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Langford Area FFA has kicked off summer with a bang. Earlier this spring two chapter members, Rennan Bruns and Caleb Mertz along with two Ag Advisory board members Connard Ewalt and Mike Frey, planted a test plot just 2 miles south of Langford. JaDee Dwight, a long time Langford farmer, provided 2.5 acres for the FFA students. “When Mike reached out to me about the possibly, I knew it would be a good educational tool, and I was thrilled to help the kids out with this project,” says Dwight. JaDee looks forward to helping the students with the recording keeping and harvesting the crop this fall.
Ms. Annamarie Sachs’ students have several fun things planned for this test plot. They plan on having a local agronomist provide monthly test plot learning sessions where students will learn more about plant populations, staging corn, weeds and even insects. The club will also be scheduling ‘SAE’ times with Ms. Sachs for more one on one help while in the field. “SAE’s are a Supervised Agricultural Experience,” states Sachs. “These learning sessions allow students to apply classroom knowledge while in the field.”
A few goals for this plot include helping to raise funds for the LA FFA program, provide educational opportunities for Langford Ag Students and FFA members, hosting test plot tours for area farmers, seed company reps and students to come together and gain more knowledge and to provide 3rd party corn plot data results to area farmers and seed companies.
Another exciting event for the Chapter, the National FFA Organization recently announced the new cohort of National Teacher Ambassadors for the upcoming school year. There will be 65 National Teacher Ambassadors representing 28 states. Ms. AnnaMarie Sachs was chosen again this year. Her and one other South Dakota Ag Teacher, Ms. Sarah McClure from Gettsyburg will be representing our state. The National Teacher Ambassadors serve as positive and professional examples to more than 13,000 FFA advisors in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands during their year of service. The teacher ambassadors serve as a resource for teachers nationwide by leading, mentoring and training them through formal and informal programs such as webinars and workshops. They also provide feedback to National FFA leadership about the evolving educational landscape based on their own experiences. Agriculture education teachers/FFA advisors make a world of difference for the students they teach.
This spring, students put into words the impact their Ag teachers/FFA advisors have had on them as part of an FFA Advisor Tribute Scholarship application. Seventeen students will receive a scholarship to attend a SD FFA Leadership Retreat this summer based on the powerful stories they shared about the impact their teachers have had on their lives.
One of those students was Langford Area’s Bradyn Small. Bradyn was awarded the Leonard Deboer memorial scholarship after completing an essay about how Ms Sachs and her strong drive to help ag students reach their full potential in agriculture. “FFA isn’t just a club for us, it’s a building block, to help us step outside of our own comfort zone and develop qualities of leadership everyone needs to have despite of having an agricultural background. I truly wouldn’t have believed I could or would have made this journey possible without the help of Ms. Sachs,” states Small. Bradyn will be using the scholarship money to fund a trip to the West River Leadership Retreat.
