(Indianapolis, IN.) Friday, August 9th, 2024.
Katie Rogers a member of the South Harrison FFA Chapter in Lost Creek, WV was named one of four National Finalists (top 4) in the Diversified Livestock Proficiency Competition. Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through supervised agricultural experiences, have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers.
Nationally, students can compete for awards in nearly 50 areas ranging from agricultural communications to wildlife management (see areas below). Proficiency awards are also recognized at local and state levels and provide recognition to members that are exploring and becoming established in agricultural career pathways.
The Diversified Livestock Production – Entrepreneurship/Placement – Involves the use of the best management practices available to efficiently produce and market a combination of animals for two or more of the livestock-related proficiency award areas. These areas include beef, dairy, sheep, swine, equine, goat, specialty animal, poultry or small animal production and care. Katie Rogers is the daughter of Susan Bowman the owner/operator of Catalpa Farms in Sycamore, West Virginia. Katie raises market hogs, breeding cattle, sheep, goats, and Great Pyrenees shepherd dogs as part of her Supervised Agricultural Experience Program (SAE).
The SAE program involves practical agricultural activities performed by students outside of scheduled classroom and laboratory time. SAEs provide a method in agricultural education for students to receive real-world career experiences in an area of agriculture that they are most interested in. Supervised Agricultural Experiences are an important component of agricultural education and are required element of all Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
Luke Hall placed gold (top 9) in the National Landscape Management category. Landscape Management – Entrepreneurship/Placement – Member owns the enterprise, or works for a business that includes experiences with planting and maintaining plants and shrubs, landscaping and outdoor beautification, grounds keeping, sprinkler installations and lawn mowing/care services, portions of the project can include hardscaping and the installation of decorative rock, etc. Luke works for Lawn Care Plus in Clarksburg, WV.
Spencer Nolan placed silver (top 23) in the National Agricultural Education category. Agricultural Education – Entrepreneurship/Placement – Relates to education and extension, including, but not limited to, youth mentoring, agricultural education departmental assistants, PALS mentors and student coordinators, developing and conducting informational materials and presentations for civic organizations and school-aged youth, and students who are involved in SAEs surrounding educating the public about the broad topics of agriculture, agriculture education and FFA. Spencer’s SAE was working as a teacher’s assistant for the South Harrison Agricultural Education Department.