Members of the Delaware Area Career Center’s agriculture programs at Big Walnut and Buckeye Valley high schools excelled in two state-level Career Development Events (CDEs) held during the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
The Food Science & Technology CDE is aligned to identified skills utilized in the food science industry and are validated and judged by professionals in the food industry. In this event, students complete a team product development activity, classify food quality and safety issues, audit production facilities, use sensory skills to identify unknown products, and complete a general knowledge examination. The state event was held Dec. 7 at The Ohio State University.
Big Walnut High School’s team claimed top honors in the contest and qualified to compete in the National Food Science & Technology CDE next fall at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team consists of Kaelyn Lortz, who took first individually; Caleb Durheim, who took eighth, Lily Asbridge, who took ninth; and Justin Hill, who took tenth;
Buckeye Valley High School’s team claimed second place overall and won a trip to the Eastern States Exposition in September. The team consists of Juliana Andres, who took third; Bryce Smith, who took 11th, Grant Skinner, who took 14th; and Skyelar Rock, who took 23rd; Additionally, Lortz and Andres will receive scholarships to The Ohio State University for their individual achievements.
The Agricultural Biotechnology CDE is designed to test a student’s basic knowledge of biotechnology as well as the student’s ability to apply this knowledge to practical situations. Each team participates in a timed problem solving scenario, and each individual participates in practicums involving laboratory skills, equipment identification, and reading technical documents, as well as complete a written exam. All elements of this event are aligned to skills utilized in the biotechnology industry and are validated and judged by industry professionals and college professors. The event was held Jan. 24 at Central State University in Wilberforce.
Buckeye Valley’s team of Andres (placed fifth individually), Smith (seventh), Rock (eighth), and Skinner (14th), placed first in the state in this event, becoming the first school to ever win the Agricultural Biotechnology CDE. Big Walnut’s team of Jillian Salmon (first), Sophie Marvin (ninth), Asbridge (10th), and Chris Dible (31st), placed second in the event.
To qualify for these events, students had to win qualifying events to advance. There were three rounds of preliminary qualification in the Food Science & Technology CDE and one round in the Agricultural Biotechnology CDE. Altogether, 1,384 students competed in the Food Science & Technology CDE and nearly 200 students competed in Agricultural Biotechnology.
These chapters are chapters of the National FFA Organization, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America. The chapters are two of 8,568 chapters and 700,170 members throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The program is open to students in agricultural science classes at Big Walnut and Buckeye Valley high schools and are funded through cooperation with the Delaware Area Career Center.
