PROGRAM

FFA

is

designed

to

prepare young people for careers

in

the agriculture industry and AQHA's support

is

indica-

tive

of our belief

in

the development of such leadership

skills

and

abilities.

AQHA

is

equally pleased

to

also sup- port FFA's aim

to

develop character, useful citizenship and foster

patri-

otism.

Horse judging teams, plan to

parti-

cipate in the judging contest, Friday,

August 6

in

Tulsa, Oklahoma. The ^con-

test

will

be held in conjunction with the American Junior Quarter Horse Association World Championship Show and welcomes 4-H, AJQHA and

FFA judging teams.

AQHA

^is

^eager

^to

^assist

^all

FFA members with their horse projects.

For free informative brochures on selecting and purchasing horses, plus free use of instructional films, con-

tact:

The American Quarter Horse Association Department FFA

Amarillo, Texas 79168 (806) 376-4811

V^s

Vwnipson, lA,remodeledabuildinginto a teen centerand

named

^it "The Den."

N-N-N

Clarinda, lA,hada yieldguessingcontest for theirtest plot.

N-N-N

Sorghum

was harvested from Fairfield, lA,Chapter test plotand a jarofprocessed sorghumwill be giventoeach member.

N-N-N

Advisor Rhimer and 13

members

of Col- ton,

CA,

Chapterhiked 50miles toabeach area for a recreational event.

N-N-N

Fourdelegatesfrom Mayer,AZ,tonation- alconventiontraveled by^train.

N-N-N

Of

the 213

FFA members

in Strasburg,

VA,

62arebrothersor brother-sistercombi- nations.

N-N-N

When

kindergarten studentsvisited Arnii- jo.

CA,

agdepartment to see and petfarm animals, they were given packets of six silhouettes ofvarious farmanimals to serve asanactivitylearningsourceafter thevisit.

Bigannua! eventofSouthSide

FFA, AR,

isanAugust meetingtobringeveryoneback together. According to the report

we

re- ceived,PresidentSteveTapley presided over the meetingand"closeditwithwatermelons forrefreshments."

N-N-N

Scribner,NE,

FFA

heldagaragesale inthe vo-agshoptoraise

money

fora

new

building at the stateleadershipdevelopment center.

N-N-N

Two

stateofficers visited Herniiston,

OR,

Chapter speaking at the regular monthly meetingandexecutivecommittee.

One

topic wasstudent projects.

N-N-N

McKean,

DE, sends their chapter news- lettertothe national magazinestaff.

N-N-N

Instead ofwaiting for someone to build

new

pens for the county fair, Ubly, MI, decided to do the building themselves.

Enough wood

was donatedto thechapterto build30 pensformembers'exhibits.

N-N-N

Ten

members

of Evergreen,

OH, FFA

attended the National High-Powered Rifle Schoolat

Camp

Perry,an

Army

installation inOhio.The

members

andtheiradvisorwere coached by

Army

personnel on

how

to handle and fire an

M-16

riHe. At the end students competed on afiringrange.

N-N-N

Farmers in the area around Peoria, AZ, helped the

FFA

raise theircottoncrop.

40

As

a

community

service project, Hatch,

NM, FFA

raked leaves for free inyards of seniorcitizens.

N-N-N

All officersofPayette,ID,areinvolvedin fall sports

—

Pat, \Iike, Keith, Gavin and

Eddy

in football and Cathyin volleyball.

N-N-N

Shelby,

MT,

^{put on} a "gong show" with acts from

members

at the slavesale.

N-N-N

Departing student teachers at Wauseon,

OH,

weregiven

new FFA

labcoatsfromthe chaptertotaketo theirfirstassignment.

N-N-N

Jonesville, MI, raised

money

to buy

new

welders for the shop by setting up a food stand at a local auction.

N-N-N

Increased responsefrom readers seemsto have

come

fromourofferof $5foreach joke usedonthe magazine "Joke Page."

N-N-N

Every yearFayetteville,

AR,

hasaholiday partyfor hearingimpaired children.

N-N-N

The county sheriff spoke at Stonewall Jackson,

VA, FFA

meeting about

how

to protect theirfarm propertyfromtheft.

N-N-N

About

600 were served at annual Wirt County,

WV, FFA-FHA

beef barbeque.

N-N-N

Members

of Housatonic Valley. CT.

Chapter formed a veal-calf co-op. Sold sharesto

members

on a three-calf project.

N-N-N

At annual degree night, Martinsville, IN, gave every Greenhand an

FFA ID

sign for theirhome. Plus a

new FFA

T-shirtfor

new

Chapter Farmer degreeholders.

N-N-N

Heber Springs,

AR,

is building park benches togive to a seniorcitizens'

home

in the spring.

N-N-N

During their county fair Ephrata,

WA, members

setupamechanicalbullforallthe people

who

thought riding this kind of machine wouldbeeasy.They

made

$600and hadlots offundoingit.

N-N-N

Three

members

of Turner Ashby,

VA,

Chapterplacedfirstinthe dairybowlcontest at their statefair.

N-N-N

Cuba, IL, Chapter sold butterfly pork chops and cider in their food stand during

Spoon

River Scenic Drive weekends in October. Ideal weather brought thousands to see theareas

made

famousin

Spoon

River Anthologyby Edgar Lee Masters.

Iowa

FFA

Chaptershave been providing grandstand ushersfor32 consecutiveyears at statefair.This year 56 chapters helped.

N-N-N

Dave

Wilson tookfourthplaceinadistrict crops judging contest representing Herniis- ton,

OR,

Chapter.

He

judged alfalfa hay, apples,potatoes,wheatandidentifiedweeds.

N-N-N

Rhode

Island

FFA

Chapter at tVest Bay Vocational TechnicalSchoolbuilta86-foot longfootbridgeinawoodlandarea

owned

by the

Audubon

Society.

Wauseon,

OH,

put on a parHamentary procedure demonstration for all student organizationleadersintheirschool.Afterthe demonstration, the officers broke up into separateofficesanddiscussedspecificjobs.

N-N-N

A

horticulture project for

members

in District 214

FFA

in IL, isto raiseenough poinsettias so every

member

gets to take

home

oneplant forhis family.

N-N-N

More

chaptersshould share newsof their goodchapteractivity items.Although

many

reporters send us news, ^it is often thesame thingeverybodyelseisdoing.Thereissurely oneoriginalideabeing used inyourchapter.

Shareitin"Scoop."

N-N-N

Many

Greenhand initiationsand Chapter Farmer degree ceremonies have been re- ported. Selah,

WA,

has a potluck supper, raises Chapter Farmer, hasadistrictofficer to speak. Lamar,

CO,

served achili supper fora similar program. Wallowa,

OR,

holds thesessionintheshopwith parentson hand tohearabout

FFA

^budget,curriculum,

com-

mittees and plannedactivities,according to

Duane

Olson.GreenhandsatStaunton,

VA,

wore biboveralls, straw hats, twodifferent shoes and the usual "green" hants. Black River,

OH,

hadaninitiationweekinOctober with Greenhands wearing green shirts on

Monday,

adressandbarn shoesonTuesday, informal events likeeggtoss orpennyraces on Wednesday,farm-choreclothesonThurs- day.Formal ceremony washeldattheendof the week. Jeff

Duncan

describes the Paris, TX, Greenhandinitiationas astew supperfor

members

and theirparents. Southeast,

OH,

Greenhands (with the traditional "green"

painted hands) alsocarried bucketsaround to provide trash pick-up service for their school. Mexia. TX, has an annual parent-

member

night with hand painting cere- monies, then refreshments.

The \ational

FUTURE FARMER

Buffalo

(Continued

from

^Page38) a wildanimal bynature," shesays.

"With

cattle

you

have to calve your first-year heifers out."

"The

bulls don't have as

much

trouble with feed-related problems,

compared

to cattle,

and

buffalo

seem

togetalongbetter

on

lessgrass," observes Mr.

Houck,

then adding, "I think they're probably

com-

parableto cattle infeed grainefficiency."

The

ranch produces about 900 head annually, but the

number

varies withthe season, says Mr.

Houck. Although many

of the

management

practices

on

thisranch are similartothat of acattleranch, there are

some

obvious differences.

"Buffalo don't respect horses

and

they can outrun

and outmaneuver

them,"says Lura, "so

we

usepickuptrucks forround- up."

Once

theanimalsarebroughtintothe corrals, workers

must

be careful to stay clearof the

mammoth-like

beasts.

"When

theygetintoconfinement,theygetscared

and want

out,"

Lura

says emphatically.

One

quickly begins to understand the reason for thehugerailroad-tie fences

on

the ranch'sstockyardgates.

"We

stillhave

some

bulls

who want

to

jump

those fences," sheadds, grinning.

Perhapsone of the

most

uniqueaspects ofStandingButte

Ranch

isthe"in-house"

slaughteringplant.

As

Luraexplainsit,the livestock arebutcheredright

on

theranch.

After the animals are shot

and

brought intotheslaughterhouse, the carcasses are raised

and

skinnedwhile the hidegoesinto the "hide house" to be salted. After the breastboneissplit

and

offal(the entrailsof a butchered animal) removed, the entire carcassissplitin half.

The

halves arethen washed,

hung on

arail,weighed

and

placed in a cooler, ready to be shipped

and

marketed.

But exactly

how

well

do

buffalo pro- ductssell?

"There's a growing market for buffalo meat,"says Mr.

Houck, and

Luraagrees, adding:

"The meat

goesout

on

semi-loads inquarters

and

bothspecialcutsaswellas quarters are air-freighted all over the nation."

Meat

is not the only marketable item gleaned

from

buffalo.

The

saltedhidesare sentouttotanneries

where

they areturned

"It'scalled Biological Control...Ipick'em off

and stomp on

'em.

February-March, I9S2

intoleatherforfurniture coverings, boots, gloves, rugs

and

a host ofother products.

Lura'sfamily living

room

iscomfortably decorated withbuffalo leatherchairs,rugs

and

sofas, a true-to-life testimony of the ranch's livelihood.

A mounted

buffalo head hangs

on

the wallas well.

Oh, yes, there'sone

more

item.

A good

buffalo skull

—

^{just thebone,}

^{mind you}

—

will

go

forbetween $25

and

$50, says Lura.

"A

lotofpeoplejust

want them

to

hang on

their fence, mostly for decoration," she says.

Lura'sbusy daysalsoincludetaking care of the ranch's stock of horses.

Although

they can't be used for buffalo roundup, horses arestill

mandatory

for a ranchthis size. "I've

grown up on

horses," shesays.

"I'vebeenriding

them

sinceI

was two

years old."

Looking

towardthe future,Lura'splans revolve

around

livingona ranch, butwith one exceptiontoher currentarrangement:

she'sengaged toacattlerancher. But even thoughher

home

will

no

longer be"where the buffalo roam,"she'llstill belivingthe

lifeshe loves

—

ranching. Francis

Murphy,

her

FFA

advisor

from

the Pierre-Oahe Chapter, probably says it best

when

de- scribing the sprightly, hard-working FFA'er.

"When

ajob needs to be done, Lura does it,"hesays,then adds, "you've got the 'do-ers'

and

the 'non-doers'inany department

and

the'do-ers'carry the load

and

getthejob done.Lura'soneof the'do- ers.'"

Cattle Showing

(Continued

from Page

30)

remembers who

is

on

displayatthecattle show.

"The

steerissupposedtobe

on

display,"

Brannen

says.

"A good showman

isn't noticed.Butthepoor

showman — ^we

^callit

over-showing

—

^istheonethat'soutthere

showing

off with fancy clothes or a ridiculous outfitjust to attract attention.

He'salways backinghisanimaloutinfront of thejudge

and

won'tstayinUne

where

he belongs.

"The

guy that

you

hardly notice is

usually theone who'spresentinghisanimal the best

and

ends

up

placing thehighest, too.

Of

course,a

good showman

willstudy his animal,

know

its

weak and

strong points

and

tryto getthejudgetonotice the strongones

and

forgetthe

weak

ones."

Grooming

techniques have changed overtheyears, too. "Idon't

know

if it'sfor the better or worse, though,"

Brannen

says.

"They

turn outtobe

more work

all thetime."

Many

of the clipping

and grooming

pointers

Brannen

includes in his schools are contained in a pamphlet he put together

some

years ago

and

has been updatingperiodically.

He

givesonetoeach studentat hisschools buthesaysinterested peoplecanalsogetone

from

aKent Feeds dealer, too.

Included in the pamphlet isadvice

on

clipping, grooming, finishing

and

other facets of raising successful

show

cattle.

Here are

some

examples ofadvicein the pamphlet:

Clipping:

The

calves

make

a better appearance if their heads are clipped in frontof alinerunning

from

the

jaw

lineto directly back of theear.

Do

not chp hair

from

theears.

The

tailshouldbe

chpped from

thetwist tothetail headwhich should be gradually tapered off so ^it appears to blend nicely with the

rump.

Clipping

and grooming: two

of the

most important aspects

in preparing cattle for

show.

Grooining:

The

use of a bloweris very

good

for cleaning out dust

and

dirt but does not take the place of a brush for conditioning the hair

and

the hide.

Most

of today's

showmen

preferthecoat tohavea natural look.Trainingthehair to stand

up

willprobablyrequire theuse ofa liner or curry

comb

to start the hair standing

up and

out.This

may

take

many

days ofhard

work

and patience.

The

calf should bewet,usingeitherplainwaterora

weak

milk dip solution.

The

hairshould thenbelinedor

marked and

brushed

up

until dry. After the hair starts to stay

up you

should be able to brush and

comb

the hair

up

without a curry

comb.

This will provide a

more

natural look without the liner

marks

showing.

Brannen

starts setting

up

his schools

around

thefirstof

March and

hefills

up

his time

on

a first come, first served, basis.

Brannen

says it's fairly easyto get

on

his schedule if

you

Hve in the

Midwest and anyone

can receive his informational pamphlet bywritinghim.

A group

wanting afitting

and grooming

schoolcancalltheir area Kent dealer, contact Kent's Junior Feeder Department, Kent Feeds, Inc., 1600

Oregon

Street, Muscatine,

lA

52761, or write directly to Russ Brannen,

Route

#3, Muscatine,

lA

52761.

S/NE/MW

41

Pardon ^Me, Your FFA Image

Is Showing

Here are some ^guidelines

^to

^help make

this year's

chapter banquet a

big

success.

By Richard L ^Crawford

MOST ^FFA

^{chapters havea banquet}

orother type of recognition

program

eachyear.Thiscan bethehighUghtof the

FFA

year or ^it can be a disaster.

The

chapter banquet is often the picture win-

dow

of the

FFA,

wherethe publicgetsa

good

look at

what

the

FFA

is doing. In

many

chapters this

may

be theonly time

when

a large

number

ofpeople

from

the

community

haveachanceto seethe

FFA

in action.

What

the publicseesthroughthis

window

^{formstheimpressionwhichit}has ofthe

FFA.

Itisvitalthat

what

thepublic seesis what

we

really

want them

tosee.

Good

banquets are

no

accident.

They must

be wellplannedifthey aretobehigh quality.

One

of the first questions

FFA

members

must answer ⁱⁿ planning their banquet is

"What

^are

we

tryingto

accom-

plishwithour banquet?" Thereare prob- ably four

main

objectives ofany chapter banquet:

1) to recognize the contributions

and

achievements ofchapter

members

during the past year;

2) to allow every student to

become

involved in the learning process which accompanies planning

and

conducting a banquet;

3) to recognize the contributions of parents and other

members

of the

com-

munity for their support of the chapter;

and

4) to be one of the centralactivities in the chapter's publicrelations program.

There are

many

other goals

and

objec- tivesa localchaptermighthave

and

which certainlyshould beaddedtotheabovelist.

The

pointisthat thereneedstobegenuine objectives forholdingabanquetotherthan simplybecause "we always had one inthe past."Thesegoalsandobjectivesshouldbe formulated

among

the

members

and ad- visorsofthe chapter.

The

banquet can be one of the best opportunitiesto getallof the

members

of the chapter involved. Every

member

should have a responsibility in planning and/or conducting the banquet.

Maybe

42

Joe

Greenhand

isn'tquitereadytohavea speaking part at the banquet,but hejust mightbe theperfectpersontohead

up

the decorations committee.

Each member

of the chapter will get excited about the banquet

when

he or she has a specific responsibility.

The

banquet,tobe

most

effective,

must

be well planned.

A

detailed timetable should be constructed well in advance (three

months

or more) of the banquet.

The

timetable should outline precisely

when

the various activities involved in planning the banquet should be

com-

pleted.

Once

the timetable is completed, each person shouldtrytomeetor beat the deadlinefor their part.

Committees

toplan the various parts of the banquet can be assigned in several different ways.

Some

chapters choose to appoint

new

committeesjustforplanning the banquet. Other chapters assign the duties of planning the banquet to the standing committees.

The method

of se- lectingcommitteesisnot important.

What

isimportantisthatallpartsofplanningthe banquetbe covered bysomeone.

The

following is a suggested list of committee areas of responsibility which are needed to effectivelyplana banquet:

1)

Menu and Food

2)

Cooking and

Serving 3)

Program

4) Invitations

and

Guests 5) Publicity

6) Decorations

7)

Welcoming

8)

Awards

9) Physical

Arrangements

10) Entertainment

11) Clean-up

A

chapter does not necessarily need to have 11 differentbanquet committees,but

all these areas should be covered by the planning committees.

Committees

need to begin their

work

early.

A good

place to start is with the report

from

last year's banquet ifone is

available.

Committee members

need to formulate just

how

to accomplish their part of thebanquet

and

begin working.

The

role of the advisor during the planningof thebanquetis

much

the

same

as the role of the director of a^play.

The

advisor should give advice

when

needed

and

^{assist the committees in} thinking of each

and

every^detail.

The

advisorshould not be the "leading actor"ⁱⁿthebanquet.

The

banquet belongstothe

members and

the

members

are theones

who

shouldplan

and

execute the banquet.

Afterall responsibilitieshave beendele- gated

and

alldetailsplanned,thenext step

isto practice.

As

ina

broadway

play,the secret to a smooth-running banquet is practice. Everything

from

giving thewel-

come

to closing the banquet

must

be rehearsed several times.

The

impressive- ness of the banquet is usually directly proportional to the

amount

of practice.

When

speaking partsand thelogisticsof the banquet have been well rehearsed,

members

canbe confident they

know what

they are doing

and

the advisorcan relax

and

enjoy thebanquet.

Whenever

officialceremoniesareto be used, they should be memorized.

The

honorary degree ceremony,installationof officers

ceremony and

opening

and

closing

ceremony

are

most

^often used at the banquet.

Each

officershould learn his or her part

and

practiceitas

many

times as neededtopresent itimpressively.

No

^{banquet is complete until theban-}

quet committee chairmen, officers

and

advisor sit

down and

evaluate

what happened

atthebanquet. This evaluation should take place the

day

after the ban- quet, while the ideas about theaffairare

still fresh.

The

result of this evaluation should be a

permanent

^file, including written reports

and

suggestions

from

each of thebanquet committee chairmen along withoverall

comments

aboutthebanquet.

Thisfileshouldbe kept so that nextyear's planningcommittees won't

make

the

same

mistakesas this year's.

A good

banquet helpstocreatea

good window

for the publictoviewthe

FFA.

It

also providesa greatexperienceforallthe

members

of the chapter.

RichardL.Crawfordisvo-ag instructoraiWest Union High Schoolin WesI Union. Ohio. Hegraduatedin 1971from ^U'estUnion High wherehe.<:ervedas chapter presidentfor twoyears.Heserved asOhio Southwest SectionalHcePresidentfor oneyearandreceived the .American Farmer degree. Hegraduatedfrom Ohio Stale Universitywithacoinhined BS-MSdegreein .Agricultural Education in 1975. He developed a module entitled "How to Plan and Conduct an Effective FF.4 Banquet." and also authored the booklet "Effective Banquets." availablethroughthe Ohio Curriculum MaterialsService.

The Sational

FVTVRE FARMER