The National FFA Organization

National Event Winners--Agronomy 2008

Kansas Team Wins the National Agronomy

Career Development Event!

Indianapolis, Indiana--Winners of the National FFA Agronomy Career Development Event were announced Friday at the annual awards banquet. The event was held in conjunction with the 81st National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. Mr. Harold Brown of Ohio served as superintendent of the event.

The team from the Washington County High School FFA Chapter in Washington, Kansas placed first in the National FFA Agronomy Career Development Event at the 81st National FFA Convention. The team members were Joseph Rundle, Michael Welch, Jesse Huber, Jacob Frager and Chelsea Wilkens, who was an alternate this year.  The team’s advisor is John Kern. The Kansas team placed first in competition against teams representing 35 states in the 2008 Agronomy competition.  Michael Welch of Haddam, Kansas was named as the first high individual overall in the 2008 national Agronomy CDE.  All four of the team members that participated this year placed in the top ten in the nation individually out of over 130 students participating.

The Agronomy Career Development Event is a competitive activity that allows students to apply classroom knowledge to real-life situations. Participants' knowledge of agronomic sciences was tested through several levels of competition including developing solutions for problematic scenarios, identification of seeds, insects, soil and crops, and other management practices.

The event is one of many educational activities at the National FFA Convention in which FFA members practice the lessons taught in agricultural education classes. The event was held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Ind.

The first place team members will each receive a scholarship in the amount of $1000 to further their education upon graduation from high school.  The Agronomy Career Development Event is sponsored by Bayer CropScience of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.