When the Chinook Chapter of the FFA competed at the 12th Annual Montana FFA Ag Expo on November 16-18, the group posted some strong performances. Held in Bozeman, the competition—previously known as the John Deere Agricultural Expo, or JDAEs—hosted over a thousand participants. Chinook FFA members competed in a variety of contests, including Floriculture, Horse Evaluation, Livestock Evaluation, Meats Evaluation, Poultry, Ag. Mechanics, Range, and Sales.

Although an unlimited number of contestants from each chapter can compete in any given contest category, only the top four who earn the most points contribute to an aggregate team score. Among the 167 contestants in Senior Floriculture, Madilyn Gruszie, Aislinn Handy, Ashlyn Hofeldt, Kirbey Hofeldt, Emma Paulsen, Gracie Skoyen, and Kohen Sullivan competed. Top scores came from the efforts of Gracie Skoyen, who earned the most points for Chinook, followed by Aislinn Handy, Ashlyn Hofeldt, and Kirbey Hofeldt. This foursome captured seventeenth place in a field of 41 teams.

In Horse Evaluation, the Senior Horse team placed 13 out 50. On that team, competitors included Aislinn Handy, Gracie Skoyen, Ashlyn Hofeldt, and Emma Paulsen. Individually, Handy finished in sixth place out of 170 contestants. Because Zoe Scofield was the lone contestant in the Junior Horse contest, no final score was posted.

The Livestock Evaluation competition featured both Junior and Senior teams. On the Senior team, Wylee Simenson, Kirbey Hofeldt, Wacee Simenson, and Wyatt Matteson did not do as well as they would have liked but plan to improve for a stronger showing at the State Convention. On the Junior Livestock team for Chinook, Evan Davies earned the top score, followed by Rangler Skoyen, Zoe Scofield, and Julian Powell. This team received 17th place out of 58 teams.

Chinook did not field a full team in either Junior or Senior Meats Evaluation, but those competing in the senior division were Madilyn Gruszie and Wyatt Matteson. Meanwhile, only Kolton DePriest competed in the junior division.

Serving on another incomplete team, Oliver Standiford and Landen Keeling were the only poultry competitors from Chinook, so in the absence of a full team, points could not accumulate for a final score.

In Ag. Mechanics, Brockton Elliot, Ben Hofeldt, Kohen Sullivan, Jacob Metcalf, Landen Keeling, and Oliver Standiford all competed in the senior division. Contributing to the team score, the four tops scorers were Brockton Elliot, Ben Hofeldt, Kohen Sullivan, and Jacob Metcalf. This team placed 25th out of 66.

The Junior Ag Mechanics team earned 4th place among 47 teams. Kolton DePriest, Julian Powell, Eyan Hofeldt, Rangler Skoyen, Evan Davies, Wacee Simenson, and Gus Buck all competed in Jr. Ag Mechanics. Top scores were posted by Kolton DePriest in first, followed by Julian Powell, Eyan Hofeldt, and Rangler Skoyen.

Although Junior Range competitors didn’t make a full team, Gus Buck and Eyan Hofeldt both scored in the top ten. Buck placed fifth, and Hofeldt followed in sixth place.

Competing for the first time in Senior Sales, Chinook’s team came in at number 24 out of 56 with a top ten appearance by Wylee Simenson, who placed eighth. His fellow teammates were Brockton Elliot, Ben Hofeldt, and Jacob Metcalf.

In addition to these competitions, FFA members listened to various guest speakers and attended several workshops. About the featured keynote speaker, Fanchon Stinger, Chinook FFA member, Ashlyn Hofeldt stated: “I enjoyed her talk; she inspired me. She used to be a broadcast journalist, and now she owns a couple of bulls on the rodeo circuit. She talked about how important it is to chase your dreams.”

The next state event for the group will be the 93rd Annual 2023 Montana State FFA Convention scheduled for March in Great Falls.