Junior and Senior teams in Bulloch County’s National FFA Organization chapters won 1st place in their Area Four Livestock Evaluation competitions held during the 2023 Central Region Career Development Event on Tuesday, January 17 at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry. The teams will now advance to state competition March 17-18, at the Georgia FFA/FCCLA Center in Covington.
The teams are part of their schools’ National FFA Organization chapters and are advised by Ag Teachers Tia Chastain of Portal Middle High School and Riley Thompson of Southeast Bulloch High School. FFA is a student technical organization for students and offered through the district’s Career Technical & Agricultural Education program.
In the Junior Division competition, Bulloch County teams won First and Fifth places in the team rankings out of 12 competing teams. They also had five team members who placed in the top-10 in the individual competition, with four commanding the top-five spots, including one winning the overall highest individual score in the division.
In the Senior Division, Bulloch County teams won both First and Second place in the team rankings out of 11 teams, and five team members placed in the top-10 for overall individual rankings.
Southeast Bulloch High was the first-place team in the Junior Division. Team member Kate Anna Newman achieved the overall high individual score. All of the SEBHS Junior Team members posted top-10 individual scores which helped lead their team to victory. Team members Brianna Greer and Aubrey Williams claimed the fourth and fifth-place high individual scores respectively and Lexi Morton placed ninth. The Portal Junior Team placed fifth, and team member Emma Johnson was the third-highest individual.
Portal Middle High School was the first-place team in the Senior Division, and Southeast Bulloch placed second. Portal team member Megan Barnes was the second-highest overall individual, with Austin Collins (SEB), Kate DeLoach (PMHS), and Kaylie Brown (SEB) also placing in the top-10 with the 5th, 6th, and 9th highest individual scores respectively.
Portal Senior Team members are Shelbie Jones, Zach Mallard, Megan Barnes, and Kate Deloach.
Southeast Bulloch Senior Team members are Kaylie Brown, Anna Wellman, Lauren Hendricks, and Austin Collins.
Southeast Bulloch Junior Team members are Lexi Morton, Kate Anna Newman, Aubrey Williams, and Brianna Greer.
Portal Junior Team members are Baleigh Brannen, Emma Johnson, Nicholas May, and Makynna Odom.
The Livestock Evaluation competition is one of 32 different agricultural career development events that is open to FFA chapter members. According to the Georgia FFA website, this event is designed to develop the skills to select and market livestock that will satisfy consumer demands and provide increased economic returns to producers.
In the competition participants evaluate breeding and market cattle, swine, sheep and goats. They then present oral reasons on selected classes to defend their selection decisions. Performance data is included in keep/cull and placing classes of breeding animals. Feeder cattle are evaluated using United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards.
