Rye High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) attended one of the largest FFA events held in Colorado on Wednesday, April 6. Lamar Community College (LCC) welcomed more than 700 students from high schools throughout Colorado to campus for FFA Regional Career Development Events (CDEs). LCC hosts the regional contest each year. The contest is open to all Colorado high schools with FFA chapters as well as out-of-state FFA teams who are welcome to attend.
The event featured CDEs in several categories, including ag sales, field crop identification, dairy cattle, employment skills, farm business management, floriculture, food sciences, livestock evaluation, ag mech, vet science, and more, all helping the students to gain knowledge and experience.
Participating students tested their knowledge and experience in their chosen event. The top individual of each event received a $500 LCC scholarship and plaque, and the top team of each event received a first-place plaque. The judges ranked teams in each category with the exception of Employment Skills, a solely individual event.
Rye FFA scored big in the Ag Sales category, bringing home a silver award for the team and Kenzie Nielson brought home a gold individual award. The Rye team also did well in meat evaluation, winning a gold award in that category. Will Hamler and Lacie Laca scored gold individual awards in meat evaluation.
High school students attending the regional contest are all members of their local FFA chapters. While some students may be interested in studying an agricultural-related program when they attend college, other students will have various college and career goals. During the event, LCC will host an educational booth and activities to engage and inform potential new students, helping them learn more about the programs and experiences available at LCC as well as possible future careers.