FFA Tab 2017

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A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF THE TURLOCKJOURNAL.COM

CERESCOURIER.COM

C O N T E N T S 3........................................STATE FUNDING SECURE FOR FFA PROGRAMS 4...........................................SUMMER BRINGS FAIR TIME 5...........................................TURLOCK UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT FARM 6............................................ CERES HIGH FFA SENIORS 8................................................... TURLOCK EAGLES 4-H 9.......................................... RAISE YOUR HAND FOR 4-H 10.............................................TURLOCK CHRISTIAN FFA PUBLISHER EDITOR

HANK VANDER VEEN KRISTINA HACKER

COVER & AD DESIGN

HAROLD L. GEORGE

WRITING & PHOTOGRAPHY

DALE BUTLER ANGELINA MARTIN FRANKIE TOVAR

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FFA programs rejoice at continued state funding

BY ANGELINA MARTIN

A May budget proposal by Governor Jerry Brown that would cut funding to Future Farmers of America and other Career Technical Education programs at high schools throughout the state garnered cries of outrage from instructors and students involved in the affected programs. Those cries were heard by the governor. As a result, state funding for CTE programs like Future Farmers of America will remain.

In Brown’s proposed budget, released May 11, more than $15 million in state funding that had gone toward CTE programs was directed instead to community colleges.

In previous years, an annual amount of $48 million was to be divided between the California Community College Chancellor’s Office and the California Department of Education, with the CCCCO retaining $33 million and the CDE receiving the remaining $15 million each year.

Brown’s proposed 2017-18 budget put a stop to that split, however, and allocated

and would also halt a curriculum growth that has taken years to establish, especially at Turlock and Pitman high schools.

The governor’s change of heart was a relief to local FFA students and advisors.

“I was extremely relieved that the funding was going to be there, because I was going to have to worry about what the next steps would be to save the funding for FFA,” said THS FFA Advisor Randee Vitorino. “We would have had to fundraise more money for students to attend events,

the entire $48 million to the CCCCO, effectively defunding the CTE programs supported by the department of education.

The FFA and other agricultural education were two programs adversely affected by this shift in funds, with state dollars providing a majority of opportunities for students involved in ag-centered activities. The proposed halt in funding would have limited and potentially put a stop to travelling for leadership conferences and events like the State FFA Convention,

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or they may have had to provide more money out of their pocket to attend.”

Vitorino credited the agriculture community as a whole with getting the needed funding back on the table. Countless calls, emails, letters and social media posts alerted the governor to just how important these programs are to California residents, especially in the Central Valley.

“Agriculture plays a major role in California, and we all stick together when there is an issue,” said Vitorino.

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FFA & 4-H

Fair time

For Future Farmers of America and 4-H club members, summer means fair time and chance to exhibit all the hard work they’ve put in to their individual projects.

At this year’s Stanislaus County Fair, which will run from July 14-23, there will be 7,729 exhibits by FFA students, 3,764 exhibits 4-H members and a combined 4,088 livestock animals will be judged.

FFA and 4-H members sold 125 heifers at the 49th Annual Replacement Heifer Sale during the 2016 Stanislaus County Fair, grossing $427,450 ($2,954 per head). Supreme Champion was Katie Henriques, from Modesto FFA, selling her heifer at $8,000. Reserve Supreme Champion was Avery Martin, from Hilmar FFA, selling her heifer at $4,100.

The 52nd Annual Junior Livestock Auction in 2016 grossed $909,196.63 for FFA and 4-H members. Sold at auction were four poultry pens, four market turkeys, 29 rabbits, 171 goats, 183 sheep, 400 swine and 58 steers.

The 2017 Stanislaus County Fair Auctions and Sale schedules: • 50th Annual Replacement Heifer Sale: 6 p.m. July 14 • 53rd Annual Beef Sale: 7 p.m. July 21 • 53rd Annual Junior Livestock Auction (sale ring 1 for all market hogs): 8 a.m. July 22 • 53rdAnnual Junior Livestock Auction (sale ring 2 for poultry, rabbits, market sheep and market goats): 9 a.m.

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Turlock students get real-world experience at district farm STAFF REPORTS Turlock Journal

Located at 625 Taylor Road, the TUSD Farm is a 10-acre parcel with a 1,400-square foot residence. The idea of the TUSD Farm originated in 2012 when the district realized that there was both an interest and a need to purchase a farm where students could house their fair animals, as well as take advantage of various animal facilities, miscellaneous fruit and nut orchards, open pastures and a garden area.

“The overall goal of the TUSD Farm is to provide students with an opportunity and the facility to apply their skills in an authentic working farm environment,” said Career Technical Education principal David Lattig in a March interview.

“We can only teach so much in the classroom where much of the learning experience tends to be theoretically based.”

“It is our goal that students TK through 12 will benefit from this facility in a number of ways,” added Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Mike Train-

In her first year showing pigs, Pitman High School freshman Kai Bourchier (pictured here with her pig Ozzy in March) said that the Turlock Unified School District Farm is a great opportunity for people who don’t live out in the country.

or. “Although not a school, we envision the Farm becoming an extension of traditional classroom instruction — an agricultural and science-based ‘learning lab’ for all students.”

Currently, the farm is home to 18 pigs, three steers and five heifers.

In addition to the animals on the farm, the facility also has a relatively large variety of trees, according to Trainor, who said that there are currently 2.5 acres of almond trees, 29 walnut trees and 1.5 acres of fruit trees, including apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums and pluots.

The garden is developing nicely, according to farm manager Damon Coelho. Currently, there are pumpkins, “giant” pumpkins, watermelon, sunflowers and a variety of vegetables.

Patrias Electric recently finished digging the trenches and installing the conduit and electrical boxes — all part of the Electrical Pathways project which will provide electricity to additional facilities as the farm progresses.

One of the smaller projects that is be-

Journal file photo

ing worked on is a wash rack for the beef and dairy facility. This project, along with beginning the construction of the corrals, is a major goal of the District farm for the summer. Four students who were hired as “farm hands” will play a major role in the construction of the corrals.

“Our hope is that the farm will become

an ag-hub for all science and agricultural learning for TK through 12 students and an opportunity to bring textbook knowledge and our new standards to life,” said Trainor. “Our school gardens will become a microcosm of this farm so that they can experience the productivity and maintenance of such as each school site.”

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Ceres FFA students prepare for final county fair showing

BY DALE BUTLER

Ceres High School Future Farmers of America students Zachary Smith and Madison Zamaroni will compete at the Stanislaus County Fair for the final time this July.

“Some years are easier than others,” Zamaroni said. “This year will be the hardest. It’s bittersweet. It marks a turning point in my life where I’m moving on to bigger and better things.”

“FFA is a real fulfilling organization to be a part of,” Smith said. “I’ve had a great time. I’m happy I learned now rather than later.”

Zachary has been an FFA member since the ninth grade.

“It’s impacted my life,” Smith said.

“Freshman year, I was a shy kid. FFA gave me the confidence to come out of my shell. I made countless connections.

It’s set me up for success outside of high school. I don’t think I’d be going to Fresno State without the constant support of everyone.”

Madison was introduced to FFA the summer before her freshman year.

“I got really passionate about FFA,” Zamaroni said. “It’s given me opportunities that other classes haven’t. I’ve made a lot of connections in the agriculture industry. FFA helped me discover my love for animals and guide me to my career goal of being a livestock veterinarian. I was also able to conquer my fears of public speaking and meeting new people.”

Smith will compete in the Market Swine Division at the county fair for the fourth year.

Zachary’s barrow pig Maaco tipped the scales at 227 pounds during weighin night at the school farm located off Blaker Road in Ceres on May 30.

“It’s really a cool experience,” Smith said. “You buy a pig. You buy feed. You build a close bond with your animal. Every year, I’ve cried at every auction at the fair. The pig goes one way. And you go the other. I really can’t compare it to anything else. You get used to it. But it’s not

easy.”

Smith took second in his Market class and third in his Showmanship class last year.

He was sixth overall.

“It’s a challenge to show at the fair,” Zachary said. “The competition gets amped up, especially for the seniors. At the same time, we’re all really close and help each other out. My mindset going

into this year is to do my very best and place as high as I can. We all want to place very high. It comes down to how much you want it. I’m out at the farm every day after work.”

Zamaroni will show at the county fair for the fifth year.

This summer marks the second time her cow will be sold to a dairy.

Caroline, Madison’s one-year replace-

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FFA & 4-H

ment heifer, is five months pregnant and weighs 1,300 pounds.

“I love every aspect of caring for animals,” Zamaroni said. “I enjoy training, showing and making sure they get what they need to be healthy and happy.”

Zamaroni and Smith were presented agricultural scholarships at the Ceres Chamber of Commerce’s annual Agribusiness Luncheon on May 17 at Diamond Bar Arena.

Smith plans to attend Fresno State and become an agriculture teacher.

“My biggest mentors are (Ceres High animal science teacher/swine advisor) Mardel Runnels and (community philanthropist) Shane Parson,” Smith said. “Mrs. Runnels is a big part of my success I’ve had at Ceres High School the past four years. She’s helped keep me on track. She tutored me in math after school. I’m really thankful she did that. I’ve worked on Mr. Parson’s ranch for a year. I’m actually still employed there. He’s shown me how much it means to give back to the community. Hopefully, I can come back and teach at Ceres High School in five years.”

Madison plans to study at UC Davis and become a livestock veterinarian.

“I have to give a lot of credit to (Ceres Unified School District agriculture teacher) Brian Mortensen,” Zamaroni said. “He heavily influenced my involvement in FFA when I was an incoming freshman. Mrs. Runnels was my ag teacher for four years. She helped push me to be more involved and with applications for different events for FFA. I’ll be able to come out of college debt free and start my own practice. I’ll be happy for the rest of my life being able to work with livestock.”

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Turlock Eagles 4-H president ‘learns by doing’

BY FRANKIE TOVAR Turlock Journal

When Mariah Canton and her family moved to California from Virginia close to nine years ago, her mother immediately looked for an activity or program her daughter could enjoy and would also establish community ties to her new home.

It didn’t take long for the Cantons to discover the world of 4-H and by first grade Mariah was a member of a club in Patterson. A few years later, Mariah switched things up and joined the Turlock Eagles 4-H club, where she serves as club president.

“There’s so many thigs that you can do. There’s a lot of record keeping, public speaking and leadership. It’s really helped me grow as a person,” Mariah said. “I think there are so many things I wouldn’t know if I weren’t in 4-H.” One of the major tenants of 4-H is to learn by doing and Mariah has done just

that. Over the span of eight years her projects have included everything from horses and guinea pigs to scrapbooking and cake decorating and even communications. In fact, in addition to making it to competition at the state level for horses and guinea pigs, Mariah also won best of show for her cake entry at last year’s Stanislaus County Fair.

“I have done lots of different projects,” Mariah said. “Being able to choose to learn about cake decorating and guinea pigs and horses, I did dogs too at one point, and all sorts of things. It’s just fun and I think I’ve learned a lot of skills from it.”

Mariah’s largest undertaking is arguably guinea pig breeding, which she began as a sixth grader.

“I’m the team leader, so I lead all the meeting for guinea pigs,” Mariah said.

“At the beginning of the year we start out with how to care for guinea pigs, how to Photo contributed

Mariah Canton holds one of her guinea pigs and poses with fellow 4H members Clairissa Mangal, Leif Hansen and Mike Hansen.

“There’s so many thigs that you can do.

There’s a lot of record keeping, public speaking and leadership. It’s really helped me grow as a person. I think there are so many things I wouldn’t know if I weren’t in 4-H.” choose one; we go the fair and pick them out. Then we have to learn how to do showmanship, which is really good for little kids because they’re usually uncomfortable with speaking.”

After learning the basics of guinea pig care, Mariah delved deeper into the genetics and biology of her American guinea pigs.

“Each year you want to do more things and get more involved. So for me I was like, ‘here’s all these people doing all these cool things with guinea pigs and I want to go out there and do that, too.’ So I started looking into guinea pigs I could JUNE 28, 2017

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FFA & 4-H

buy,” Mariah said. “I have them, I might as well breed them. From there it grows.

“Each year you’re in it, it gets more advanced,” she added.

Mariah is looking to take her advanced understanding of guinea pigs and continue her success at the upcoming Stanislaus County Fair competitions where she is determined to earn more accolades for showmanship.

“There are specific standards for each breed just like other animals.” Mariah said. “You want a guinea pig that has good form and a smooth coat.”

4-H asking alumni to raise their hands to support organization STAFF REPORTS Turlock Journal

The largest youth development program in the nation, 4-H, is calling on all alumni to help bring 4-H programming to 10 million youth by 2025. Currently 4-H empowers nearly six million young people in every county across America, including over 255,000 4-H members in California.

As part of the Raise Your Hand call to action through June 30, 4-H is asking millions of alumni across the nation to volunteer to provide hands-on learning experiences to youth.

Alumni can visit http://www.4-H. org/raiseyourhand to join the campaign.

They can then tweet, post and share their #4HGrown experience, or support and tag fellow alumni by asking them to raise their hands for their state. The states with the most registered alumni are eligible for a $20,000, $10,000 or $5,000 award.

“4-H gives kids the opportunity to learn by doing, to grow from not only the encouragements brought by success, but also through challenges and failures.

These skills will help them to handle whatever life may throw their way,” said

Jennifer Nettles, Grammy-award winning musician, actress and 4 H national spokesperson. “No one knows this better than those of us who have experienced 4 H programs firsthand. As alumni, we want to ensure youth today are able to have the same experiences that contributed to our successes.”

Research shows that the 4-H Youth Development Program plays a special and vital role in the lives of America’s young people. Youth have the capacity to thrive when presented with resources for healthy development found in families, schools, and communities - regardless of their background, socioeconomic status, race, and gender. 4-H programs launch young people into healthy and productive lives.

According to Waves of the Future The First Five Years of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (2009), when compared to other youth, 4-Hers excel and are: 25 percent more likely to contribute to their families, themselves and their communities; more likely to see themselves going to college; and 41 percent less likely to engage in risk/problem behavior.

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Turlock Christian FFA program continues to grow

BY ANGELINA MARTIN Turlock Journal

In 2011, students at the California State Future Farmers of America Convention voted to allow FFA chapters in private schools, paving the way for Turlock Christian High School to begin a program on its campus. Since 2012, the school’s FFA chapter has grown substantially, going from just 31 students in the program at its start to now providing classes and agricultural activities to 102 students – about 67 percent of the school’s total student body.

“Administrators were pushing for private schools being allowed to have FFA programs because they saw the value in it and what kind of students they create,” said TCHS FFA advisor Hannah Ewing.

“As soon as it was passed, TC was ready to jump on board.”

TCHS guidance counselor Chuck Boswell, who previously worked at Turlock High School, was one of the private school’s main advocates for an FFA program, having seen the positive impact agriculture has had on students in public schools. Now, TCHS has multiple Uni-

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It’s been important in the last five years of the program for kids to connect back with the truth of what ag is. There is a lot of misconception – they think ag is just working in a field. Their eyes are being opened that this is a high-tech industry. versity of California-approved agriculture courses for students to choose from, and opportunities to improve their leadership skills through competitions and

fair projects.

“It’s been important in the last five years of the program for kids to connect

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back with the truth of what ag is. There is a lot of misconception – they think ag is just working in a field,” said Ewing.

“Their eyes are being opened that this is a high-tech industry.”

Through classes like Ag Biology, Ag Chemistry, Ag Government/Economy and, soon, Ag Sales and Marketing, students are shown the different facets of agriculture and how it can be turned into a career. The school hopes to also establish an Ag Business pathway for students, with the science and marketing courses along with an anticipated senior level Ag Business class in the 2018-2019 school year.

Last year, the TCHS FFA program saw 29 students participate in speaking competitions and 16 students

competed in judging competitions in the spring through the school’s dairy cattle judging, livestock judging, milk quality and dairy products judging and farm business management judging teams.

“This is the most teams we’ve ever had,” said Ewing.

As the program continues to expand on campus, growth is taking place outside of the high school as well.

The program is close to completing its first school farm on Tuolumne Road to house animal projects. Currently, one barn is completed and houses students’ goats, sheep and heifers. When the farm is finished, it will be a 10acre facility, said Ewing.

While private schools fought a long, hard battle to

begin their own FFA programs, Ewing said that sometimes there are more opportunities when it comes to agriculture at a private school than a public school.

“We make sure classes and field trips are geared towards helping students see the ag industry for the truth of what it is,” she said. “The cool thing about being a private school is we get to take a lot of field trips, like when we toured Nutcher Milk last year…that’s not something you get to do at every public school. It’s not just a classroom experience anymore – it’s, ‘Let’s go see what this is like.’

“Every year it’s growing and getting better.”

Construction Continues Turlock Unified School District Farm continues to be an ambitious project — one that requires the support of our generous community, agricultural families, and local industries. We welcome the opportunity to share our District’s vision in educating our aspiring future farmers.

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