MUSCATINE, Iowa–Though the FFA State Convention has passed, the season for state competitions continues. April 24, two teams of students, the Muscatine Gold Team, consisting of Bob Carver, Kat Carver Camden Furnas, Jenna Lovstad, and Caleb Teed, and the Muscatine Green Team, consisting of Leah Cortez, Madeline Fisher, Joe Fowler, Parker Green, and Madeline Wallace, competed at state. A multifaceted competition looking at many different aspects of conservation, students placed well, with Muscatine Gold placing second overall and first for an FFA team and Muscatine Green placing eighth out of 15 teams.
At the state level, students complete tests in six areas, aquatics, forestry, social issues, soils, wildlife, and oral presentation. This year, the contests took place in Jester Park in Ankeny, where students had many hands-on components to their testing. “We got to see elk and buffalo and do stuff with their wetland for the aquatics test,” explained Joe.
For the oral presentation, all teams received the same prompt. They had to explain what they would do if they inherited a farm and outline the uses and practices they would implement. Both teams talked about how they would use different conservation practices, with Muscatine Gold focusing on soil conservation through no-till agriculture and cover crops and Muscatine Green looking at implementing a Conservation Reserve Program in one area to make a prairie restoration as well as using riparian buffers, cover crops, and no-till agriculture on the section they planned to farm.
Looking back on their experiences, both teams felt good about how they did. Joe, a junior, shared he thought Muscatine Green, “did a lot better than I expected,” even though it had many young members.
Muscatine FFA Envirothon students Madeline Wallace, Joe Fowler, Jenna Lovstad, Caleb Teed, Bob Carver, Leah Cortez, Camden Furnas, Madeline Fisher, and Parker Green. Not pictured, Kat Carver. Photo courtesy Muscatine FFA.
Because Muscatine Gold placed first for an FFA team, they will compete again at the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis this October. The students on the team look forward to it. “We’re all so excited!” said Jenna, a junior. “I think it’s pretty cool,” added Bob, a senior who has competed nationally for poultry and meat evaluation in previous years. “I’ll be in college, so I’ll have to work it out, but I’m excited to get to go to a place with people I enjoy.”
A contest Muscatine has placed highly in often, all of the students who participated in it this year encourage younger students to give it a try next spring. “You learn a lot of team skills working with other people, ” observed Madeline, a sophomore.
“Simply, it’s a lot of fun–you learn a lot while studying for it,” chimed in Joe.
“The kids. . . they’re the future of agriculture, and it really opens your minds to new ideas and perspectives,” reflected Jenna.
