The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The evening of March 6, the Big Sandy FFA chapter arrived in Conrad, MT. Here, we played games, such as basketball and volleyball, and reconnected with old friends. After spending the night in the gym, we attended in several different workshops, on March 7th, in the event of your choice. In Agronomy, some of the things we learned about was noxious weeds, agriculture issues, plant disorders, insects, soils, and grain grading. Mechanics included welding, sprayer identification and calibration, identifying and gluing PVC pipe, identifying irrigation, and electrical wiring workshops. The Vet Science workshops taught about vaccinations, teeth, internal organs, skeletons, and diseases. All of these classes happened before lunch around Conrad High School. This contest special because it is an amazing learning experience from people that focus on these subjects for a living. They share real world application and knowledge. After these workshops, we compete and are tested in the different areas.

Our chapter had a lot of success. In Mechanics, Lance Rutledge placed 3rd overall and 1st in green hand. The team ranked 8th. Our discovery team, which is our 7th and 8th graders, took 1st. Severin Heimbigner placed 1st and Samuel Cox placed 3rd out of this age group. The Agronomy team placed 1st. Hope Gasvoda was 1st, Erin Taylor was 4th, and Jaycee Worral was 16th overall. The other unique thing about this contest is the top 20 overall of each event received prizes donated by FFA supporters such as hats, shirts, and for the higher placing, Leatherman, ratchet sets, and an electric drill. Conrad was another fun, rewarding, and successful completion for the Big Sandy FFA chapter.