By Katie Lechton
In late October, Amherst’s FFA chapter was well represented at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, with the Agronomy Career Development Event (CDE) team following their first-place win at the State Convention this past April. The group of Amherst Senior Sam Stuczynski, alongside Amherst graduates Porter Stuczynski, Marcus Kennedy, and Jacob Kirsling, placed 15th out of 40 teams from across the nation, earning a silver award.
Individually, Kirsling placed the highest in the group with 43rd place, which is gold status. Both Stuczynskis and Kennedy got silver for their individual portion.
Porter Stuczynski also had a big win for Amherst, as he passed the exam and qualified for the Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Apprenticeship Program.
Career Development Events are a series of contests that focus on different areas of agricultural careers. The contest that the group participated in has two parts: an individual and a team portion.
For the individual section, contestants complete 85 multiple-choice questions and work with 70 samples of evaluating soil, insect pest management, and disease/disorder plant management. Later, as a team, they analyze data for particular fields and crops and work as if the judges were consultants. The team portion is designed to recreate a sales field call if it were done in the real world.
While Sam is set to graduate from Amherst this May, the other three team members are continuing their education in agricultural career degrees. Porter is at Fox Valley Tech, Marcus studies at UW-River Falls, and Marcus attends Iowa State.
Students interested in learning more about Career Development Events or who would like getting involved in one of the more than 20 areas offered are encouraged to contact Amherst FFA Advisor Katie Loehrke.
Left to right: Jacob Kirsling, Sam Stuczynski, Porter Stuczynski, and Marcus Kennedy, comprising Amherst FFA’s Agronomy Career Development team, placed 15th out of 40 teams at the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis in late October.