On to Nationals!
Oct 28, 2022 12:00AM ● By Story and photo by Seti Long
Gridley FFA Agricultural Issues Forum Team receives a donation from the Gridley Rotary Club for their trip to the FFA National Convention. Pictured left to right: Kennison Cota, Alyssa Thompson, Miranda Johnson, Becca Hamman, Avery Weagant and Lisa Van DeHey.
GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – Gridley FFA’s finest are off to compete at the 95th National FFA Conventional & Expo in Indianapolis, held October 26th -29th.
Gridley FFA’s Agricultural Issues Forum Team gave the local Rotary club a taste of their mock forum before the group flew to Indiana earlier this week. National FFA Judges have already received an overview of the group’s presentation and portfolio. When they arrive at Nationals, Gridley FFA members will compete in the final two rounds of judging – a 15-minute presentation where each speak on their chosen topic and then a 10 minute Q&A session with questions posed by National FFA Judges.
These young ladies presented their program to the Gridley Rotary group before heading to Nationals, sharing a wealth of information and the pros/cons surrounding their topic – neonicotinoid treated seeds. Each of the ladies took the stance of a stakeholder in the forum, which they became to accurately represent and share a complete understanding of information in relation to the topic of “neonic” treated seeds.
Miranda Johnson representing the California Department of Pesticide Regulation would provide a background on neonic treated seeds and act as a mediator between the 4 other presenting members of the group. As active stakeholders, Alyssa Thompson would represent the Natural Resource Defense Council, speaking on how chemicals in the neonic covered seeds affect wildlife, while Avery Weagant, of the California Seed Association, spoke to how coated seeds effect overall crop yield and quality. Kennison Cota, as President of the California State Beekeepers Association, spoke to how neonic treated seeds affected bees and native pollinators and Becca Hamman, a Researcher with the UC Cooperative Extension, would touch on potential contamination of ground water by pesticides.
The presentation was highly educational and illustrated the excellence in which this group performed.
The Gridley Rotary group saw fit to donate $500 to support the team’s trip to the FFA National Convention currently underway. They will compete there along with Nico Donati, representing FFA as a California State Delegate.
