Carrington excels at State FFA

Twenty-seven members of the Carrington FFA Chapter attended the 95th North Dakota State FFA Convention, June 3-6, on the NDSU campus in Fargo.

The Carrington FFA Chapter earned State Champion Teams in Agricultural Mechanics Technology and Floriculture. These teams will have the opportunity to represent North Dakota at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, in November.

The State Champion Agricultural Mechanics team consisted of Sam Simons, Joe Lindberg, Bryan Harris and Gabe Ricter. Individually, Sam Simons placed third and received a gold award, Joe Lindberg and Bryan Harris received gold awards, and Gabe Ricter received a silver award.

The State Champion Floriculture team consisted of Emma Aberle, Abby Lee, Izzy Neuman and Kelsi Neuman. Individually, Emma Aberle tied for first place high individual, Abby Lee placed sixth and Izzy Neuman placed seventh, each receiving a gold award. Kelsi Neuman received a gold award.

The Farm Business Management team consisting of Isabel Wendel, Molly Hansen, Bailey Ness, Izzy Neuman and Charles Jorgensen tied for first place, but lost on the tiebreaker and earned a gold award. Individually, Isabel Wendel placed second and earned a gold award. Molly Hansen placed fifth and earned a gold award.

Bailey Ness, Izzy Neuman and Charles Jorgensen earned gold awards individually.

Brekka Kuss participated in the Dairy Handlers event. She was the state runner-up, earning a gold award.

Joe Lindberg, Karlee Lesmann and Gabe Ricter participated in the Environmental and Natural Resources contest. Joe Lindberg tied for second individually and earned a gold award. Karlee Lesmann earned a gold award and Gabe Ricter received a silver award. The team placed second and earned a gold award.

The Agricultural Communications team consisted of Abby Lee, Kenleigh Hinrichs, Cally Hansen and Joie Helseth. The team finished with a third place gold award. Individually, Abby Lee received a gold and was second place in Social Media Plan. Kenleigh Hinrichs received a silver in Magazine Layout, Cally Hansen received a bronze in the Feature Story and Joie Helseth received a bronze in Video/Audio Production.

In the Meat Technology and Evaluation event, Molly Hansen and Kylie Skadberg earned gold awards. Isabel Wendel, Cally Hansen and Cyrena Kuss received silver awards. The team placed fifth and received a gold award.

The Milk Quality and Products team consisted of Sierra Friedt, Mercedes Lura, Kenleigh Hinrichs and Jaedyn Lura placed sixth and received a gold team award. Individually, Sierra Friedt received a gold award. Mercedes Lura and Kenleigh Hinrichs received silver awards. Jaedyn Lura received a bronze award.

Sierra Friedt, Bryan Harris, Emma Aberle, Karlee Lesmann and Mercedes Lura competed in the Food Science Career Development Event and received a gold team award. Sierra Friedt, Bryan Harris and Emma Aberle received gold awards. Karlee Lesmann and Mercedes Lura received silver awards.

Charles Jorgensen received a silver award in the Basic Agriculture Mechanics Career Development Event. Jacob Hinrichs received a silver in the Intermediate Agriculture Mechanics contest. The Carrington FFA Chapter was recognized as a silver Agriculture Mechanics Sweepstakes team, an award based on a combination of all three areas – Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.

The Nursery Landscape team consisted of Molly Hansen, Brekka Kuss, Abby Lee, Kelsi Neuman and Bailey Ness. Individually, Molly Hansen placed eighth and earned a gold award. Abby Lee, Kelsi Neuman and Bailey Ness all received silver awards. Brekka Kuss earned a bronze award. The team placed sixth and received a silver award.

In the Small Animal Care event, Izzy Neuman received a gold award, Ashley Lindberg and Molly Fiebiger received silver awards. Jaedyn Lura received a bronze award. The team received a silver award.

The Dairy Cattle Evaluation team received a bronze team award. Individually, Cyrena Kuss earned a silver award. Alexis Harris received a bronze award. Ashley Lindberg was also a member of the team.

Bryan Harris, Emma Aberle, Karlee Lesmann, Joe Lindberg, Jozey Retzlaff, Kylie Skadberg and Izzy Neuman received their State FFA Degree during ceremonies on Wednesday of the Convention. There were a total of 152 State FFA Degree recipients.

Five members were recognized for their outstanding Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs through the Proficiency Award program.

Jozey Retzlaff was the state winner in Agricultural Sales Placement. Jozey has been employed at Runnings for the past three years.

Kylie Skadberg was the state winner in Agricultural Processing Placement. Kylie has been employed at Barton Meats for the past three years.

Emma Aberle was the state winner in Agricultural Services Placement. Emma has been employed at the Carrington Research Extension Center in the Pathology Department for the past four years.

Izzy Neuman was the state winner in Small Animal Care and Production Entrepreneurship.Izzy raises and sells rabbits.

Joe Lindberg was the state winner in Wildlife Production and Management Entrepreneurship. Joe traps minnows and sells them to area bait shops.

Alexis Harris participated in the North Dakota State FFA Chorus.

Molly Fiebiger participated in the Courtesy Corp by assisting with sessions and contests throughout the week.

Joe Lindberg, Emma Aberle, Kylie Skadberg and Bryan Harris served as Official Chapter Delegates.

Joe Lindberg was also elected to serve as the 2024-2025 North Dakota FFA State Reporter.