Annual Agricultural Technology Contest at UW-River Falls yields nine first place teams

April 15, 2016 -- Seven contests qualified teams to compete in the Wisconsin FFA state contest April 29 in Madison and two of the contests qualified teams to go on to the national contest in October following the 56th Annual Agricultural Technology Contest held April 2 at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Nine hundred forty one FFA students representing 66 schools competed during the contest. Students competed individually or in teams selecting from 18 different competitions, including dairy cattle evaluation, forestry, and ag technology and mechanical systems.

The first place teams in the FFA events were:
Ag Communications State Contest – Bloomer FFA
Ag Technology and Mechanical Systems Qualifying Contest – Independence FFA
Dairy Cattle Evaluation Qualifying Contest – Amery FFA
Floriculture Qualifying Contest – Stanley-Boyd FFA
Food Science and Technology State Contest – Barron FFA
Horse Evaluation Qualifying Contest – Stanley-Boyd FFA
Livestock Evaluation Qualifying Contest – Wausau FFA
Veterinary Science Qualifying Contest – Hudson FFA
Wildlife Qualifying Contest – Wausau FFA

The top 10 scores for teams competing in multiple contests determine the Award of Excellence. 

The top three chapters were:
1.     Stanley-Boyd FFA
2.     Osceola FFA
3.     Bloomer FFA

The annual contest is coordinated by the Agricultural Education Department, with two students in the lead roles. Tyler Foote, of Brandon, served as the 2016 coordinator and Madeline Bode, of Cassville, served as the assistant coordinator. Faculty, staff and students from across the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) volunteered their time to organize and oversee the individual contests.

Additional information about the Agricultural Technology Contest and full results can be found at www.uwrf.edu/AGED/CDE/AgriculturalTechnologyContest.cfm.

Photo: Students identified plant materials, one of three components of the Floriculture Qualifying Contest during the 56th Annual Agricultural Technology Contest held at UW-River Falls. Students had 30 seconds to identify each of 40 plant specimens by their technical and common name.