2019
Virginia FFA Agronomy Events
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Contributor/Checkoff:
Virginia Soybean Board
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
Checkoff reputationEnd usersExtensionIndustry outreachMeal marketing and promotionShared Media
Parent Project:
This is the first year of this project.
Lead Principal Investigator:
Jennifer Armstrong, Virginia FFA Association
Co-Principal Investigators:
Project Code:
796
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
Virginia Soybean Board
$7,500
Institution Funded:
Virginia FFA Association
$7,500
Brief Project Summary:

This project supports the Virginia FFA Association hosting an annual Career Development Event focused on developing agronomy and crops evaluation skills of FFA members. Approximately 20% of the contest is directly related to identification and classification of soybeans for seed or feed production. The objectives of this event and the Fiber and Oil Crop Proficiency award are to provide an opportunity for FFA members to display their knowledge of agronomic sciences while evaluating and demonstrating their skills in this area through competition and to encourage FFA members to explore meaningful connections between classroom education and career opportunities in the agronomy industry.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, students, industry stakeholders

Information And Results
Project Deliverables

We expect at least 35 teams and 130 students to be involved in the CDE and Proficiency Award activities. In addition, 1500 people will be impacted by the events, their results, and sponsors at the State FFA Convention and the State Fair of Virginia.

As State Officers must apply and be approved for ILSSO, the number impacted is unpredictable, but we encourage the entire team of 6-8 to attend.

The State and National Agronomy CDE is composed of a general knowledge examination, weed/crop and/or seed identification, soil texture/structure/land class/survey comprehension, pest management knowledge, and identification of seed quality aspects including purity, usability and marketability. At the National level, the Agronomy CDE also includes a team event where individuals are given a scenario in which they must develop a management plan, which is presented orally, and in a written format. The state winning team will represent the Commonwealth at the 92nd National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis. The second place team earns the opportunity to compete at The Eastern States Exposition (Big E) in Massachusetts.

An additional agronomy event will be held at the State Fair of Virginia in late September of 2019. This event typically includes an additional 70 FFA members. The event encompasses many of the agronomy CDE activities that take place at the state FFA Convention, but attracts a participant group from some more eastern counties of Virginia.

Proficiency Award Information
The Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers.

Grain Production Proficiency – Entrepreneurship Award –– Student owns an enterprise or business that applies the best management practices available to efficiently produce and market crops for grain production such as corn, barley (including the malting types), millet, buckwheat, oats, grain sorghum, milo, wheat, rice and rye. Grain Production does not include any of the aforementioned crops with an intended use for forage. Recognition includes plaques, pins, and media publication for award winners, as well as funds for the first and second place state winners, and up to six area winners.

The Virginia FFA State Officer Team has the option of participating in the International Leadership Seminar for State Officers, conducted by National FFA. These members must apply to the program and once accepted, complete a number of tasks set forth by the curriculum. The International Leadership Seminar for State Officers empowers current and past state officers by providing them with global perspective. Through this experience, participants will visit farms and agribusinesses, share in the local culture and develop themselves as culturally aware students. In 2019, they traveled to South Africa.

The location of the 2020 International Leadership Seminar for State Officers will be revealed in the spring of 2019.

Final Project Results

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.