FFA Puts the Year Into Gear
By Ella Gaes
The Pierce FFA Chapter has put the 2022-2023 year into gear at the annual tractor driving contest. On Saturday, September 17, the Pierce FFA Alumni hosted a Tractor Driving Contest during the Pierce Threshing Bee, for schools around our district to compete in. Students gathered from Laurel, Plainview, Hartington, Norfolk, and Randolph. This contest includes several different events. Starting off, each participant must maneuver a tractor with a two-wheel wagon through cones. Other stations include parts identification, an owner's manual test, a safety inspection, and a general knowledge test about tractors.
Sophomore Weston Stemick was the top placer from Pierce receiving runner-up. Alexander Meier, Clay White, and Seth Nelson were the other competitors from Pierce.
After talking to Pierce’s FFA advisor, Matt Neal, he commented on the day saying, “Overall, the day went really well. There was a decent turnout with the schools from around the district. The FFA Alumni group always does a great job organizing the event, and we look forward to it every year.”
The Tractor Driving contest kicked off a great start to the year, with the other events coming soon around the corner the FFA members are always staying busy.
Continuing with other activities, on Thursday, September 22, Neal took a handful of students to participate in range judging in Schuyler. This is the first group Neal has ever taken to range judge. During the competition, students from many schools get divided into groups and rotate around different stations for 10 minutes. In each station, contestants must be able to identify range plants by name and know their growth habits, livestock forage value, and other characteristics. Contestants should know the concepts of proper range use, wildlife habitat management, and managing rangeland resources.
This competition included the Area 5 district. These schools included West Holt, Elgin, Twin River, Johnson Brock, Palmyra, Lawrence, O’Neill, Summerland, Emerson-Hubbard, Bishop Newman, Clarkson, and David City. Each school was divided into teams depending on the number of students they brought.
Overall, Pierce’s senior division placed 11th out of 23 teams. This team included Haiden Magnussen, Ashton Koch, Meier, and Ella Gaes. The junior division finished 10th out of 37 teams. This team included Draydin Gossman, Jackson Fischer, Clay White, and Austin Kerber.
After talking to the senior team, each of them had a positive remark on the day. Magnussen commented, “For our first time ever range judging, I think it went very well. I am excited to see future members partake in range judging.”
Meier said, “I know it’s been a while since Pierce has participated in range judging, but I’m excited to be a part of the first group back.”
Koch remarked, “It was pretty challenging but a great experience.”
Lastly, Gaes said, “Overall, it was a great experience. It was super fun and the weather was perfect.”
The next competition that Neal’s natural resources and plant science classes will be attending is land judging on Wednesday, October 12. This competition is similar to range judging but focuses more on the soil quality.
