FFA teams from all over state

come to Snow Field Day

 

By Ben Lasseter

Staff writer

10-15-2020

 

EPHRAIM—High school-aged Future Farmers of America (FFA) came to the Snow College Field Day wearing blue coats and carrying clipboards in efforts to enhance their careers on Tuesday.

J.T. Potter, FFA state treasurer for Utah, called the Snow College Field Day a “career development event” designed to simulate actual applications of what contestants learn.

“The contests give a real-world feel,” Potter said, as he monitored a soil evaluation test.

In competing at these event, students “see if that’s a kind of career they might be interested in,” Potter said.

He and five others on the Utah FFA serving on the administration panel had graduated from high school and were each serving a year with the association.

There were 11 listed contests, including evaluating livestock and horses, vet science, forestry, soil evaluation and a variety of others.

Locations of the events, especially those that required being indoors, were spread out to encourage physical distancing among contestants. Judging of horses and livestock took place at the Snow college farm by Ephraim City Park. Written evaluations were held in Snow’s science building, the wood shop, agriculture shops and the YSA Stake Center.

Jay Olsen, the director of the 2020 FFA Snow College Field Day, said the event posed logistical challenges but ended up going well. He is also the agribusiness and agriculture director at Snow College.

One difference this year is that there was no awards ceremony to cap off the day, as is typical. Buses were leaving by noon as the contests ended.

He said in Utah, there are 91 FFA chapters, and that they would be eager to learn the results. This year, he said it may take up to two weeks to release them.

Olsen said he remembered competing in the same event as a high school student in 1974 and that, to his belief, this year marked an unofficial 50th anniversary of the contests taking place on campus.

To learn about or get involved with FFA, visit their website at utahffa.org.