Strengths Finder Assessment

Our Agri-business class has been going through a book titled "StrengthsFinder 2.0", which looks at different areas of talent that God has given us.  It is incredible how God has wired us uniquely to work and function together as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4).  Here are the steps to the on-line assessment
1.  Retrieve the access code from the back of your book (inside the red envelope)
2.  Go to strengthsfinder.com and follow the directions or click on this link: https://strengths.gallup.com/registration/step2.aspx
*You will need an e-mail address
3.  Enter your access code
4.  Take the assessment-it will take 30 minutes and you need to complete it in 1 setting without distractions
5.  Write down your top 5 strengths and/or print off complimentary information about your strengths
**"Remember that the purpose of StrengthsFinder 2.0 is not to anoint you with strengths-it simply helps you find the areas where you have the greatest potential to develop strengths."

Servant Days 2015

 The Junior High students took on a couple of local projects for Servant Days.  We started our time together by talking about having a "whatever it takes" attitude in serving Christ based off of Acts 20:24 and Colossians 3.

  The students worked as a team digging out a spruce tree that was over 8' tall.  The spruce tree was too close to other trees and needed to be moved.  So, the 14 students went to work with their shovels and dug it out!

 Here is the team with tree in it's new home!

 The students also worked on cleaning up our shelter belts and made brush piles that will be burned this winter.

Great job team!

Ag Issues-Is there enough being done to get young people into production agriculture?

The following are interesting articles and statistics pertaining to opportunities for students to become involved in agricultural production:

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/old-old-old-macdonald-had-farm
This article sums up the issue quite well and addresses some of the challenges and opportunities for students.

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resources/Highlights/Farm_Demographics/
This census gives demographics concerning the average age of farmers

http://ncta.unl.edu/specialty-programs#heifer
The University of Nebraska has a couple of interesting programs including a heifer program and 100 Beef Cow Ownership Program

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/bfc/publications-and-webinars
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/bfc/
Iowa State has a Beginning Farmer Program that offers some enterprise options to supplement or get started in ag production.

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~peters/HTML/issues/career-materials.html
This website gives a list of links of additional resources which may be helpful in investigating this issue.

October Sky

 October has been like an extension of summer so far, which has allowed us to do some additional landscaping projects on campus.  The freshmen students transplanted this spruce tree on campus to a staff home.  They have a ready-to-go Christmas tree in their yard!

 4 students took the HuntSAFE class this fall and earned their certification which allows them to purchase a youth hunting license in South Dakota.

 The FFA students are split up into committees to work on various aspects of our FFA activities during the year.  Our committees so far include: Fundraising, planning FFA Week, creating a Constitution, and writing thank-you cards to our supporters.

Fall Fun

 We've been blessed with nice temperatures to get outside with our classes.  These first two pictures are of our agri-business classes going out and evaluating our neighbor's club (show) calves for sale.  They split up into teams and picked out their top steers and heifers.

 Last week, we were invited along on the Central SD Angus Tour and got to see the Eagle Pass Ranch in Highmore.

 The Eagle Pass Ranch has an incredible facility that is comfortable for working cattle year-round.

 The students were able to learn about electronic id's and the many uses they have in cattle production.  The ranch utilizes a "Grow Safe" system that is able to monitor the daily feed intake of individual cattle.  They are also implementing a watering system that will weigh individual cattle every time they come up for a drink.  With all the data they receive, the ranch is developing cattle that require less feed will maintaining quality.