LA Wraps Up FFA With Trip To State

    Langford Area FFA recently wrapped up their year. In their second year of being an organized chapter, the local group kept very busy, including with their recent banquet and a big trip to the state convention. 
    The LA FFA Chapter hosted their annual award banquet on April 7. The chapter includes 56 members with 30 of them being active FFA participants. At the banquet, various groups were recognized. 
    The youngest of the members, seventh and eighth graders, received their Discovery Degree Awards. The Discovery FFA Degree is the first degree a member can be eligible for, and it is intended for seventh and eighth grade members who participate in FFA activities. Dane Horter, a seventh grader, received a high ranking with the Star Discovery award. The Star Discovery medal is awarded to a member who has stood out and showed leadership and participation.
    LA FFA Advisor AnnaMarie Sachs stated, “Dane is a kid who always goes above and beyond what is asked of him and shows great leadership skills.” Dane, the son of John and Jaclyn Horter, said “I didn’t even know there was an award for that, and was really surprised when I received it.” 
    New FFA Board members were also selected at the banquet.
    Langford Area FFA went on to compete at the SD State FFA Convention last week. The convention held in Brookings marked the 96th for the state. Over 2,300 FFA members from across South Dakota were in attendance. Sachs’ Chapter made up for 17 of those members, each participating in either a team or individual Career Development Event judging class. 
    The LA chapter had students participating on the Meats Evaluation Team, Milk Quality Team, Ag Mechanics Team, Individual Floriculture, Livestock Evaluation, and Natural Resources. Rennan Bruns, a five-year FFA member, two of those years being with Langford Area, was on the Meats Evaluation team, and competed as an individual as well. He placed 12th this year out of 113 competitors. The team received a silver ranking, along with Bruns earning a silver as an individual as well. 
    When asked what exactly is done during Meats Evaluation, Rennan said, “We evaluate carcasses, and we have to identify retail cuts of meat, which is the biggest part of the test. We also have to judge four cuts of meats from best to worst.”  
    Rennan said his favorite part of state convention is the career fair booths and meeting up with friends. His goal next year is to get to the national competition, as a team or as an individual. Also earning a silver ranking as Meat Evaluation Individuals were Regan Bruns and Hunter Jensen. 
    The second team placing high in the ranks was the Milk Quality group. Made up of four freshman girls, the team placed eighth out of 43 teams. Sachs smiled with pride saying, “They ran up to me and said ‘We got all of our team problems correct!’ which is pretty hard to do! I look forward to them going very far as a team.” 
    The Milk Quality team earned a silver ranking, with individuals Brynn Samson and Lizzie Gustafson earning a silver ranking, and Brooke Dwight and Alex Darling earning a bronze ranking as individuals.
    The Ag Mechanics team received a bronze ranking along with Floriculture with Abbie Hoines as the bronze ranked individual. 
    Sachs stated, “Not all competitors earn a ranking. Only the top 60% get ranked, so for us to come back only as a second-year chapter and earn so many rankings is very cool!”
    When asked what her favorite part of this year’s trip was, the advisor said “Just watching all of my kids come out of their shell. They showed great leadership skills and were so well behaved and kind.”