On Friday, August 31st, fifty members from the Dexter FFA Chapter attended the annual Delta Center Field Day held in Portageville, MO.
The Dexter members joined over 500 FFA members from all over Southeast Missouri to be a part of this annual event. The students heard six different presentations having to do with different agriculture careers and preparation for those careers.
The first presentation was from Keith Northbanks, who is a representative of the Helena Corporation. He showed a video about Helena and informed the students about the many jobs available. Helena employs over 4,100 individuals and requires a college degree for all their new hires.
The second presenter was Pat Holloway from the Missouri Conservation Department. She showed a video and shared a lot of facts concerning the conservation program in Southeast Missouri. She also informed the students about the alligator gar that the conservation department is trying to get reestablished in the wetlands of Southeast Missouri.
The third presentation was from Dr. Ray Nabors, who is a biologist and entomologist who worked at the Delta Center for twenty-five years. Dr. Nabors explained the differences in pesticides and the continuing need for the research and development of new pesticides.
Phil Gurley was the fourth presenter of the day. Phil is a precision agriculture specialist with the Crop Production Services. He talked about precision sampling and the grips, zones and zone sampling aspects of these procedures. The newer technology that is now available today makes precision agriculture possible.
David Reinbott, an extension agent for thirty years, spoke about the importance of education in today’s agricultural world. David encouraged all the students to, “Never stop learning.” He said learning is what will make is possible for them to keep up in today’s world.
The final speaker at the 2012 Delta Center Field Day was Melissa Daniel. Melissa is a representative from the Mizzou College of Agriculture. She gave all the students information on what is needed to prepare for college and how to make a good choice on which college to attend.
The students were provided lunch by the Delta Center.
FFA members from Dexter in attendance were: Aaron Sandlin, Dalton Rickel, Emily Peters, Haylee Arthur, Sarah Jones, Kaitlyn Eaton, Chelsey Massey, Kylie Scott, Erika McCoy, Savannah Hicks, Selana Flannigan, Shelby Edwards, Nathan Sadler, Derek Felker, Hunter Frampton, Autumn Lesley, Dustin Bates, JT Putnam, Brandan Mitchell, Michael Hurst, Chelsea Cox, Hannah Craft, Devin Aslin, Lindsey Parsons, Cody Pullum, Garrett Kyle, Trevor Link, Seth Mouser, Karlee Wright, Kyle Cook, Dakota Holt, Kristen Copeland, Zach Alsup, Hannah Ward, Tyler Heil, Storm Massey, Karlie Barnett, Alexis Tankersley, Nate Weathers, Jordan Lacy, Taylor Sage, Angela Reed, Colton Averett, Chance Jarrell, Jackson Hubbard, Brianna Madigan, Megan Murphy, Ben Dachs, and Christin Sitze.
