd Secretary Gage Hank Treasurer Brandi Welch Reporter Nicholas Close Student Council Rep. Noah Price Parliamentarian acting Sentinel
IV. Summary of Activities 2014 June 5 Heartt Job Shadow - Hoerner s Small Engine 6 Fair Sign Up Day at HS 9 Heartt Job Shadow Cokel s Welding Shop 9 State FFA Convention Prep 10-12 State FFA Convention - Springfield 13 State FFA Convention Wrap Up and Reports 16 Heartt Hunter Safety Course - Decatur 16 Chausse - IAVAT Conference Prep 17-19 IAVAT Conference Decatur 20 Conf. wrap-up, Fair letters, Incentive Grant work 21 Set-up for the Section 4 FFA Fair Aledo with Fair Board 27 Set-up for the Section 4 FFA Fair Aledo July 1-2 Section 4 FFA Fair Aledo 3 Section FFA Fair Paperwork 8 Judge at Mercer County Fair 17 Chausse Bus Driver Training Mercer County Intermediate Aug. 12 Register for FFA National Convention 13 Fair work, Vocational Funding request from Superintendent 14 Meeting with Mrs. Day 20 First Day of School Teacher s Institute 21 First Day of Student Attendance 23 Sold Scholarship Tickets for FFA Scholarship for Car Club 25 Fall Ag. Teachers Meeting- Galesburg 27 FFA Meeting 29 Cook Pork Chops - Football game Sept. 6 Quad City Ag. Teacher s Meeting at Alexis 6 Cook Pork Chops - Football game 10 FFA Meeting 8-12 Horse Judging Practice 10 Vocational Director s Meeting Atkinson 13 State Horse Judging CDE Black Hawk East Kewanee 15 FFA State Officer Visit 19 Cook Pork Chops - Football game 24 Section 4 FFA Forestry Contest - Galesburg 26 Monsanto Farm Field Trip - Monmouth Oct. 2 MTI Rep. Visit 9 Section 4 FFA Land Use Career Development Event Mercer County 10 Cook Pork Chops - Football game and FFA Hog Raffle 20 Section 4 FFA Invitational 3D Archery Shoot - Soseman Farms Aledo 24 MTI Vocational Director - won $1000 25 Geneseo FFA Trap and Archery Shoot 30-31 Parent / Teacher Conferences 29-30 National FFA Convention - Louisville Nov. 1 National FFA Convention - Louisville 1 Cook Pork Chops - Playoff Game 6 FFA Meeting
7 Quad City Vocational Region Ag. Teacher s Meeting - UTHS 10 Elite Conference - Bloomington, IL 13 Section 4 FFA Crops Career Development Event Mercer County 15 Preliminary Program of Activities due to Section FFA President 20 MTI Rep. Visit 20 FFA Meeting 24 Wyoming Technical Institute Rep. 29 Assisted with the Exchange Club to unload Christmas Trees Dec. 3 Conservation Police Officer Visit for Hunter Safety Course 5 Wyoming Tech. Rep. visit 9 Section 4 Parliamentary Procedure Contest Monmouth-Roseville 10 FFA Meeting 12 Building Check for Band Fruit Sale 18 MTI Rep. Visit 2015 Jan. 2 Worked with Rachel Hawk on her American FFA Degree 12 Ag. Teacher s Meeting at Galesburg 13 Tulsa Welding School Rep. Visit 22 Chausse Speak at Exchange Club Meeting 22 FFA Meeting 22 Hamilton Tech. Rep. Visit 28 FFA Meeting 29 FFA Quiz Bowl Rockridge 29 Met with Greg Boruff- Reason s Locker to discuss Meat CDE Feb. 4 Chausse Vocational Director s Meeting at Geneseo 5 Heartt- Meeting with NRCS to discuss Envirothon 9 Heartt- Went to UTHS to pick up metal 11 FFA Scholarship meeting with the Car Club 11 FFA Meeting 12 State FFA Degree meeting Knoxville 13 FFA Group Picture 14 Foundation Awards Mercer County 16 Worked with Adam Lloyd on his American FFA Degree 18 Section 4 Public Speaking ROWVA 19 District Parliamentary Procedure - Kewanee 16-20 Cut Radio Spots at WRMJ for FFA Week 24 Ag. Olympics - West Central 26 FFA Meeting & FFA Meal 27 Farm Bureau Mgr. Kendra Bolen spoke to Ag. Bus. class. 22-28 FFA Week March 3 FFA Officer Elections 5 9 th Grade Orientation 5 Section 4 FFA Meats Judging CDE Reason s Locker Buffalo Prairie 9 John Deere / MTI Field Trip 10 FFA Officer Meeting - Cook Meat for Banquet 11 District Proficiency Awards - Geneseo 12 FFA Banquet - Ag. Building 9-19 Completed Bear Country Plaques
16 FFA Strawberry Sale Distribution Date 18 Envirothon Black Hawk East 19 FFA Meeting 21 3D Indoor Archery Shoot - Galesburg 23 Picked up Lumber for Chair Products at Menard s Galesburg 24 Worked on State SAE Applications 25 FFA Meeting 27 MTI Rep. Visit 28 State Awards Day at U. of I. April 1 District 1 Public Speaking Geneseo 8 FFA Meeting 8 WIU Ag. Mech. Contest Macomb 9 Section Ag. Mechanics CDE at Mercer County 9 Master Teacher Meeting with Argus 10 MTI Welding Competition at Moline 10 Meeting with Roth Family concerning scholarship 14 Section 4 FFA Livestock Career Development Event Stronghurst 15 Heartt - Dual Credit Meeting at BlackHawk East Kewanee 23-24 Heartt- 3D Printer Workshop at Bloomington 24 State FFA Livestock Judging Contest May 4 Setup for ACE Camp 5 ACE Camp 6 Section 4 FFA Banquet 6 Meeting with Leslie Borries WIU Student Teacher Candidate 12 State Ag. Mechanics Contest 15 Senior Meal prepared for Foods Class 20 Final Exams for Seniors 22 Meeting with Leslie Borries WIU Student Teacher Spring 2016 24 Graduation 26-29 Met with Fairgrounds representatives to discuss ADA ramp June 1-2 Underclassman Finals 1 Visit from Kathy Novotony, District 1 FCAE Field Rep. 3 Last Day of School 4 Fair Sign up Day at HS V. 2014-15 Ag. Incentive Grant - Supplemental Funds from State of Illinois $ 2501 6 new Lenovo Laptop Computers VI. Accomplishments for Mercer County FFA / Agriculture Education Dept. 2014-15 1. Received following team awards in FFA Contests: Red Ribbon State Horse Judging Contest 1 st Place Varsity Division in the Section 4 Land Use (Soils) Judging 2 nd Place Novice Division in the Section 4 Land Use (Soils) Judging 3 rd Place Varsity Division in the Section 4 Crops Judging 1 st Place Section 4 Parliamentary Procedure Contest Novice Division
5 th Place Section 4 Parliamentary Procedure Contest Novice Division 2 nd Place WIU Ag. Mechanics Contest 1 st Place Section 4 Ag. Mechanics Contest 2 nd place Envirothon County Division 2 nd Place Varsity Division in Section 4 Livestock Judging Contest 4th Place Varsity Division in Section 4 Livestock Judging Contest Participated in Geneseo FFA Fall Trap Shooting Contest 3 rd Place Geneseo FFA Spring Trap Shooting Contest Red Ribbon FFA State Livestock Judging 2 nd Place Section 4 3D Archery Shoot Participated in the 3D Archery Contest at Geneseo 5 th Place Section 4 Forestry Contest Varsity 3 rd Place Section 4 Forestry Contest Novice Division 4 th Place Section 4 Meats Judging Contest Received the most premium money at the Section 4 FFA Fair 2. Received the following Individual Awards at FFA Contests: Sully Adams 2nd place individual Soils Contest Matthew Lloyd- 5th place individual Soils Contest Dan Swinger - 6th place individual Soils Contest Noah Price- Logan Lafever- Mady Hansen- Mackayla Clawson- Nicholas Close- 4th place individual Soils Contest Novice 5 th place individual Soils Contest Novice 8 th place individual Soils Contest Novice 3rd place individual Crops Contest 1st Place Chair Parliamentary Procedure Novice 1st Place Chair Novice District 1 Contest Brynn Bergen Baylan Evans Daryan Malcom Andrew Boruff Matthew Lloyd - Madi Hanson Nicholas Close 1st Place Secretary Parliamentary Procedure Novice 2 nd Place Floor Member Parliamentary Procedure Novice 7th Place Floor Member Parliamentary Procedure Novice 8th Place Floor Member Parliamentary Procedure Novice 4th Place Chair Parliamentary Procedure - Varsity 10th Place Secretary Parliamentary Procedure 2 nd Place Sec. 4 Extemporaneous Public Speaking
Brynn Bergen- 1 st Place Section 4 FFA Creed Speaking 3 rd Place District 1 FFA Creed Speaking Quinton Ball 2nd place individual Carpentry WIU Paige Skinner 3 rd place individual Surveying WIU Jeremy Soseman - 3 rd place individual Electricity WIU Cade Yingst 3rd individual Welding WIU Brody Welch 3 rd place individual Ag. Power WIU 1st Sec. 4 Red Ribbon State 1st Sec. 4 Red Ribbon State 1st Sec. 4 Blue Ribbon State 3 rd Sec. 4 White Ribbon State 2 nd Sec. 4 Red Ribbon State Brandi Welch- Section 4 Winner Veterinary Science Taylor Carey- Section 4 Winner Ag. Sales Placement Gage Hank- Section 4 and District 1 Winner Fiber and Oil Crop Production Nicholas Close- Section 4 and District 1 Winner Diversified Crop Production Cole Thomas- Section 4 Winner Beef Production Entrepreneurship Dan Swiger- Section 4 Winner Poultry Production Alex Brown- 8 th place Sec. 4 3D Archery Shoot Lucas Mohror - 10 th place Sec. 4 3D Archery Shoot Quinton Ball- 9 th Place Individual Forestry Contest Varsity Shawna Schroeder- 8 th Place Individual Forestry Contest- Novice Amanda Carlson- 9 th Place Individual Forestry Contest- Novice Dalton Murphy 7 th Place Individual Section 4 Meats Judging Cole Thomas- Superior Ribbon State Livestock Contest 6 th Place individual Gage Hank- Superior Ribbon State Livestock Contest, 7 th place individual Quinton Ball White Ribbon State Livestock Contest 3. Six Students will receive the State FFA Degree at the State FFA Convention in June. Cody Blaser Gage Hank Cole Thomas Taylor Carey Paige Skinner Brandi Welch 4. Adam Lloyd, Rachel Hawk, and Austin Jackson each received $1000 scholarships from the Farm Bureau. Rachel Hawk received a $1000 scholarship from the National FFA Organization. Section 4 FFA Fair July 2014 Hosted by the Mercer County FFA- Mercer County Fairgrounds 5. Amanda Carlson showed the Reserve Champion Dairy Goat 6. Bernard Ausmus showed the Champion and Reserve Champion Breeding Goat 7. Bernard Ausmus showed the Champion Dairy Goat 8. Brandi Welch was named Reserve Champion Horse Showmanship
9. Brandi Welch showed the Best of Show Rabbits 10. Nicholas Close showed the Best of Show Crops 11. Adam Lloyd showed the Best of Show Poultry 12. Quinton Ball showed the Grand Champion Rate of Gain and Reserve Champion Steer 13. Quinton Ball served as Section 4 Sentinel for 2014-15 Other accomplishments: 1. Mercer County FFA Chapter received following National Chapter rankings at State FFA Convention June 2015: Chapter Development Area Silver Student Development Area Community Development Area Overall Silver Bronze Silver 2. Member of $5000 Club for State FFA Foundation and in the top 10 chapters in the state for raising money for the FFA Foundation. 3. Donated $400 to the Mercer County Food Pantry in February. Donated $500 to the Jaycee s Christmas Toys for Needy Children Donated $385 to the Illinois FFA Foundation. Donated $500 Save a Life Student Council Assembly 4. Mr. Heartt will receive the 2015 Section 4 IAVAT Teacher of Excellence Award at the IAVAT Conference. 5. Mr. Chausse received the 2014 Section 4 IAVAT Teacher of Excellence Award. 6. Mr. Chausse was named one of 13 Master Teacher s by the Dispatch / Argus. 7. Earned the Century Challenge Award for having 100% FFA Membership 8. Received a $1000 check from Midwest Technical Institute for Fall Orientation. 9. Colin Jones received full tuition from MTI from the video contest. 10. Mr. Heartt will receive his Honorary FFA Degree from the National FFA Organization. 11. Mr. Heartt serves as the Section 4 Ag. Teachers and Section 4 FFA Officer s Treasurer. 12. Mr. Chausse serves as the Section 4 Vo-Ag. Fair Chairman.
VII. Conclusion Many of the goals set by the chapter were met this year. Many students excelled at the local and especially the state level. First, our chapter was honored to have two students Rachel Hawk and Adam Lloyd, who will be receiving the American FFA Degree, the highest honor bestowed by the National FFA Organization. Cody Blaser, Taylor Carey, Gage Hank, Paige Skinner, Cole Thomas and Brandi Welch will receive their State FFA Degrees at the State FFA Convention in June. Our Livestock Judging team had 2 individuals place in the top ten at the State Livestock Judging contest in April. Mr. Heartt continues to serve as a member of the ILCAE Committee. He was named the 2015 Section 4 winner of the IAVAT Teacher of Excellence Award and will receive the award at the IAVAT (Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers) Conference in June. Mr. Heartt also will receive his Honorary American FFA Degree at the National FFA Convention in Louisville in October. Mr. Chausse was named the 2014 Section 4 winner of the IAVAT Teacher of Excellence Award and received the award at the IAVAT (Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers) Conference in June 2014. Mr. Chausse also was named one of 13 Master Teachers by the Rock Island Argus / Moline Dispatch for 2015. The department has received a great deal of support from the administration and school board. The department receives tremendous support from the community. The members are devoting more time to community service and projects geared to serving the community. The chapter donated over $1700 to charity as well as labor to complete projects for various organizations and the Mercer County Fair. The chapter completed service projects for various groups and individuals throughout the course of the year. The articulation agreement with Black Hawk East, as well as the Dual Credit Welding and Greenhouse classes continue to pay dividends of increased enrollment and students going on to post secondary education in the fields of welding and Agriculture. Seven students will be continuing their education at MTI in Moline in the area of welding for the 2015-16 school year. It is an honor to be the FFA Advisors for this school and community. Our students are excelling and moving on to become leaders in the field of Agriculture. The chapter and department will continue to grow, with the future looking brighter than ever. Respectfully submitted on this 29th day of May, 2015. Michael G. Chausse Aaron J. Heartt Agriculture Education Instructor Agriculture Education Instructor FFA Advisor / Vocational Director FFA Advisor Mercer County CUSD #404 Mercer County CUSD #404