19 Taylorville FFA Members Compete At Section 16 Proficiency Awards
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TAYLORVILLE — Pictured are front row: Chloe Grant, Stephen Franklin, Tucker Winans, Lizzie Schafer, Abby Erlenbush, Hannah Hartwig. Middle row: Lacey DeClerck, Chris Hartwig, Cole Paulek, Jake Whetsell, Briar McLauglin, Audrey Curtin, Abby Norris. Back Row: Jay Bliler, Ben Wamsley, Waylon Paulek, Drew Mickey, Caleb Mizeur, Liam Steward
Submitted Photo
TAYLORVILLE — In mid-February, several Taylorville FFA members completed various SAE projects not only for competition, but to learn valuable career and life skills that they will use the rest of their lives. This large group of students competed with their record books at the local chapter level in order to advance on to sections. February 16, nineteen Taylorville FFA members traveled to Maroa High School to compete at Section FFA SAE Proficiency Award Interviews. This event is designed for Sophomore through Senior students that complete a record book on their Supervised Agriculture Experience project. Students are not only required to complete the record book but also conduct a 15 minute interview discussing what their responsibilities were in their project. Winners from the Section level advance onto districts, state, and national levels. The Taylorville FFA Chapter has a wide variety of different SAE projects. Some deal directly with the farm while others focus on horticulture, science research, leadership, and community service projects.
Briar McLaughlin was named the winner in Swine Production Placement through his work at Schafer Stock Farm. This senior has worked with pigs and cattle at Schafer Stock Farm for the past three years and also earned his State FFA Degree with this SAE. Lizzie Schafer was the winner in Beef Placement and also earned her State FFA Degree. This senior has worked for Schafer Stock Farms for the past four years and assists with all phases of this cattle operation. Waylon Paulek came out on top in the area of Goat production. Over the past two years Waylon has raised Boer goat for show and sale. Drew Mickey was the winner in Diversified Agriculture Production. His two-year project encompassed his Angus cows, performance tested bulls, market hogs, corn, wheat, and soybean production projects.
Abby Norris was the winner in Agriscience Integrated Systems. Her SAE has involved a national level science fair project in the area of meat science. In the area of Animal Systems, Jay Bliler was named the winner.
His project was performed on ruminant nutrition with young Holstein Angus cross bottle calves and earned him a spot at the National FFA Science Fair in the fall of 2021. Junior Cole Paulek was the winner in Diversified Livestock Production with his cattle, goat, and swine project. Over the past 3 years Cole has diversified his operation and has worked extremely hard showing competitive livestock at the state level. Chris Hartwig won the area of Ag Mechanics Design and Fabrication through his work with the Taylorville High School CNC Machine. This SAE has given him the opportunity to work with computer aided drafting and selling products that he designs and makes. Jake Whetsell was named the winner in Forestry Placement. Jake works for a Christmas tree farm and assist in all phases of production and sales of the trees. Ben Wamsley was the winner in Sheep Production Placement. Ben works with the families Border Leister operation and has the opportunity to show at the state and national level in this SAE. Hannah Hartwig came out on top in the area of Service Learning with her SAE assisting the Taylorville FFA Tornado Tuesday. Hannah helps design and conduct activities for this high school community service project.
Other Taylorville students that competed in this event and were Chapter Proficiency Award winners were Abby Erlenbush- Equine Production, Forage Production, and Ag Mechanics Repair, Lacey DeClerck-Food Service, Tucker Winans-Ag Service, Liam Steward-Grain Placement, Audrey Curtin-Beef Entrepreneurship, Chloe Grant-Ag Sales Placement, Stephen Franklin-Diversified Crop Placement, and Caleb Mizeur-Soybean Placement.
“Proficiency Awards are one of the best opportunities that a high school student can have in their educational career! It doesn’t matter what type of background a student has, any student in a high school agriculture program can have this opportunity. We have seen student SAE success from individuals that are academically at the top of their graduating class all the way down to the fact that FFA and SAE projects are what keeps the student attending school. The type of life skills that this FFA event gives students is unbelievable! These skills stem from learning financial responsibility to experiencing the interview process. These concepts build career skills that are truly valuable to students future successes! We very proud of all Taylorville FFA members that competed and look forward to District 4 competition, says advisor Sue Schafer”
