Colfax FFA holds awards banquet April 4
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax FFA held the annual Chapter Member Awards Banquet April 4 at Colfax High School.
All together, the Colfax FFA Chapter has 61 members, and more than 100 participations, awards and accomplishments were recognized at the banquet.
Greenhands
The following students received their Greenhand Degree pins after completing one year of membership in FFA: Abby Farley; Alexis Snider; Austin Dressel; Becca Bazille; Brad Thompson; Braden Lemler; Dennis Sonnentag; Hailey Durand-Christianson; Jacob Scharlau; Jordan Aaron; Kali Risler; Kylie Dalhoe; Lillian Sanders; Makayla Olson; Nick Jensen; Phil Taylor; Taylor Paulus; and Tori Hill.
The Star Greenhand, recognized for scholastic achievement and participation in many FFA activities, was Phil Taylor.
Chapter FFA
The following students received their Chapter FFA Degree pins after completing at least two years of membership in FFA: Abby Klueckmann; Andrew Schneider; Ariah Kadinger; Benjamin Thompson; Brandi Quimby; Brooklyn Sorenson; Chris Scharlau; Christina Michaels; Daelynn Blodgett; Dalton Bradford; Dalton Schotter; Desiree Welk; Emma Stone; Emmie Edwards; Hannah Sykora; Jackson Hellmann; Katie Albricht; Kyah Quast; Madison Shipley; Santana Longdo; Taylor Meyer; Tommy Anderson; Trevor Rothbauer; Trinity Krueger; and Tyler Blodgett.
World Dairy Expo
The Colfax FFA attends World Dairy Expo every fall in Madison.
The dairy cattle evaluation team placed 48th out of 204 schools with Phil Taylor leading the team and placing 22nd as an individual. Alex Sykora and Brad Thompson also were part of the team.
The dairy products team placed 68th with Becca Bazille and Brooklyn Sorenson leading the team and placing 71st and 77th. Kylie Dalhoe was part of the team as well.
Leadership
Every fall, the Colfax FFA Chapter sends FFA officers and members to the Section 2 Leadership Workshop.
This year’s workshop was held at Stanley-Boyd High School and was attended by Jack Edwards; Emmie Edwards; Kyah Quast and Alexis Snider.
Soil Judging
The Colfax FFA competed in the Pepin County soil judging contest last fall.
All together, 120 students competed, and the Colfax land judging team placed third: Andrew Schneider (3rd place individual); Dalton Bradford (6th place individual); Hannah Sykora (15th); Taylor Meyer (16th).
National
Once again this year, the Colfax FFA and the Colfax FFA Alumni sent FFA members to attend the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Those who attended were Phil Taylor and Bryce Kragness.
Speaking contests
Colfax was the host school this year for the 2017 District FFA Speaking Contests.
Abby Schotter competed in Extemporaneous Speech. After drawing a topic from a hat, Schotter had to prepare a six-minute persuasive speech. Using the five materials she brought with her, she had 30 minutes to determine what she wanted to say about the topic.
Bryce Kragness and Taylor Meyer expressed their views on “how a local community can play a role to ensure the viability of a quality agricultural education program within their school” in the discussion meet contest, where individuals discuss and formulate ideas and solutions for an agricultural concern.
Judging Contest
The UW-River Falls Ag Technology Contest includes 18 different contests, and this year, Colfax FFA had 22 students compete in eight different contests.
Tori Hill placed 90th as an individual in horse judging.
The Dairy Evaluation team placed 24th out of 32 teams. Phil Taylor placed 45th out of 106. Dennis Sonnentag placed 77th; Alex Sykora placed 79th; and Braden Lemler followed close behind.
The Food Science team placed second in the non-qualifying division out of seven teams. Taylor Meyer placed 2nd out of 25 participants. Christina Michaels placed 8th, and Maddie Shipley was close behind.
The Forestry team placed 10th with Jake Scharlau and Dalton Schotter tying for 24th out of 36 participants. Chris Scharlau placed 27th.
The Livestock Judging team will advance to state and placed 4th out of 26 teams. Jack Edwards placed 8th out of 117 competitors. Emmie Edwards was 16th; Bryce Kragness was 36th. And Amanda Christianson placed 61st.
The Veterinary Science team will advance to the state contest and placed 8th out of 32 teams. Abby Schotter placed 5th out of 105 participants. Alexis Snider placed 53rd, and Dalton Bradford placed 69th.
The Wildlife Team will advance to state and placed 2nd out of 22 teams with Austin Dressel placing first out of 105 participants. Jackson Hellmann placed 16th; Trevor Rothbauer placed 31st; and Ben Thompson followed close behind.
In the Crops Show, Dalton Schotter placed first in soybeans. Alex Sykora placed second in mixed legume/grass hay. Phil Taylor placed second in haylage. Alex Sykora placed third in oats, third in longest ear and third in corn silage.
State
Last year, the wildlife and livestock teams competed at the state level.
The livestock team placed 21st out of 35 teams and consisted of Jack Edwards, Bryce Kragness, Jared Taylor and Andrew Schneider.
The wildlife team placed 10th out of 33 teams with Ross Taylor placing 22nd; Zach Meyer placing 25th; and Jackson Hellmann and Trevor Rothbauer followed close behind.
Top salesperson
The Colfax FFA recognized three top salespeople.
Third place receives a $50 check from the FFA, which went to Jesse Anderson.
Second place receives a $75 check from the FFA, which went to Bryce Kragness.
First place receives a $100 check and their names on a plaque kept in the agriculture room.
This year’s first place winners were Alex and Hannah Sykora.
STAR CHAPTER FARMER — Bryce Kragness, president of the Colfax FFA chapter, received the Star Chapter Farmer award at the FFA banquet at Colfax High School April 4. Kragness also received the DeKalb Leadership Award. The Colfax FFA Alumni presented the Colfax FFA Leadership Scholarship to Kragness as well. The $500 scholarship will be paid on the completion of a post-secondary semester with a grade point average of 2.5 or higher. —photo by LeAnn R. Ralph
Star Chapter
Star Chapter FFA Degrees are given to FFA members who have completed three or more years of membership and excel in agriculture achievement, FFA participation and have selected a program in production agriculture or an agriculture field.
The first Star Chapter Degree was for Agriscience and went to Abby Schotter, who is preparing to attend Southwest Minnesota State University in the pre-veterinary program majoring in Biology and Chemistry.
For the past three years, Abby has completed her Supervised Agriculture Experience in Veterinary Science. She has volunteered her time at local vet clinics, and this year she won first place at the state level.
Abby will be recognized at the state FFA Convention in June and will represent Wisconsin in the national contest.
The second Star Chapter Degree goes to the Star Chapter Farmer, which is a student who is interested and involved in production agriculture, and was awarded to Bryce Kragness.
Kragness has been an FFA member for four years, has been an officer for the past two years and is serving as president this year, has exhibited animals at local fairs and is helpful at all FFA events.
VETERINARY SCIENCE STATE QUALIFIERS — The UW-River Falls Ag Technology Contest includes 18 different contests, and this year, Colfax FFA had 22 students competing in eight contests. The Veterinary Science Team from Colfax will advance to state competition. From left: Dalton Bradford (placed 69th out of 105 participants); Alexis Snider (53rd); and Abby Schotter (5th). The Veterinary Science team received their certificates April 4 at the FFA Banquet at Colfax High School. —photo by LeAnn R. Ralph
DeKalb
This year’s recipient of the DeKalb Leadership Award was Bryce Kragness.
The DeKalb Leadership Award is given to a senior with a superior record of scholarship, leadership and agricultural work experience.
Kragness will have his name engraved on the plaque kept in the agriculture room at Colfax High School.
LIVESTOCK STATE QUALIFIERS — The UW-River Falls Ag Technology Contest includes 18 different contests, and this year, Colfax FFA had 22 students competing in eight contests. The Livestock Judging Team from Colfax will advance to state and placed 4th out of 26 teams. From left: Jack Edwards (placed 8th out of 117 competitors); Bryce Kragness (36th); Amanda Christianson (61st), and Emmie Edwards (16th). The Livestock Judging Team received their certificates at the FFA Banquet at Colfax High School April 4. —photo by LeAnn R. Ralph
Honorary Chapter
Honorary Chapter Degrees may be awarded to farmers, school superintendents, principals, Board of Education members, FFA advisors, teachers, school staff, business owners, and others who are helping to advance agriculture education.
This year’s Honorary Chapter Degree was awarded to Ron Swartz and the custodial staff at Colfax schools for all of their work behind the scenes to help prepare for FFA functions held at school.
WILDLIFE STATE QUALIFIERS — The UW-River Falls Ag Technology Contest includes 18 different contests, and this year, Colfax FFA had 22 students competing in eight contests. The Wildlife Team from Colfax will advance to state. From left: Austin Dressel (placed 1st out of 105 participants); Jackson Hellman (16th); Ben Thompson (32nd); and Trevor Rothbauer (31st) received their certificates at the FFA Banquet at Colfax High School April 4. —photo by LeAnn R. Ralph
Alumni Award
The Colfax FFA Alumni award is presented to an individual, a group or a business that has supported the FFA Alumni.
The FFA Alumni award was presented to Don and Nola Schley of Polish Enterprises for challenging the community to help raise money for remodeling the livestock barn at the Colfax Fairgrounds by matching up to $5,000 in funds raised by the community.
Because of their generosity, the FFA Alumni was able to complete the entire remodeling project and was even able to start a reserve fund for the potential remodeling of the swine barn.
SCHOLARSHIP — Abby Schotter received the Agriculture Scholarship from Joel Hilson, representing the Colfax FFA Alumni, at the FFA Banquet at Colfax High School April 4. The scholarship is for $500 and will be paid at the completion of a post-secondary semester with a 2.5 grade point average or higher. Schotter also received the Star Chapter in Agriscience Degree. She plans to attend Southwest Minnesota State University’s pre-veterinary program majoring in Biology and Chemistry. —photo by LeAnn R. Ralph
Scholarships
Joel Hilson, representing the Colfax FFA Alumni, awarded two scholarships to senior FFA members for $500 that will be paid upon the completion of a semester of post-secondary education with a grade point average of 2.5 or higher.
The FFA Alumni leadership scholarship was presented to Bryce Kragness.
The FFA Alumni agriculture scholarship was awarded to Abby Schotter.