UW-Madison Dairy Science Dept. To Hold Visitor Day

Students who have an interest in attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison to pursue a major in the dairy science field are being invited to the school’s visitors day next week. The campus is opening its doors to students and their  parents on October 25.

The day begins with check-in at 9:30 a.m., followed by a tours of the Animal Sciences Building and Milk Quality lab. Attendees will also get to see the nutrition and reproduction laboratories and walk through the Dairy Cattle Center.

After lunch, they will meet with faculty, students and alumni to learn about the dairy science curriculum. Representatives from the Badger Dairy Club, Alpha Gamma Rho, Association of Women in Agriculture, and the Babcock House will also be on hand to answer questions.

Finally, school officials will be able to go over financial aid options, housing and admissions details with each visitor.

For more information about the visitors day, call 608-263-3308

212 and 360 Personal Development Conferences

The 212 Conference and the 360 Conference are scheduled for November 15-16 at The Plaza Hotel and Suites in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  Four pairs of presenters from National FFA will be in Wisconsin to help FFA members develop personal and leadership skills.   The conferences begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and ends around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Registration is due to Ms. Claflin by October 23 with permission form and a $50 down payment. The total cost of the conference is $90, which includes Friday Night Pizza Party and Dance, Sat. Breakfast, Lunch Buffet with Ice Cream Sundaes.

 

Registration materials are online at:  

http://www.wisconsinffa.org/events/

 

212 Conference is focused on Growth. (Designed for 9-10^th grade)  

Students will complete the following objectives…

Identifying four segments of personal growth.

Determining role personal habits play in personal growth.

Developing a personal growth plan.

Differentiating between personal and professional relationship and the role of social media.

Identifying a mentor/coach.

 

360 Conference is focused on Influence. (Designed for 11-12^th grade) Students will complete the following objectives…

Defining influence.

Identifying the influence process.

Recognizing relationship potential.

Demonstrating logic when solving complex problems.

Recognizing benefits of maintaining a positive image.

Reviewing qualities of collaboration and demonstrate collaboration skills

Inspecting everyday influence.

Nationwide grant program supports local chapters to engage in service-learning projects

FFA chapters across the nation that developed a plan to tackle an environmental issue in their communities now have the funding from a national grant to bring their ideas to life.

Chapters learned recently that they received up to $2,000 in a grant from the National FFA Organization’s Living to Serve: Environmental Grant program and will begin their yearlong environmental project when the school year resumes. The Living to Serve: Environmental Grants are provided through funding from CSX, as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

Each winning project includes plans to invest the time of FFA members, community members and local leaders in a service-learning project that tackles issues of environmental nature. The Gillett FFA was a recipient of the grant. The chapter plans to educate the community about water resources through presentations and the installation of a rain garden.

The National FFA Organization makes grant funds available for FFA chapters to develop service-learning projects that impact environmental issues in their community. Chapters may apply for up to $2,000 to support yearlong service-learning projects focused on developing and implementing projects that address local environmental needs. The service-learning method challenged members to identify, research, develop and implement solutions to needs within their school or community.

These projects illustrate the final line of the FFA motto (“Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve”) by encouraging FFA members to unite in service within their communities. The LTS: Environmental Grants take community service one step further to service-learning, which provides a meaningful way to apply leadership and education skills learned in school and FFA. More info about the grants is available online at http://www.ffa.org/LTSgrants.

FFA Calendar is Updated for 2013-14 School Year

Check out the calendar tab for an updated calendar of FFA events and application due dates!

Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Youth Leadership Derby

BREAKING NEWS…

Due to the overwhelming support of this year’s industry sponsors, half of the registration fee to 2013 PDPW  Youth Leadership Derby is being funded by their generosity bringing this year’s fee to just $50. Pleases share the good news and encourage youth between the ages of 15-18 to attend this popular 24 hour dairy learning experience. This year the program will take place at Thorp High School on November 1-2. For more details, check out the program flyer at:  http://www.pdpw.org/library/event_brochures/2013%20YLD%20trifold_Final.pdf

 

Register soon and join the fun!

FFA Foundation Offering Grants to Help Students with Projects

Agriculture education students who are looking for funding to help boost their
Supervised Agricultural Experience programs can apply for grants from the
Wisconsin FFA Foundation. Director Sara Schoenborn says applications are now
available for students to apply for a $500 grant to develop a project that will
allow them to learn new skills and develop a successful enterprise.

“To
these middle school and high school FFA members, $500 is a significant amount of
capital that can really jump-start their SAE or take an existing SAE to the next
level,” Schoenborn says. “A lot of members wouldn’t have access to this capital
without these grants that we provide in partnership with many donors. It’s truly
a life-changing program.”

SAE is the experiential learning aspect of the
three-part model of agriculture education. This component is where students
apply their knowledge and skills to a hands-on project related to an area of
agriculture. It can be entrepreneurial where the student has ownership, or it
can be a placement project in which the student works for another
entity.

To be eligible for the grants, students must be a current FFA
member between the grades of 7-11 during the current school year.

Last
year, students earned thousands of dollars in funding through the special grant
program.

Applications can be found on the Wisconsin FFA Foundation
website and must be postmarked by November 15.

For more information, call
608-831-5058 or go to: http://www.wisconsinffafoundation.org.

From wisconsinagconnection.com

The Center of the Dairy Universe

Rachel Ransom, Abbey Horsens and Morgan Lisowe traveled to Madison, Wis. on Tuesday, October 1 to partake in the FFA dairy judging contest at the World Dairy Expo. They judged four classes of dairy cattle and toured the grounds to learn more about the dairy industry.

Gillett FFA Attends Sectional Leadership Workshop

Abbey Horsens, Rachel Ransom and Skhyler Simpsom, of the Gillett FFA Chapter attended the Sectional Leadership Workshop Tuesday, September 24 at the Bonduel High School in Bonduel, Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin FFA Sectional Leadership Workshop is designed to prepare local FFA chapter officers and members both in high school and middle school for leadership roles in their school district for the upcoming year. It also informs each chapter of the new programs available to all FFA members and allows the officers to exchange ideas with other FFA chapters in their area.

The 2013-2014 State FFA Officer Team planned and conducted this workshop to
encourage the participants to develop their leadership potential, to challenge them to set personal and chapter goals for the year and to motivate the students to take advantage of the many opportunities available to them through the FFA. The 2013 theme was “FFAvengers – FFA Members the Modern Day Superheroes”. Members left ready to promote FFA, agricultural education and agriculture in their schools and communities. FFA advisors also participated in a workshop that helped inform them about FFA opportunities for the school year.

“This workshop is a great way to prepare FFA members for their role as an active member in their local chapter as well as those that serve as chapter officers,” says Cheryl Zimmerman, Wisconsin FFA Executive Director. “These sessions get students excited about leadership and all the opportunities that they can participate in through the FFA organization. It helps them discover their potential in their local FFA chapters and how they can put their leadership into action.”

This year Joenelle Futrell, National FFA Eastern Region Vice President from Kentucky conducted a workshop to get FFA members motivated for the coming year and challenged them to get involved in the many opportunities FFA has to offer.

There are ten Sectional Leadership Workshops held throughout Wisconsin. Over 2,000 FFA members and advisors from 250 FFA chapters will participate in these workshops. The workshops are sponsored by AgStar Financial Services, ACA and the Wisconsin FFA Alumni Association through the Wisconsin FFA Foundation.

The Wisconsin Association of FFA is comprised of over 250 local chapters with over 19,000 members. FFA activities and award programs complement instruction in agriculture education by giving students practical experience in the application of agricultural skills and knowledge gained in classes. FFA’s mission is to develop its members potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

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