North Miami FFA continues its winning tradition

National FFA Week, Feb. 18-25, finds North Miami Middle/High School FFA as busy as ever.

The 58-member chapter recently held its fish fry fundraiser, an event preceded by three soil judging teams qualifying for the national competition in Oklahoma City this spring.

Soil judging has long been a strength at North Miami, thanks to the tandem of advisor Jim Wildermuth and coach Glen Jones.

According to chapter President Gabby Francis, the process starts in 9th grade.

“When we’re freshmen, Mr. Wildermuth teaches a unit on soils and encourages us to do soil judging,” she explained. Then Jones takes over as soil judging coach. “Soils is our most successful and most popular activity.”

However, Francis went on to tout North Miami’s dairy and poultry teams as well. The dairy team placed in the top four in the nation in the 2021-22 season and even traveled to Europe over the summer, while the poultry team has had success at the state level.

The chapter will kick off FFA week with a ski trip to Michigan on Presidents Day. Other events during the week include an adventure day when animals will be brought to school and a milk chug in the cafeteria for any students who wish to compete. There will also be an adventure day, when members plan to bring a dairy calf to school.

The chapter is serious about their truck and tractor drivein; so serious, in fact, that they are waiting until National Ag Day, March 22. “The guys want to bring in lots of tractors,” said Francis. This includes older models, which don’t start as well in cold weather.

Another Ag Day event involves presentations for local fourth graders. In the past, members taught how to properly crack an egg and showed off a dairy calf, while serving milk and Oreos.

Also coming in March is the FFA banquet, which includes the labor auction, one of the largest fundraisers of the year. On Mother’s Day, the chapter will have a flower sale, which will feature vegetables, annuals, perennials, succulents and “lots of petunias.”

Along with President Francis, this year’s North Miami FFA officers are: Alison Smith, treasurer; Hannah Miller, secretary; Kacie Deardorff, reporter; Austin Knauff, sentinel; Owen Knight, vice-president; and Tyler Kling, sentinel.

Smith said she is grateful to FFA for the “close friends” she has met, as well as the public speaking skills she has picked up. “Everyone should try it,” she said. “You learn a lot about life in general, even if you don’t come from an agricultural background.”

“I’m really proud of this year’s group,” said Wildermuth. “They are hard-working kids.” He also noted their goal-setting skills. “They have a drive to succeed and realize they have to put in the work to reach those goals.”

“We’ve always had great support from the community and administration,” he added.

For more information on North Miami FFA, visit facebook.com/NMFFA.