by CrownRandall | Feb 12, 2025 | Agriculture
VERSAILLES – The Versailles FFA Chapter is celebrating National FFA Week February 15-22, 2025. The focus of National FFA Week is to tell the community and the country about the great opportunities available through FFA.
From its beginnings in 1928 as the Future Farmers of America, the National FFA organization today reaches out to all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. FFA is committed to developing character and leadership skills, as well as preparing members for a lifetime of civic leadership and career success.
As a part of National FFA Week, Versailles FFA members will have inserts in the local church bulletin. The FFA has also planned theme days and daily FFA/Ag trivia for the high school and middle school students with prizes for the winners.
Versailles FFA also has several career development event practices, playing FFA Bingo, making tie Blankets for Rustic Hope and St Vincent DePaul, having a member Breakfast to thank fruit sellers, conducting a coloring contest, a recharge the barn station with a therapy dog, massage chairs, and hydration station for self-care, drive a tractor to school day, a chapter visit from State Officers Jaden Hicks and Daniel Hartzel, line dancing at lunch with state officers, award seniors with goodie bags and will show appreciation for our teachers with a staff breakfast and goodie bags in their mailboxes.
The Versailles FFA will also conduct an FFA meeting with officer elections, have an Alumni meeting, conduct middle school AG and junior high FFA, and serve the community a free omelet breakfast on Feb 22nd. The Versailles FFA will collect Youth Farm Displays and Ag Photography for the Omelet breakfast.
Versailles FFA members are the leaders of tomorrow and are dedicated to community service activities like the can food drive, toys for tots, and nursing home visits. Whether it’s working with elementary children or serving as a chapter officer, FFA members make a positive difference in those around them. They are success-oriented students who are driven to achieve their goals. FFA builds leaders, and leaders impact the future.
FFA members have opportunities to attend national leadership conferences, start their own businesses, and apply for awards and scholarships. Through classroom instruction and hands-on learning, agricultural education and FFA are making a positive difference in the lives of students.
FFA members are our future engineers, scientists, teachers and producers. One of every five Americans is employed in the food, fiber and natural resources industries, and FFA members are preparing for one of those 330 careers in agriculture.
by CrownRandall | Feb 10, 2025 | Agriculture
ARCANUM – Arcanum MVCTC FFA members recently competed in the Ohio FFA Farm and Agribusiness Management Contest. The team from Arcanum placed 1st overall in the State out of 104 schools and qualified to compete in the National Contest during the National FFA Convention in October.
The top-scoring members were Charlie Weiss (1st Overall), Katelynne Michael (2nd Overall), Landon Miller, Ethan Hartman, Lance Brinksneader and Seth Fearon. The purpose of the Farm Business Management Contest is to provide students with the opportunity to make a practical application of the knowledge and skills learned in the production agriculture curriculum in solving typical farm management problems.
The online written test is designed to test the team members’ understanding of economic principles in farm business management. The problem-solving portion of the CDE is designed to determine the team members’ ability to apply economic principles of farm business management to actual problems and to define the decisions that need to be made.
Team member Katelynne Michael shared… “We finished 2nd in the State last year and were able to compete, and win, the Big E contest. We really worked hard this year to move up into that 1st place spot so that we could go to the National Contest.”
by CrownRandall | Feb 10, 2025 | Agriculture
REYNOLDSBURG – In January the Arcanum MVCTC FFA Competed in the Ohio FFA Ag Biotechnology State Finals held at the Ohio Department of Agriculture in Reynoldsburg Ohio.
To earn the right to compete in the finals the team needed to place in the top 20 on the Online Qualifying test, which they placed 15th.
The final event required students to identify materials and tools common to the industry, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific principles and management practices applied in the industry via a written exam, and make observations, draw conclusions and make decisions in evaluating aspects of biotechnology principles.
Upon completion of the finals, the team had worked their way up to 11th in the state. Team members competing in the finals were Landon Miller, Katelynne Michael, Carrie Denlinger, and Mora Menzie.
All the team members would like to send a great thanks to the Arcanum High School Science Department for helping prepare them for the contest.
by CrownRandall | Feb 10, 2025 | Agriculture
I hope this Newsletter finds you well. It hasn’t been quite as cold this past week, but you can still certainly feel winter in the air. Darke County continues to have sufficient moisture at this time (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?fips_39037). Continue to be safe in these winter conditions.
For those needing to renew their pesticide or fertilizer licenses, there will be one more training session in Darke County to recertify. The training date will be February 20th, beginning with fertilizer training at 4:30 p.m. and pesticide training at 6:00 p.m. The event will take place in the meeting room at Darke DD, 5844 Jaysville-St Johns Rd, Greenville, OH 45331. Please note that these recertification trainings will be taking place in neighboring counties as well, if you are unable to attend in Darke County. If you need to register for one of these sessions, or if you have any questions, please reach out to me.
HPAI in Western Ohio and Indiana remains an important matter. The number of cases has continued to grow since late last year when the first outbreak was confirmed. Nearby counties, particularly Mercer, but now including Van Wert and Auglaize, have confirmed cases as well. The importance of biosecurity cannot be overstated. Avoiding unnecessary contact with poultry, using footbaths and disposable boots, and proper sanitation of people and equipment are important practices. Other biosecurity measures, as well as the latest numbers of Bird Flu, can be tracked at the ODA website: https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/animal-health/hpai/01-poultry
The next Darke County Garden Roundtables will be February 13th at 12:00 p.m. and February 21st at 6:00 p.m. Both sessions will be held at the OSU Extension Learning Center, and the agenda is attached.
I will be at Worch Library on February 13th at 6:00 p.m. to discuss Making Pesticide and Fertilizer Decisions. Here, we will discuss the considerations that go into applying pesticides and fertilizers to your fields and gardens. I hope to see you there!
Wright State University, Lake Campus,will be hosting a workshop called Small Farms, Big Returns. This event will take place Monday, February 24th, at 5:30 p.m. Small Farms, Big Returns will focus on managing a small agricultural operation for maximum profitability. Specific topics will include setting prices, pasture management, poultry production, and market gardening. For more information and to register, please see the attached flyer.
The next Darke County Ag Breakfast will be February 21st at 7:30 a.m., held at Jack’s Cabin in Greenville.
This week’s Newsletter topics include:
· Balancing the Animals and Available Forages
· Cattle Inventory Report
· Controlling Lice in Dairy Cattle
· Rumen Acidosis in Dairy Cattle
· Weather Update
I hope you enjoy this week’s Newsletter, and as always, never hesitate to reach out to me and let me know how I can best serve you and all of Darke County.
by CrownRandall | Feb 4, 2025 | Agriculture
VERSAILLES – On February 22nd from 8 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., the Versailles FFA will be hosting the 8th annual Omelet Breakfast to recognize the local agriculturalists and promote the agriculture industry. There will be a free omelet breakfast for all in attendance. This breakfast is free but will be required to RSVP to ensure proper breakfast by February 18th.
The breakfast will also include: a farm toy show, agriculture displays to promote the industry, and farm displays created by the local youth. This event will be open for all of the public to enjoy.
The Versailles FFA chapter would like to personally invite and encourage you to enter the farm toy display contest. Again, this contest is completely cost-free and open to all youth in Darke County. Awards and monetary prizes will be awarded for each division sponsored by the Darke County Farm Bureau. All participants will receive a small prize; however, first place in each division will receive $25.00, second place $15.00, and third place $10.00.
All displays along with a tag with your name and age must be delivered to the Versailles FFA advisors, Mrs. Dena Wuebker/Miss Taylor Bergman, at Versailles Schools near the Greenhouse door (door 4) from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm pm on Thursday, February 20th. All displays will be judged prior to the breakfast and the Farm Displays will be displayed on the stage of the cafetorium all attendees will be enabled to view the displays. Farm displays can be torn down and loaded out between 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Feb 22nd.
Rules and Regulations: Division I- (Youth age 5 and under)-Maximum of 28” x 28” of space provided per display and Minimum of two (2) different aspects of agriculture or agricultural-related items. Division II- (Youth ages 6-10) Maximum of 28” x 28” of space provided per display and Minimum of three (3) different aspects of agriculture or agricultural-related items. Division III- (Youth ages 11-14)-Maximum of 30” x 30” of space provided per display and Minimum of four (4) different aspects of agriculture or agricultural-related items. Division IV- (Youth ages 15-18)-Maximum of 32” x 32” of space provided per display and Minimum of five (5) different aspects of agriculture or agricultural-related items. Displays will be judged based on the following Originality- 25 points, Contents-25 points, Neatness (Display and labeling-25 points and Overall Appearance-25 points.
Again all displays are due Thursday, Feb. 20th by 6:00 p.m. They should be dropped off by the Ag/ greenhouse door (280 Marker Rd. – door 4 – near the performing arts entrance) from 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. If this date, does not work to drop off the display, please contact Mrs. Wuebker to determine an earlier date, all displays need to be dropped off by 6:00 p.m. on Feb 20th.
If you have any questions feel free to contact Mrs.Dena Wuebker at [email protected] or (937) 423-2369 or Taylor Bergman at [email protected] at 937-621-9136.
by CrownRandall | Feb 2, 2025 | Agriculture
EATON – On Tuesday, January 28th the Versailles FFA participated in the Subdistrict Public Speaking Contest at Eaton High School.
The Versailles FFA had seven members participating in this public speaking contest. Freshman Monica Evers placed 2nd overall in the Creed Speaking contest.
Members are asked to recite the FFA creed and answer questions regarding the creed.
Sophomore Rhylan Broerman placed 1st overall and sophomore Greta Broering placed 4th overall in the Beginning Prepared Division where they recited a prepared speech five to seven minutes from memory and answered questions about the speech.
Senior Colin Batten placed 1st and sophomore Lucy Schmitmeyer placed 3rd in the Extemporaneous Division.
The Extemporaneous competition consists of the contestants choosing a topic when they arrive, and getting exactly 30 minutes to prepare a speech that is four to six minutes long.
The speech was delivered and questions were asked.
Junior Paige Gehret placed 1st and sophomore Adam Rauh placed 4th overall in the district in the Advanced Prepared competition. In this division, Colin prepared a six to eight-minute speech and answered questions about the topic. Colin, Rhylan, Paige and Monica will now move on to compete at the District 5 FFA Contest.
Congratulations and Good Luck at the District 5 FFA Job Interview Contest!
