Ste. Genevieve FFA recently celebrated National FFA Week by participating in activities all week long! On Monday and Tuesday, classes welcomed eighth grade students to learn about agriculture education classes and the FFA organization. These included teaching the younger students about welding, agriculture education classes, and the FFA organization, among other topics. On Wednesday, the FFA students invited guest speakers to present about their experiences and careers in agriculture. The guests included: Wyatt Flieg with Flieg’s Equipment; Amanda and Jake Hutchings, co-owners of Harold’s Famous Bee Co.; Missouri Conservation agents Rob Sulkowski, Chris Doran and Sam Schick; James Zickfield of Ranken Technical College; and Amber Clifton of Regions Bank.
On Thursday, the upperclassmen in FFA spent the day on the Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) Tour. The SAE program involves practical agricultural activities performed by students outside of scheduled classroom and laboratory time. These tours were a great experience for these students, and consisted of visiting the Lohmann Dairy Farm, Davis Farm Supply, Stonie’s Sausage Shop and the Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship Center. On Friday, the FFA classes enjoyed ice cream and games! We want to thank all of our presenters and local businesses and organizations for helping to make this week full of hands-on educational experiences and real-world discussions.
To round out their events, eight students brought their tractors to Yank’s Field in the early morning and then began their parade with a Ste. Genevieve Police escort. This year, the students had a surprise special guest — Superintendent Dr. Julie Flieg! Dr. Flieg brought her own tractor in to join the students on the last Drive Your Tractor to School Day before her retirement.