West Hills College Farm of the Future hosts FFA Field Day Nov. 4

The field day will include competition in the agricultural welding, farm power, land judging and best informed greenhand career development events. Field days allow FFA members to prepare for the upcoming state finals for these contests.

The event is expected to draw over 100 students from schools across the state and is the ninth FFA contest hosted by the Farm of the Future.

Dr. Timothy Ellsworth, Farm of the Future instructor and field day organizer, said the field day is an important way for high school students to learn about agriculture and the Farm of the Future’s educational offerings.

“The college motto is the relentless pursuit of student success and, as a career development event that provides opportunities for high school students to develop skills related to agriculture, these field days help these students achieve success,” he said. “The event also provides an opportunity to showcase the college farm and to introduce local high school Ag instructors and their students to our facilities and staff.”

The action will start at 6:30 a.m. and culminate with an awards ceremony for winning teams and individuals. Buckles will be awarded to first place individuals and ribbons to 1st through 5th place teams and individuals. A sweep-stakes trophy will also be awarded. 

In addition to the competitions, a new and unique session will be offered at this Field Day. West Hills will be offering an information session for FFA members interested in participating in AgriScience fairs, which are held both at the local and national levels of FFA. The field day will feature a session helping students to develop an initial idea for a project. Projects cover many topics, including animal systems, food products and processing, plants, social systems and environmental sciences. As part of the session, students will also get an inside look at state-of-the art technology that might help them to enhance their projects. If time allows, there will also be a technological demonstration.

“This is the first time we’re offering something like this as part of a field day,” said Terry Brase, Interim Director of the Farm of the Future. “AgriScience Fairs are popular with many FFA members and they are a great way to incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) into agriculture.”

Field day registration is available online at https://calaged.csuchico.edu/Registration/EventInformation.asp?ID=547.

Registration for the AgriScience session will be on first come, first serve basis the morning of Field Day.

More information about the field day is available at http://www.westhillscollege.com/coalinga/academics/programs/farm/agriculture-field-day.asp.

For more information about the contest, contact Ellsworth at 559-997-5339 or timothyellsworth@whccd.edu. Registration for teams interested in attending is open until Oct. 27.