There are great things happening for the Corcoran High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) program. Just recently the local chapter was chosen by the Tulare County Historical Society to fully restore a Stationary Ensilage Chopper. Corcoran High’s Ag Welding students will fully restore the piece under advisor Dustin Newby.
The Tulare County Historical Society reached out to FFA classes in the area and offered them a chance in restoring the antique farming equipment which is housed at the International Agricenter. Corcoran FFA shop classes chose the piece of antique farming equipment and will restore it throughout the year. The Historical Society will provide the funding for the restoration project. The process began with students taking a field trip to Tulare prior to delivery of the equipment. Students are currently working on researching the history of the equipment and will compile a list of repairs to the Historical Society.
The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2019 with the final stage of the project which is to present the fully restored piece to the Historical Society and have it placed on display at the International Agricenter.
Also representing the club well is Dawson Holt. Holt received a Gold Award for his SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) Project. Holt was one of only seven FFA students in the Region to receive a Gold Award.
Holt’s project consisted of him, working at Circle T Farms where he assisted in farming 450 acres of Pima Cotton. Holt worked every level of production from cotton production, pest mitigation, fertilizer, irrigation and plant regulation application. He has learned about tractor operation and implement operation, safety and equipment care. Dawson said over the course of the project he has gained so much new knowledge and understanding of the California, American and Global cotton industry. The cotton produced on his farm is ginned locally and the lint and seeds are sold for various uses within the consumer marketplace.
Holt has put in 1,575 hours over the two year project course and his gross earnings are $15,750. He has had to log into an online record book throughout the course of the project and keep accurate records. His project earned him a State FFA award which allowed his project to be eligible for a National Award. The Gold Award however, is one step below qualifying for Nationals. Only four students in California in all proficiencies go to Nationals as finalists. Holt’s Gold Award was given to him for the Fiber and Oil Production Proficiency for Cotton.
In other FFA news the Corcoran Cotton Contest will be held Saturday in the Technology Learning Center (TLC). The Corcoran FFA Cotton Judging team will be participating. According to the CATA Curricular Activities Code, “The Cotton contest seeks to effectively prepare the students for the expectation of the cotton industry. Workers seeking careers in cotton must not only develop a high degree of knowledge and skill, they must also develop the ability to solve difficult problems. The contest blends critical thinking, mathematical and plant biology knowledge and skills along with the ability to express oneself through oral communication.”
This year’s slate of FFA officers include President Oscar Miranda, Vice-President Jonah Hernandez, Sentinel Travis Daniel, Treasurer Lulu Ramirez, Reporter Rachel Berry, Secretary Brock Hansen, Historian Jizzell Nuñez.
