Recall a time when you were assigned what you considered to be a complex project. What was the project? What steps did you take to prepare for and finish the project? Were you happy with the outcome? What one step would you have done differently if given the chance? Did you plan ahead or did you wait until the last minute? Did you break the project up into chunks?
Your post is due Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 8:30 a.m.
Let’s re-cap a bit now that most of you have competed your research and reporting on Global Food Insecurity. There was a reason that you were researching the specific things I asked you to learn about. If you are the type of person who likes to write, I’ve set you up for the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute. I am not requiring you to write this paper, it is an option for anyone who is interested. The World Food Prize Global Youth Institute provides a great opportunity for students who chose to be involved. See this link for more information.
Our first CDE is a month away – March 18th! Your last blog post asked you to set some goals for yourself where CDEs are concerned. It’s probably time to get busy making things happen!
For today:
What life lessons have you learned that you wish you understood earlier in your life? How did you discover or learn this lesson? Did you have a revelation about this thing? Has your increasing maturity had an impact on your reaction to certain things in your life? How will your understanding now help you to lead a better or more fulfilling life?
Your blog post is due Thursday, February 18, 2015 at 8:30 a.m.
General information and rules for all of our Spring CDEs can be accessed here. Scroll down past all of the dates of CDEs and you’ll find the rules.
We will attend and compete in the Flandreau, Tri Valley, and Lennox CDES. Dates are all in March and are on the calendar in the front of the room. Your first opportunity is a little over a month away!
On your blog answer the following:
1. What CDE are you preparing to compete in?
-Keep in mind that although you may want to try a couple of CDEs, the registration dates may not allow for you to compete at the first one and still be able to register for a different CDE for the third CDE prior to convention. So, spend some time reading through the information provided and/or talk with members who have competed in an area you are curious about.
2. What is or are your realistic goals for your success in your chosen CDE?
3. How will you measure your success?
4. What is your plan for achieving your goal(s)
5. How much time do you pledge to spend preparing for your CDE? Your time can be pledged either per week or per class period.
6. Last year some of us utilized a google doc to record study time. Was that helpful? Did you enter study time or did you just not study?
7. What should be the rule for qualifying to compete in the State CDEs? Should members have to place among a certain percentage as an individual or a team in the preliminary CDEs?
8. What resources or study materials do you need? Is it something you can create or something we need to look into purchasing?
9. What are realistic expectations for your FFA Advisor where your CDE prep and performance is concerned? How can I help you to enjoy greater success in your CDE?
Your post is due at the end of class today!
Continuing on with our study of Global Food Insecurity; research and answer the following:
How will other major issues (climate volatility, population growth, water scarcity, urbanization, energy demand, pollution, etc.) affect your chosen factor and the wellbeing of your sample family and their community in the decades ahead?
Based on your research, give your recommendations on how to effectively address your selected factor to improve the food security of your rural or urban family in the country on which you have focused. What **Millennium Development Goals and associated policies, technologies, practices or investments do you recommend to solve this situation by 2015? Describe one or more local projects in your focus country that could be scaled up successfully.
**For information on the Millennium Development Goals, click here.
Give your suggestions for the appropriate role of communities, the national government, corporations and other organizations (United Nations, World Bank, international research agencies, non- governmental and civic organizations, etc.) in implementing your recommendations in your country. How should rural farm and urban families be involved as key players in implementing these recommendations?
Your post is due Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 8:30 a.m.
Continuing on with the Country that you selected in your last post, complete the following:
Select ONE factor affecting food insecurity in the country you selected from the following list. IE: This factor would help to improve food production and decrease food insecurity in the country you selected.
1. Plant Science Increasing crop yields and improving disease/drought resistance through research and breeding of improved plant varieties
2. Water Scarcity Managing water scarcity and adapting farming practices to reduced water supplies with improved irrigation technologies and conservation practices
3. Biofuels Balancing the demand on global food and energy supplies and ensuring that developing nations also benefit from the use of biofuels
4. Animal Health Preventing the transmission of disease in livestock and poultry with improved management, investments in vaccine development, and proper application of medications to avoid antibiotic-resistance
5.Climate Volatility Responding to climate volatility by adapting agricultural practices and policies to increase carbon sequestration and support ecological resilience to erratic weather, rising temperatures/drought, saltwater intrusion, and shifting plant diseases and pest infestations
6. Sustainable Agriculture Developing and implementing sustainable agricultural practices (no-till, crop rotation, integrated pest management, etc.) to combat erosion, desertification and soil depletion and reduce pesticide/herbicide use and minimizing environmental degradation associated with industrial agricultural practices (improved animal waste disposal, conservation buffers, etc.)
7. Animal Agriculture Implementing sustainable practices for raising livestock and poultry (management intensive grazing, integrated livestock/poultry grazing and poultry/vegetable production systems, fish pond farming systems, etc.)
8. Spoilage & Waste Reducing spoilage and improving the quality and shelf life of food products with improved food preservation techniques and increased processing capacity (flash-heating, aseptic processing, freeze drying, bulk storage, etc.)
9. Water & Sanitation Increasing access to safe, potable water supplies, toilets and pit latrines, and education on proper sanitation/hygiene and food preparation techniques to reduce the transmission of food and water-borne disease
10. Dietary Diseases Addressing obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other dietary diseases through nutrition education, access to nutritious foods, and healthy behavior (dietary diversification, food selection, portion-size control, exercise, etc.)
11. Malnutrition Alleviating micronutrient deficiencies (iron, vitamin A, iodine, zinc) and protein- energy malnutrition through improved access to nutritious food, fortification, supplementation, school-feeding programs, nutrition education, emergency therapeutic feeding, etc.
12. Human Diseases Reducing the burden of illness and infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB), Malaria, etc., to improve human health and nutrition and raise agricultural production
13. Demographics Addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by population growth and urbanization
14. Conflict Resolution Preventing and resolving political and armed conflict with diplomatic initiatives
15. Human Rights Addressing gender, cultural and economic discrimination and improving access to credit and securing property rights for the poor and marginalized
16. Education Investing in education, training and extension for improved implementation of agricultural research and technology
17. Good Governance Reducing corruption by promoting the rule of law, government accountability, democratic principles and transparency
18. International Trade Removing discriminatory international trade policies to improve market access, promote fair trade and increase economic development
19. Foreign Aid Assisting vulnerable populations and improving the effectiveness of humanitarian relief and food aid in conflict zones and disaster sites
20. Farm to Market Improving access to markets through infrastructure development (roads and railways, internet, mobile technologies, electricity)
2. Answer the following questions to develop your post and understand how your selected factor affects food security in your country:
Your post Is due Tuesday, February 10, 2014 at 8:30 a.m.
One of our videos made it into the finals for the SD Soybean Contest. All videos appear to be stuck at 301 views. This is Youtube’s way of assuring that all views are actual views. Please watch the video and pass the link to your friends and family. We need views from as many different locations/IP addresses as possible. Once Youtube is certain that the views our video is accumulating are real, the play counter will start counting up again. Watching and refreshing over and over again will not accumulate views on Youtube. Please help spread the word that GMOs are safe!
Here’s a direct link for the video: http://tinyurl.com/Wcffavideo
Thanks!
Several of the seniors have completed their National FFA Scholarships and have been approved by me. You should have received an email from FFA directing you to print your signature page. Please print that, take it home and get it signed, then bring it back to me. Bryghton – I emailed you your log in info. Please work on it today!
CDEs – Please be sure that you are sharing study materials that I air-dropped to some of you with your team members. If there’s a way to improve your ID Keynotes, by adding additional pictures so you don’t simply memorize one picture of whatever the thing is, please, work on that! Our first CDE is March 18th, the other two follow very closely. I doubt that we will have results back from the first competition before registration is due for the next CDEs. That means – that you won’t be able to switch CDEs after the first competition unless someone drops off a team that you want to be on. So – spend some time making sure you know which CDE you are going to prepare for and compete in.
For today, Chipotle is at it again! Surprised? I’m not.
Read this article.
Check out what Chipotle say about their “Responsibly Raised” standards here. Information specific to Beef, Pork, Dairy, and Chicken here.
In one sentence, what’s going on? What are your thoughts on the article? What are your thoughts on Chipotle’s standards for sourcing products for their restaurants? What about their advertising tactics?
Your post is due Friday, January 23, 2015 at 8:30 a.m.
Seniors – State Degree applications are due Wednesday, January 14th by 3:30 p.m. – Printed AND signed! This is a requirement if you are a 3 or 4 year FFA member.
Seniors – FFA Scholarships – online at ffa.org If you need help getting logged into Ag Career Network, let me know. You must fully submit your application prior to Wednesday, January 28, 2014. This will give me time to review it, help you to make any changes that need to be made and make our final submission prior to the deadline. This is a requirement for all seniors.
Sophomores and Juniors – Log into AET and close out 2014 – that means, enter everything for 2014 – hours, income, activities, etc. Believe me – having things entered will make your state degree so much easier and less stressful!
We’ll start focusing on Spring Production CDEs soon. If you’ve got ideas of resources that you would like to have for prep, please let me know.
For today, reflect on the following on your blog:
Make sure you back up your opinion with reasons. What suggestion could you give to avoid this mistake?
Your post is due Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 8:30 a.m.
It’s research time!
Over the past few years, several states have introduced ballot initiatives that relate to the labeling of GMO products or crops.
Which states have had such legislation?
Which state/states recently had this issue on their ballot?
What was the result of those votes?
What is the argument for this legislation? What do the people in favor of mandatory labeling say about it? Why do they think it’s necessary?
What is the argument against this legislation? What do the people who are opposed to mandatory labeling say about it? Why do they want to see this initiative defeated?
Do you expect a continued effort or push for labeling of GMO crops and products derived from them?
What about the rest of the world, what countries, if any, have labeling rules?
Has this issue ever been on the South Dakota ballot or even on the radar?
Who are the major players in this issue? (Which companies or government agencies have an opinion or a stake in the discussion?
What’s your opinion on the issue? Do you believe that labeling should be mandatory? Why or Why not?
Provide links to where you found all of your information with each answer.
Your post is due Friday, December 19, 2014 at 8:30 a.m.
Seniors: We’ll be starting on State FFA Degree applications SOON! They are due January 14th. Make sure your records are up to date enough that you’ll be able to fill things in. I’m working with the folks at AET to create an online State Degree application for us to test drive. We’ll also be completing the online National FFA Scholarship application. If you want to get started on this, you’ll need to go here, select the top option.
If you cannot remember your Ag Career Network login, let me know and I can help you. NOTE – please DO NOT USE your K12 email address.
For today:
What’s one thing you’re still searching for in life? Tell me all about it. Your post is due Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at 8:30 a.m.
