Tift County

N O V E M B E R - D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5

U

Agriculture Education

Come join

the fun!

Steve Hobbs

Classic Cattle

Show Hosted

by Tift Co.

Young

Farmers

Saturday,

January 9th

Georgia

Young

Farmer

Convention

Jekyll Island

January

29th-30th

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

from the Tift County Ag Ed Family

Children’s Farm Day The 12th Annual 3rd Grade Children's Farm Day was held on November 13th at the

Tift County Schools STAR Farm. The purpose of this event is to introduce 3rd grade

students in Tift County Schools to the world of agriculture through tangible experi-

ences. Approximately 700 3rd graders from Tift County along with their teachers

and many parents attended this year’s Farm Day.

The annual event is organized and operated by Tift County Agriculture Education

students and FFA members. JT Reddick, Eighth Street Middle and Northeast FFA

members led the 3rd grade classes and their teachers through a variety of display

stations which were strategically placed throughout the farm. Each station was or-

ganized and manned by Tift County High School Agriculture Education students and

FFA members. These student-led stations as well as other stations sponsored by

various agricultural agencies represented a variety of agricultural areas such as pro-

duction agriculture, horticulture, animal science, ag mechanics, forestry and wild-

life. This year, students were also treated to a drone sighting and a special show

during lunch by local crop duster Jerry Rutland.

Mark Your Calendars! Tift County FFA members and Agriculture Education teachers are gearing up for an excit-

ing school year. To get involved or find out more about the events below, contact your

local agriculture education teacher!

February 6: State CDEs (Fort Valley State)

9: Area V CDEs (Colquitt Co.) 10: Poultry Judging (Eastman)

17-21: Georgia National Livestock Show

21-27: National FFA Week 23: FFA Day at the Capital

29: Tift County Quality Steer & Heifer Show

March

1: Steer Sale 1: Area V CDEs (ABAC) 4-5: Greenhand and Success Conference

11: FFA Blue and Gold Gala 19: State CDEs (Athens)

31: Pork Chop Plate Sale

November 3-7: Albany Fair

13: Children’s Farm Day 17: Area V CDEs (Irwin Co.)

19: Thanksgiving Feast

December 5: State CDEs (ABAC)

8: Area V CDEs (ABAC) 12: State Rabbit Show

January

9: Steve Hobbs Classic Cat-tle Show

14-15: GVATA Conference 22-23: Discovery Confer-

ence 25: Subarea CDEs (TCHS)

29-30: Young Farmer Convention

April 28-30: State FFA Convention

May

6: Tift County FFA Banquet 10: Area V FFA Banquet

23-27: FFA Summer Camp

Tift County FFA members recently

participated in state CDEs.

The ESMS, NE & TCHS Land Judg-

ing teams competed in Braselton,

Georgia on October 24th. The NE

team placed 4th overall in the

state CDE!

The NE & TCHS Meats Judging

teams also competed in Athens,

Georgia on November 14th.

Tift Co. Represented at State CDEs

TCHS Leaders TCHS Sophomores learned a les-

son on leadership and team

building while creating unique

objects. Students had to work

together to design and build a

structure using only spaghetti

noodles and marshmallows.

8th grade ag students recently participated in a Farmopoly Tour-

nament. Students played the farm themed “Monopoly” game

throughout the week in rounds leading up to a Farmopoly champi-

onship. At the end of each class period, students calculated their

net worth by determining their total cash and property value. The

lesson allows students to learn financial skills such as budgeting,

record keeping, counting money and making change as well as in-

troduces them to new concepts in farming and agriculture.

Northeast agriculture students conducted the

children’s activity at the Wire Grass Farmers

Market. Students made butter with the chil-

dren and taught them about dairy products,

how they are made and where they come from.

JTR Christmas Wreaths

ESMS Farmopoly Tournament

NE Students Teach Others

6th grade JTR agriculture students made live wreaths

from donated greenery. The greenery was donated by

Brumby - White Christmas Tree Farm and Griffin Brothers

Farm. The finished wreaths looked good and smelled

great!

Young Farmer Events and Programs Tift County Young Farmer members are gearing up for the Steve

Hobbs Classic Cattle Show on January 9, 2016 and the Georgia

Young Farmer Convention to be held at Jekyll Island on January

29th & 30th. If you are interested in participating in either of these

events, contact Carl Nichols.

Young Farmer

Women Make

Wreaths The Tift County Young Farmer Chap-

ter hosted a wreath making class as

part of their Women’s Program. Spe-

cial guest and South Region Area

Horticulture teacher Trisha Lastly

taught the ladies in attendance how

to make holiday wreaths.

Local Young Farmer Member Wins Award

Tift County Young Farmer Member Andrew Grimes was recently

named South Region Outstanding Young Producer at the Young

Farmer Region Caucus in November. Grimes will be competing for

the state award during the Georgia Young Farmer Convention in

January. The state winner will receive a plaque and a $700 travel

scholarship to attend the NYFEA Ag Promise.

How can you become an FFA Alumni Member?

Membership is free to anyone interested in supporting the four local FFA chapters. Membership is open to parents, former FFA members or anyone who wishes to support the local FFA program.

For more information, contact

Jeanann Miller at 368-3123 or

Jimmy Cargle at

jcargle@tiftschools.com

FFA was represented at the annual TCHS Homecoming parade with their circus themed float titled

“The Greatest FFA Chapter on Earth”!

On November 19th, the Tift County FFA Alumni hosted the

annual Tift County FFA Thanksgiving Feast at Northeast Cam-

pus. This annual event for FFA members in grades 6-12 and

their families is meant to be a fun, festive event of family,

food, fellowship and FFA. The FFA Alumni provided turkey &

dressing. FFA members and their families provided covered

dishes to accompany the meat. The evening began with a

welcome from the TCHS FFA Officer Team telling the audi-

ence what they are most thankful for. This year, the Cook

Family also provided gospel music during the meal.

Annual FFA Thanksgiving Feast

FFA members will be collecting alumi-

num can tabs throughout the year for

the Ronald McDonald House in Macon.

We will deliver them to the RMH dur-

ing our trip to State Convention. If you

have can tabs to donate, drop them off

in your ag classroom!

Tift County FFA

Advisors

TCHS:

Lynne Cook

Heath Cross

Carl Nichols, Young Farmer Advisor

Northeast:

Brittaney Schwing

Eighth Street Middle

Beth Golden

Eve Rogers

JT Reddick

Jimmy Cargle

The National FFA Organization is committed

to making a positive difference in the lives of

students by developing their potential for

premier leadership, personal growth and ca-

reer success through agricultural education.

Can tabs for RMH ESMS FFA Meetings

August 19

September 2

October 7

November 4

December 2

January 13

February 3

March 2

April 13

May 4

Northeast FFA Meetings

September 30th

October 28th

November 18th

December 16th

January 27th

February 24th

March 30th

April 27th

May 18th

TCHS FFA Meetings

See Ms. Cook or Mr. Cross

for more information!