State Fair Community College students won honors at the Missouri Professional Agriculture Students (PAS) conference Nov. 15-17 at Crowder College in Neosho.
Twenty-four SFCC agriculture students attended along with Brad Driskill, Agriculture program coordinator, Kerri Johnson, Agriculture instructor, and Jessica Wingerter, Agriculture navigator. They competed in contests designed to develop skills required by employers in the agriculture industry, attended workshops, listened to speakers, and participated in mock interviews.
Ashlynn Liebl, Houstonia, was elected to serve as the 2018-2019 secretary for Missouri PAS. Delegates voted to change the name of the organization from Missouri Postsecondary Agriculture Students to Missouri Professional Agriculture Students, which now reflects the national organization’s name that was changed last March.
The top five contest results for SFCC students are as follows:
Prepared Speaker: Jillian Herigon, Boonville, second place; Mabel Schrader, Wooldridge, third place
Career Planning:
Agricultural Education Systems—Whitney Enyart, Columbia, first place; Mackenzie Loesch, Russellville, third place
Agribusiness Management and Marketing Systems – Austin Freund, Concordia, first place; Colt Engemann, Rhineland, second place; Paige Johnson, California, fourth place; Carli Switzer, Excello, fifth place
Horticulture, Environmental and Natural Resource Systems – Juliet Farmer, Cole Camp, second place
Plant Systems – Ashlynn Liebl, Houstonia, first place
Ruminant Animal Systems – Skyler Pigman, Warrensburg, third place; Diana Frausto, Sedalia, fifth place
Career Progress:
Horticulture, Environmental and Natural Resource Systems – Samantha Hutcheson, Sedalia, third place
Ruminant Animal Systems – Rachel Weihl, Sedalia, second place
Employment Interview:
Crop Production – Reece Gabbert, Sedalia, first place
Livestock Production –Weihl, second place
Landscaping and Nursery – Hutcheson, second place
Floriculture – Libby James, Ashland, first place; Mackenzie Miller, Boonville, fourth place
Agriculture Education – Katelyn Halsey, Odessa, first place
Career Program Area Contests:
Agriculture Education – Enyart, first place; Loesch, second place; Madison Meisel, Jefferson City, third place
Crops – Engemann, fourth place; Freund, fifth place
Dairy – Zach McCubbins, Cole Camp, second place; Freund, third place
Equine – Taylor Gotmer, Marshall, and Switzer tied for fifth place
Floriculture – Huthcheson, fourth place; Farmer, fifth place
Landscape – James, fifth place
Soils – Liebl, first place; Herigon, second place; Gabbert, fifth place
College Bowl: Team A finished third; members were Weihl, James, Liebl, Gabbert, and Herigon. Team B finished fourth; members were Meisel, Farmer, MaKialee Garrett of Sedalia, Austin Thomas of Madison, and Halsey.
Student Luke Luttrull of Lewistown also attended the conference. Some of the students are eligible to compete at the national conference in March.
The National Professional Agricultural Student Organization is a student-led group that allows students to build and sharpen their skills so they are prepared to work in all areas of the agriculture industry.
