On December 7, Geraldine School District hosted Winter Districts Competition for the Judith Basin Chapters of the Montana FFA. At the contest, two Blaine County competitors placed in the top ten, qualifying them for state: Madilyn Gruszie from the Chinook Chapter and Katherine WindyBoy from the Harlem Chapter.

The theme of the event was Growing Leaders for Career Success, and FFA members in the Judith Basin District could participate in several events: Sales and Service, Extemporaneous Speaking, Creed, Star Greenhand, Conduct of Meeting, and Parliamentary Procedure. Events were held both online and onsite.

Gruszie, a freshman at Chinook High School, participated in the Greenhand Quiz online. She placed sixth. In addition to testing a member’s knowledge of Dr. Jarrell D. Gray’s Guide to Parliamentary Procedure for FFA, the fifty-item exam expects the competitor to answer questions about such topics as history, business structure, leadership, plant and animal science; as well as to recall various FFA programs and facts. In preparation, Gruszie studied past exams which are released after several years of use. For example, the 2015 Montana State FFA Leadership Convention Greenhand Test asked questions like these true-false items: A castrated male hog is called a barrow (true); and Vitamin A is the “sunshine” vitamin (false; the sunshine vitamin is vitamin D).

In the multiple choice section of Gruszie’s Greenhand Quiz, a typical question in the business category might resemble this one: A “snapshot” of how solvent a business is will be found on the: a. Income statement b. Balance sheet c. Cash flow statement d. Budget. The answer is item b: balance sheet. A sample animal science question might be this version: Bacteria are utilized in a ruminant to break down roughages. They are found in the: a. Rumen b. Reticulum c. Omasum d. Abomasum. The answer is item a: rumen, a large fermentation vat where bacteria and protozoa thrive and break down roughages to obtain nutrients for an animal’s use.

From Harlem High School, WindyBoy, a junior, competed in Extemporaneous Speaking. She placed seventh overall, which—according to her advisor Kylee Urie—is a state qualifying score. WindyBoy’s speech was about creating a non-biased presentation on agricultural issues for future political campaigns. Her supporting points revolved around climate change, the four companies controlling the beef market (Cargill, Tyson, JBS Foods, and National Beef), anti-trust laws, and the long term effects of the pandemic.

The FFA Extemporaneous Public Speaking Leadership Development Event is designed to develop the ability of all FFA members to express themselves on a given subject without having prepared or rehearsed its content in advance. This event gives FFA members an opportunity to formulate their remarks for presentation in a very limited amount of time.

Ample time remains on the FFA calendar for other competitors to post a state qualifying performance since the 2022 State FFA Convention is held in the spring. Scheduled for March 30 – April 2 in Bozeman, the convention is the culmination of a member’s hard work, showcasing leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.