Are You an AgVocate?

Posted on September 11, 2015 by

Read this article.

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Check out this initiative.

Do some research, are there any restaurant chains who include some misleading statements in their advertisements as it relates to agriculture? Tell me about it on your blog. Conversely, are their restaurants that do a good job of promoting agriculture? Tell me about that as well.  Can you find any information about individuals who are active in ag advocacy (hint – these brothers do parody videos)  What can you tell me about them.  Other than Ag United, what organizations make ag advocacy a big part of their mission?  We’ll be participating in the #SpeakAg initiative as we are able this fall.  Start thinking of ways that you can participate and advocate for the nation’s largest and most critical industry.  Do you have ideas for Chapter activities that would fit into #SpeakAg?  You’ve got lots to tell me about today!

Your post is due Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 8:15 a.m.

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2015-16 Expectations

Posted on September 9, 2015 by

2015-16 Ag Leadership Expectations

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1st Semester

Maintain your blog and respond to prompts as assigned and by the due date.

SAE records up to date using AET.  We’ll be working together to get our records punched in and up to date. Your Records will be a portion of your quarter grade.  Please work along with the rest of the class instead of waiting until the end of the quarter/semester!  We’ll get started on records very soon.  We’ll catch Sam and Derick up as soon as our FFA roster is completed and integrated into AET.

Proficiency Applications:  We”ll be working through the application together, a little at a time.  Proficiency awards come with CASH prizes for first through third placings on the state level.  Our members could be very competitive in Proficiency awards.  This is one of the Officer Team’s goals for the year.  Proficiency apps will be completed online within AET.  The more thorough you are in recording things for your SAE, the easier the process will be.

Seniors (with three years or more of membership – counting this year) will  complete the State FFA Degree Application – due January 13, 2016.  Some of you should consider completing the Star battery for either star in placement, agribusiness, agriscience or farmer.  The star battery requires quite a bit of writing and 6 photos and captions, start early!  Our work on records in AET will help to streamline this process as the information will simply “fly” into the application which we will be completing online.

Complete the BIG Idea.  Your entry is due October 26, 2015.

We’ll be working on an Agricultural Advocacy initiative throughout the year.  Our efforts will be to educate ourselves and others and dispel some of the common agricultural myths floating around out there. **The Soybean Video Contest may or may not be happening this year.  The last I heard they had not decided yet.  If they do host the contest, it will fit well into our Ag Advocacy Initiative.

Prepare for Leadership CDEs – whether competing or not, everyone will complete at least the following prior to November 4, 2015:  We will discuss how these items will be handed in.

Choose two or more from this list: **If you are preparing to compete at nationals – i.e.  Ag Comm., Ag Issues, and Natural Resources – you must complete ONE or more items from this list.  I’d like you to invest your time in preparing to do your best in Louisville in October!

Rules for all Leadership CDEs are posted here.  Check the rules for the CDE you are working on.  Ag Sales Products, pricing and discounts won’t be available until mid September.  I will let you know when they have been posted.

Job Interview job descriptions are here.

Ag Communications Media Plan Scenario is here.

  • Complete the letter of application and resume for the Job Interview CDE.  Jobs are posted here
  • Prepare for the Ag Broadcasting CDE.  Have three 30 second commercials for fictitious agricultural products written and memorized.  Develop an outline for a 4 minute broadcast complete with times for each section (markets, weather, news etc).
  • Using the 2013 District and State Extemp Speaking Topic list, available here, collect and compile reference materials for each topic in preparation for the Extemp Speaking CDE.  (Print articles on the various topics and compile in a folder or notebook.)
  • Prepare a written manuscript for the prepared public speaking CDE – 6-8  minutes in length on an agricultural topic.  In your own words with a works cited/bibliography page.  No plagiarism!  Check the rules for proper formatting (MLA vs APA)
  • Form a team and complete all necessary product and presentation for the:
  • Ag Communications CDE (team of 3) Prompt for this year’s Media Plan is linked above.
  • Prepare for the Ag Sales CDE – research the specified products, develop a portfolio of product information for your category.  Develop sales pitches for each of the  products in your category.  Search for and study Written tests
  • Market Plan CDE (team of 3)
  • Ag Issues (team of 7)

Our District includes 10 chapters.  To advance to the State Leadership CDEs you must place in the top three individuals or top two teams. District Leadership CDEs will be held Monday, November 16th after school here at West Central.  Each Chapter may enter two individuals and one team in each CDE at the District Level.  We will attend preliminary CDEs in Harrisburg on November 5th and Jackrabbit Invite November 10th.

These requirements and expectations are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor!

 

 

 

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Are You A Risk Taker?

Posted on September 4, 2015 by

We’ll be participating in the BIG Idea Competition again this year.  A West Central FFA member, participating through the Ag Leadership class has won the competition two of the last three years.  Last year, WCFFA members represented two of the eight state finalists; not bad! That’s $2000 that came back to Hartford and Humboldt through this competition.  We’ve also had the Market Design winner one of those three years, that prize is $500.

Completing an entry in The BIG Idea is a REQUIREMENT for this class.

Access the BIG Idea here

Read the rules here

Create a Student Account by clicking on “Student Login” and then click the Red “Create Your Student Login” button.  Be sure that for your entry for this class, you select Linda Petersen as your instructor, not Lana Main. Otherwise, I will not be able to access your entry and grade your work.  Yes, if you are doing a BIG Idea for Ms. Main’s class, you’ll have to come up with another, better idea for Ag Leadership.

Your entry for The BIG Idea will be due October 26, 2015.  I know the due date says the 31st, but many of us will be in Louisville then.  I want to make sure everyone gets their things submitted without problems before we leave.

The application asks you to answer 5 questions.  You can read Rachel’s winning entry from last year here:

2015 Winning Big Idea

You can see information on past winners’ ideas here.

You’ve got lots of time, but don’t wait until the last minute and then do a crappy job!  Spend some time doing some research, see what small business ideas are hot right now, then do the research to figure out the market and business end of things.  You can see by reading Rachel’s entry from last year that she put in some time working our all the kinks.  You want to have all the facts laid out for the judges.

1199What’s a risk you’re thinking about taking?  Have you always thought it would be cool to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?  What about bungee jumping off of some ridiculously high bridge?  Is there an activity you’d like to try, but have to come up with the courage to do so? What’s been stopping you from taking those risks?  Alternatively, are there some risks you wish you hadn’t taken?  What did you learn from that experience.  What’s the last time you stepped outside of your comfort zone and tried something totally different than you’d ever done?  Tell me all about it.

Your post is due Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at 8:15 a.m.

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Pride in Accomplishments

Posted on September 2, 2015 by

I’m working on the semester expectations and hope to have those ready for you soon. Expect pretty much the same as prior years.  I’m just trying to pull together a couple of different opportunities for you.

When blogging:

  • Remember to always capitalize the word I.
  • Proper nouns, such as the name of a person, place or thing, are always capitalized i.e.: Mountain Dew, Hartford, Robert etc.
  • Don’t shorten words, English is your first language; let’s master it, shall we? i.e.: gonna, hanging, pry, etc.
  • Check your spelling!

For today:

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On your blog, respond to the following:  What would make you super-proud if you accomplished it this year? What action on your part will it take for that goal to become a reality?  What action on the part of others (coaches, teachers, parents, etc) will it take for your goal to become a reality?  What accomplishments in the past have you been proud of?  Have you had accomplishments in the past that you thought were a big deal only to be disappointed by your family or friends not understanding that you accomplished something awesome?  How can you avoid feeling that way in the future?  How can you support a sibling or friend in accomplishing their goals?

Your post is due, Friday, September 4, 2015 at 8:15 a.m.

 

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First and Last Words

Posted on August 31, 2015 by

For many of you, this will be your first blog post, for others, this will be the first of the year!

For the sake of getting our feet wet and getting a post completed, react to the following:

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What would you say?  Who would you say it to? Why did you chose these as your last words?

Refer to this post if you need a refresher course on how to create and publish a post.

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Getting Started

Posted on August 31, 2015 by

Notes about blog posts – Please – do not include correct names of people (friends) in your posts.  This is to protect you and them.  If your story that you’re writing about needs names, give them fake names rather than using their real names.

The word “I” is always capitalized.

Use complete words rather than slang – i.e.: going vs gonna

Use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.  Failing to do so will dock points from your post score.

First – go to your Dashboard.  Follow these directions if you cannot find it.

NOTE- Please – go through the dashboard to create a post – many students had their posts disappear on them in previous years when they used the shortcut to post.  Just in case you are not sure which shortcut I’m referring to, here’s what it looks like:

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Again – Don’t Do it that way, Use the directions below, Please!

On the left hand side of your Dashboard, click on Posts

Then click “Add New”

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Create a title and type your content in the body of the message.

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Use the spell check button!  Also – just for those of you who try to type the way you text – the word I is ALWAYS capitalized.  You’ll be expected to write in complete sentences with correct punctuation, capitalization, spelling, etc.  Mrs. Renner won’t be reading your posts so you can relax some, but, keep in mind, my Grandmother was a Grammar Professor, so I have a few skills myself!

Once you are happy with your post click on the “publish” button on the right hand side.

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You can always go back in and edit your post.

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How To’s of Blogging

Posted on August 31, 2015 by

Here are a few rules that we’ll need to follow:

1.  For student blogs we will be using WordPress. WordPress is very user friendly and as you get more comfortable you can change and edit things so the design and style fits your preferences.

WordPress has a great, easy to follow tutorial for setting up your blog.

Styling your blog in WordPress becomes a game of learning to read code; some themes are more user friendly than others!  I recommend starting with the default theme Twenty Ten.  You will be able to add your own graphics and changes colors. Also, you can change the theme as you become more comfortable with it

2.  Your blog may not contain your entire first and last name.  Only first names or an appropriate nickname.  Your blog url and title will be something like this:myblog.wordpress.com

3.  All graphics must be school and FFA appropriate.  No scantilly clad young men or women.  If in doubt, ask!

4.  Any music associated with your blog must also be school and FFA appropriate.

5.  When posting to your blog, keep in mind that your blog is a reflection of you, your family, your school, our FFA Chapter and your FFA Advisor.  Once it’s out on the web, it’s really hard to take it back!  Keep all language appropriate, use spell and grammar check! If you are talking about a specific person (or classmate), don’t use that person’s real name.

Let’s begin by going to http://wordpress.com

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2.  Your blog may not contain your entire first and last name.  Only first names or an appropriate nickname.  Many students in the past have used their school email login, for example – lp3456.Your blog url and title will be something like this: myblog.wordpress.com  If you enter a name or slug that is already in use you will get a screen something like this:

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When you find a combination that works – WooHoo, you’ll get a screen like this:

Choose a username and password and enter them in the appropriate blanks.  The default username will be the slug you came up with .  You can change your user name later if you need or want to.

Enter your school e mail address:
Be sure to select English in the pull down menu and click “Create Blog” Choose the Free option!
An e mail will be sent to the e mail address you entered.

Click on the link within the e mail you received.

We’ll get back to blog set up in a minute.  Be sure to book mark the dashboard page!  You will be using it again!

Before I totally turn you loose.  Make note of these things:

Your blog url and the login url, something like this: myblog.wordpress.com/wp-login.php

Write down your user name and password!

When you need help, please ask.

Send me an email with a link to your blog (myblog.wordpress.com)

Happy Blogging!

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Final 2014-15 post and instructions

Posted on May 15, 2015 by

Today spend some time updating AET.  Remember – you were supposed to upload 4 pictures of you working in your SAE by the end of the year?  The end of the year is here!

Make sure that all of your FFA and school activities etc are up to date.  If you ran for or were elected to a chapter officer, your records should now reflect that.  If you received any awards at the banquet that you didn’t already have entered, get them in there.

When you have finished your records and are up to date, do the following:

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Click on Reports

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Click on Complete Recordbook Report

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Click on Generate PDF

This will download a PDF of your records to your computer.  Email that document to me.

If you developed any study materials for CDEs that you have not already sent me, please do that today.  If you have study materials – floriculture binders, seed samples, etc, please return them to the appropriate tub!

It’s been a pretty amazing year thanks to all of you for the role you played in all of the things we achieved this year!  Have a great summer, be safe, be nice, be smart!  Some of you I’ll see a bit over the summer, the rest of you I’ll be eager to see next fall!

Final post prompt for the year – what are your goals for next year? Goals for academic success, goals for FFA, goals for athletics/clubs or organizations you are involved in.  Your post is due before you can check out for the year!

 

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Food Inc. 4

Posted on May 13, 2015 by

From Seed to Super Market:

• From Monsanto’s perspective, it is expensive to develop new seeds like these, and the seeds save farmers time and enable them to produce more soybeans. What might be the consequences—both positive and negative—of the
company owning the genetic information in the seed?

• How does this situation compare to downloading music from “free” sites?

• How does it compare to the Microsoft monopoly case in which Microsoft
was accused of having an unfair competitive advantage when it required
consumers to buy both its Web browser and computer operating system
together?

The Veil:

• In the film, Noel Kramers of the California Farm Bureau says that the bureau is against labeling because it “creates unnecessary fear in the consumer’s mind.” Do you agree with this reasoning? Why or why not?

• Can you name different consumer products that have warning labels about
their use or safety (cigarettes, alcohol, appliances, games, and so on)? What impact, if any, do you think these labels have?

• Health experts recently called for warning labels on energy drinks, pointing out the effects of “caffeine intoxication”—a syndrome that can cause anxiety, insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, tremors, rapid heartbeat, and even death. Would a warning label affect whether or not you buy energy drinks? Why or why not?

• How effective are labels in helping consumers make decisions about their
food? What might be more effective?

Shocks to the System:

• What kinds of actions have you taken before to make a change at home, at
school, or in the community? What was effective? What wasn’t?

• Aside from the supermarket, in what other arenas can individuals and groups make an impact on our food system?

What are your final thoughts about the film?  Did it make you angry, curious?  Do you agree with all of the content presented?  Tell me about it.

Your post is due Friday, May 15, 2015 – Seniors – your post is due today.  I will sign your check out sheet after you have posted.

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Food Inc. 3

Posted on May 11, 2015 by

In The Grass:

• What alternative might the companies have if they can’t find local people todo the work?

• If you think it is okay for companies to recruit foreign workers this way, what might be the repercussions of that?

• Whether or not you think illegal immigration (or the influx of undocumented workers) is a problem, how is illegal immigration connected to the food we eat?

Hidden Costs:

• In the film, we see that Stonyfield Yogurt is now owned by Groupe Danone,
Tom’s of Maine by Colgate, Kashi by Kellogg, and Burt’s Bees by Clorox,
which are all large corporations. What kinds of consumers do you think these products are geared for? How do you think those consumers might react to learning that the products are actually made by big corporations?

• As the film suggests, small companies and producers are often bought out
or taken over by very big companies. What might be the implications of that—both positive and negative?

• As portrayed in the film, cost and efficiency drive our current food system. Should price be the most important force behind our food industry? Why or why not? How might our food system change if it was driven by other values, like health or environmental sustainability?

• Yogurt company executive Gary Hirshberg says that Walmart started selling
organic yogurt not because of a “moral enlightenment,” but for economic
reasons. Do you think economics is a good enough reason by itself for
companies to make changes that affect our society? Why or why not?

Your post is due Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 8:15 a.m.

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