Tree Assignment for Exploring SD Ag

Trees are near and dear to the heart of your teacher.  In South Dakota, trees take an investment of money, water and lots of TLC (tender-loving-care) to grow one to maturity.  Please read the following article and answer the questions below:  http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/resources/new_treeplanting.pdf

1.  What type of an investment are trees and how does that compare with process of raising a family?

2.  When are the best times of the year to plant trees?

3.  How large should the hole be dug for the new tree?

4.  Why is the planting height and position of the tree so important?

5.  Explain how to properly fill in the tree hole with soil:

6.  When should trees be watered?

7.  Identify 5 species of trees that will perform well in South Dakota (use and cite additional resources):

8.  What are 3 benefits that trees give to us?

9. Choose 1 of the following passages of scripture dealing with trees:  Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Matthew 12:33-37,  Isaiah 55:12-13, Revelation 22:1-2.  What life lessons can we learn about from these passages?  (1 paragraph response)

Due:  Thursday, May 7th

Spreading Mulch

 We have been enjoying the nice spring weather and put down straw as a mulch around the trees that we've been planting.  The students work together in teams to accomplish the given tasks at the beginning of class.

Miller-1st Place Horse Evaluation Team

SBA's FFA Horse Evaluation team placed first at the Miller Career Development Event on April 1.

State Convention 2015

 12 SBA FFA members attended the State FFA convention in Brookings this week.

 The crew was up bright and early every morning and attended sessions, work shops and competed in events until late at night.

Both the livestock judging team and horse judging teams placed 20th out of more than 60 schools. The students have all worked hard this year and learned a lot along the way.  These competitions teach many valuable life lessons in decision making, confidence and standing up for what you believe in.  I'm proud of each one of the students who have competed this year!

 New this year was a safety quiz bowl team that competed for the first time against Wolsey-Wessington.  We came close to winning at the end and each student received $20 cash for their participation.

 Convention is not complete without ice cream from the Dairy Bar!

 The student union was a great place to hang out in between events and catch up with SBA alumni.

 There were many trips in the van back and forth from the hotel to the convention.

 Enjoying SDSU's ice cream made right on campus!

 Quiz Bowl team-black and white style!

The students are skipping down the campus sidewalks after the last session of convention.  Thank you again to our students who came along and parents for your support.  We are blessed with great students who love to learn and are a witness for Jesus Christ in their words and actions.  I am looking forward to see how God uses these experiences in the lives of our students and community at SBA!

Yard Work

 We had the opportunity to do yard work in Miller for an FFA fundraiser after the Miller competition.  The students work hard and have a good time doing it-both of which are very important life lessons!  I could not be more proud of the attitude and willingness of our students to jump in and work hard at whatever the task before them may be.

This week we've been challenged in our Mega-Teen and SLEW to be bold in our witness for Jesus Christ.  Pray that we would be seeking opportunities to share Christ with our FFA activities.

Animal Science trip and building the ideal heifer

 The Animal Science class had a great opportunity to visit a neighbor's place that backgrounds cattle for the feed lot.  We toured their working facilities and learned about their livestock handling techniques.

 We have been studying beef cattle conformation in Exploring SD Ag and the students (guys vs. gals) had to build an ideal heifer!  They had fun with the project and next time I will give better scale dimensions and materials to make them equal size.

 T

Miller FFA CDE Results

Here are the results from the Miller FFA CDE today.  Congratulations to all the students on a job well done and a special recognition to the horse judging team that took first place!  Check out the rest of the results at: https://www.judgingcard.com/Results/Events.aspx?ID=4545