The Manhattan FFA chapter brought home some top team and individual placings from the North Center District Food Science and Ag Sales competitions and career development events at Randolph-Blue Valley High last Wednesday, Dec. 6.

Food Science, being a very science-driven event, includes things such as chemistry of food, formulations, consumer inquiry and more, all designed to help students explore different areas within that specific industry.

“Our goal is for students to have an opportunity to ask questions, but to have practiced and had to have seen every part of the contest,” said FFA sponsor Elissa Mullinix.

Ag sales are different, being very business driven. Students who competed in ag sales developed a product, developed specifications for the product and the sales tactics for the product. Then at the competition, they went to sell their product to a judge, who then evaluated them on their ability to effectively communicate and generate a sale. This event had a team event, which faced a real-world problem.

“They were asked to represent a branch who is marketing their beef to a restaurant,” Mullinix said. “Their goal was to create a sales presentation to another company in order to generate a contract.”

Students in the team event practiced public speaking, learned components of the sale and practiced selling their products to each other in order to get ready for their events. Everyone in both Ag sales and food science worked very far. Often coming in after school and on the weekends to work on their events, but that hard work paid off.

“I’m so proud of the work they’ve done to do hard things and to and to really gain understanding,” Says Mullinix.

In food science, FFA placed second. In the Greenhand, or freshman division, Landon Kerr placed eighth in the top 10, being the only freshman from Manhattan High to compete in his division.

Seniors Easton Ford placed third in the senior division and Clara Mayes placed 10th in that same division, with senior Ava Whitman, chapter president, placing seventh overall in the Ag Sales competition. 

“That was especially exciting considering we’ve never never attempted this competition before,” said Mullinix.

The spring semester will be an even more busy semester for FFA, the club having a multitude of competitions within those five months.

“We will be competing in public speaking. I believe we will have a poultry judging team. We will have a floriculture judging team, a nursery landscape team, likely a livestock judging team, and a horse judging team. I also have students who are going to be competing in discussion meet,” Mullinix said.