Pickaway-Ross Career & Technology Center Satellite Newsletter December 2012
st Westfall’s Wippel 1 in State
Austin Wippel, 18 year-old son of Jay and Marci Wippel of Orient recently received a national gold rating after placing 1st in the state in the FFA Agricultural Sales proficiency award area. The result was announced at the Ohio FFA State Convention held in Columbus, Ohio and the National FFA Convention held in October in Indianapolis.
The Agricultural Sales Proficiency Award program is designed to recognize outstanding FFA members’ supervised agricultural experience programs (SAE).
Wippel’s SAE included 375 acres of straw with 16,000 square bales produced for sale. His equipment inventory includes a tractor, baler, automatic stack wagon, a bale grapple, and a truck and trailer. Wippel began his enterprise in 2008 when he borrowed a friend’s baler to bale 20 acres of straw. The enterprise has steadily grown. He recognized that there was a strong demand for small, square bales of straw in the area.
Wippel understands the importance of good marketing. “My main marketing strategy for my business is to price my straw for what it's worth and be firm on what I am selling it for. When I began selling straw in 2009 I sold each bale for $2.00 per bale or $72 per ton. In 2011 I sold each bale of straw for $3.00 or $108 per ton.” He has noted the decline in wheat acres planted as one reason for the increased value of straw.
As a young entrepreneur, Wippel has sought and secured loans for his business. Keeping accurate records, he utilizes the AET (online agricultural experience tracker recordkeeping) and maintains detailed financial reports. In the future, he plans to expand his business operation to include alfalfa hay.
An honor student taking many college prep classes, he maintains a 3.4 GPA and is currently serving as the Westfall FFA Chapter’s sentinel. Wippel plans to attend the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster and major in crop production after graduation. His advisors are Mr. Rick Metzger and Mrs. Rachel Scior.
Austin Wippel with his state winning Agricultural Sales proficiency award display during the Ohio FFA Convention.
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Westfall FFA AG Issues Team 5th in State
The Westfall FFA Chapter’s Agricultural Issues Team recently placed 5th in the state. The team of Alex Sartin, Montana McFarland, Devonah Kaiser, Mallorie Wippel, Macy Conrad and Leslie Shepherd received a state banner recognizing their accomplishment at the recent state competition held at Wilmington College.
The Agricultural Issues Career Development Event (CDE) is designed to challenge FFA members to choose an agricultural Seated left to right: Pickaway County Commissioners Ula Jean Metzler, Glenn D. Reeser, and Jay Wippel; Standing left to right: issue, and then develop a 15-minute Mallorie Wippel, Macy Conrad, Alex Sartin, Montana McFarland, presentation detailing the pros and Leslie Shepherd. Not pictured: Devonah Kaiser cons of the issue. Members are penalized if it is determined that the team draws a conclusion for one side or the other of the issue. Members must then present the presentation to at least three “high level” groups or organizations.
The team presented to the Westfall Local School Board and the Pickaway County Commissioners. The team selected the 2012 Farm Bill as their topic. Team member Alex Sartin explained that it was a very difficult topic. “There are so many components to the farm bill that we found it impossible to argue for or against the bill. Instead we attempted to give the pros and cons of the many different components of the bill.”
The team will present again at the Pickaway County Farm Bureau’s meeting on Wednesday November 14 at 7:30pm. The Westfall FFA Chapter is a satellite program of the Pickaway-Ross Career and Technology Center.
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Zane Trace FFA Attends National Convention
Wednesday, October 24, a group of Zane Trace FFA members traveled to Indianapolis to attend the 85th National FFA Convention. This convention is an annual trip for the most involved members of Zane Trace FFA, and used as a great opportunity to grow as leaders, learn more about their future, explore Indianapolis, and get to know FFA Members from around the country.
The Zane Trace Members started off their trip with a visit to the Hoosier Gym in Knightstown, Indiana, where they learned many fun facts about the movie Hoosiers, and were able to shoot baskets in the original gym from the movie. From there, they traveled to Traders Point Creamery. There, they looked around the milking area and learned about the natural products that Traders Point has to offer. The members ended their day by attending The Band Perry and Brantley Gilbert concert in Lucas Oil Stadium.
Thursday morning was when the convention activities kicked off and the members attended opening session of the convention, held in the Bankers Life Field House. During opening session, members heard from National FFA Officers about the importance of using agriculture to put an end to world hunger and sustain the growing population. They also learned of the importance of a positive attitude from Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton. Scott has battled many life threatening diseases including prostate cancer and a brain tumor, yet he swears a positive attitude is what got him through it all.
Thursday afternoon the members headed to the expo center and spent some time touring the Nation FFA Career show. Every year, the career show proves to be a great resource for members. They learn about many career opportunities within the agricultural field, visit with colleges, and learn about the difference in agriculture from state to state. After the career show, the members put on their buckeye gear to get ready for a night of fun! They attended a hypnotist show and the annual Buckeye Bash, where they danced the night away with other FFA member from all around Ohio.
Friday morning, Zane Trace FFA wrapped up their time in Indianapolis with another visit to the Career show. All members in attendance reported that this year’s National FFA Convention was one of the best yet, and they are excited to implement their new knowledge of the agricultural field. This year’s convention theme was “Grow,” and grow is exactly what Zane Trace FFA plans to do.
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Zane Trace FFA Pair Places Third at the National FFA Agriscience Fair
David Glass and Audrey Hoey, members of the Zane Trace FFA Chapter, recently placed 3rd in the Food Science Senior Team division of the National FFA Agriscience Fair.
The event took place during the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis on October 25th and 26th. The pair were selected for this honor from over 30 participants in the Food Science division. Their research involved the study of antioxidant components in berries and was conducted with the guidance of faculty of the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
This year marks the third time that David and Audrey have placed among the top three in the National Agriscience Fair. They are already planning their research project for the upcoming year and hope to return to the National competition again in 2013. Zane Trace FFA graduate Sarah Cox also participated in the National Agriscience Fair in the Plant Science division, where she placed 7th overall out of 36 competitors.
Logan Elm FFA sponsored “Thanksgiving Baskets” project generates 65 meals for families in the school district.
The last part of the FFA motto is “living to serve”. The FFA recently sponsored a “Thanksgiving Baskets” project at the high school. Each of the 32 1st period classes received an empty basket with a list of items needed for a Thanksgiving meal and was challenged to complete at least one basket. Our goal was to provide 32 complete meals to families in our school district for Thanksgiving. The outpouring of generosity from the Logan Elm students and staff was tremendous during this project. When the dust cleared, a total of 65 baskets were turned in. Each basket will also have a $10 Kroger Gift Card for the family to put towards a turkey. These cards were purchased by the Logan Elm FFA, Mount Pleasant Church in Kingston, and E&R Enterprises. With so many baskets collected, we will be able to provide families in the district with a meal at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas.
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I-CAT Students Elected Business Professionals of America Ohio Officer Team
The Paint Valley/Pickaway-Ross I-CAT students traveled to Greater Columbus Convention Center on Friday, November 9 to attend the Business Professionals of America Ohio Fall Leadership Conference. The students participated in a variety of leadership workshops as well as prepared and campaigned for two classmates for the Ohio Officer Team.
In October Junior Kaylie Armstrong attended an Ohio Officer Screening process against 92 top Ohio high school students to obtain one of the 12 positions to be a candidate for the Ohio Officer Team. Senior Riley Litter automatically obtained a position as she is the Business Professionals of America 2012-2013 National Historian. On November 9 both candidates were required to prepare a campaign, give a speech to the 1000+ members present at the conference, and answer questions individually during the voting delegate caucus session at which time the membership voted for the top 6 candidates to represent them on the 2012-2013 Business Professionals of America Ohio Officer Team.
Riley was elected the 2012-2013 Ohio President and Kaylie was elected the 2012-2013 Ohio Parliamentarian. This is an amazing opportunity for Riley and Kaylie; they will be representing the State of Ohio in several speaking engagements throughout the state in the next year, setting goals for the state organization, running Ohio Conferences as well as traveling to Orlando, FL in May for the National Conference.
Riley was elected as the 2012-2013 National Historian in May and will representing the Ohio and National organizations this year.
The Paint Valley I-CAT instructor is Mrs. Kim Litter.
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