Throughout their years in FFA, students will carefully document all of their progress with their Supervised Agricultural Experiences.

Recently, FFA students were invited to submit their documentation to district advisors to be considered for an Agricultural Proficiency award. Miah Sprock, Mexico FFA chapter president, and Jace DeVault will be representing the Mexico FFA chapter at the state level as the district 4 area winners.

Sprock’s SAE is agricultural education. This year, she hosted two “Agventure Camps,” a three-week program educating elementary schoolers from kindergarten through third grade about agriculture.

Each week of the summer session featured a new theme. During the first week, dubbed “Animal Adventures,” Sprock taught children about farm animals. With the help of some of her fellow FFA friends, she bought goats, horses, cows, chickens, goats and rabbits for the students to interact with.

The second week was called “Plant Palooza,” where participants learned about the parts of a plant and soil structures. Agventure Camp’s last week, “Fantastic Farm Machines” featured a real tractor for kids to sit in and a mock pedal tractor pull, which Sprock said the students really enjoyed.

Agventure Camp used to be a summer program only, but this year, Sprock added another
winter program with more themes that centered around food production.

“I sent out a survey and one of the suggestions was to teach kids where their food comes from,” she said.

Sprock’s SAE works hand in hand with her career goals. After graduation, she plans to attend William Woods University to pursue a degree in elementary education.

For DeVault, a diversified agriculture SAE means waking up when it’s still dark and getting home after the sun goes down. It includes farming the row crop, baling hay and raising and selling dirt hogs.

“I was raised on the farm,” DeVault said. “I kind of got the hang of it and have the passion for it so I just kept doing it.”

DeVault said his favorite part of his diversified agriculture SAE is caring for his animals, which now includes cows.

“There’s a little more to do and you’ve got to try to keep them alive so you’re always doing something,” he added.

On top of being a student and active FFA member, DeVault has tracked a lot of hours for his project.

“It’s just really impressive, the amount of hours that Jace works,” Christina Terry, agriculture teacher and Mexico FFA chapter adviser, said. “Maya, she’s just dedicated to everything – she’s always fully committed to what she does when she takes it on and I think that’s a nice thing to see.”

The Mexico FFA also recognized second-place winner Kinser Groves and his vegetable production SAE as well as third-place winners Samuel DeVault, ag processing and Zane Meyer, ag mechanics repair and maintenance.

Sprock and DeVault’s applications advance to the state level.