Congratulations to the Nebraska Winners and Finalists!

82nd National FFA Convention
October 21-24, 2009
Indianapolis, IN

Nebraska FFA members and chapters excelled at the 2009 National FFA Convention.  See just how well we did by browsing the list of winners and finalists in areas of competition and involvement.

Models of Innovation • Agri-Entrepreneurship Award • Agricultural Proficiency Award Program Winners • Career Development Events (CDEs) • Honorary American FFA Degree • Agriscience Fair • American Degree Recipients • National FFA Chorus • National FFA Band


Models of Innovation
Models of Innovation recognizes chapters for their outstanding program of activities in chapter, community and student development.

National Finalists from Nebraska:

• Holdrege — Chapter Development Finalist, Jeff Moore, Advisor
• Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca — Chapter Development Finalist, Tim Arkfeld, Advisor
• Seward — Chapter Devleopment Finalist, Jack Broderick, Advisor

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Agri-Entrepreneurship Award
The purposes of this program are to encourage local visibility for agri-entrepreneurship education and to engage students, teachers, schools, parents and community leaders in dialogue about entrepreneurship education.

National Winner: Rachael Arkfeld—Lourdes Central Catholic High School, Nebraska City

Arkfeld figured out early on that if yo uwant to run a successful business, you have to develop a product that stands out from all the others.  She owns and operates Arbor Country Meats, a specialty sausage enterprise that produces and markets an apple-flavored bratwurst.  Her idea for the product stemmed from an increasing demand in her community for specialty products that represent the city's main claim to fame—apple orchards.

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Agricultural Proficiency Award Program Winners
Members who excel in their SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) Programs can be recognized through the Agricultural Proficiency Award Program. These awards encourage members to develop specialized skills that will apply toward a future career. Members are recognized at the local, state and national levels.

A student can select from two proficiency award categories. One is called “placement” for work or experience only SAE programs. The other, called “entrepreneurship,” is for programs that typically involve ownership of an agricultural production or agribusiness enterprise.

National Proficiency Award Finalists from Nebraska:

• Emily Ibach, Sumner-Eddyville-Miller—Agricultural Processing—Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Chip Bartos, Verdigre—Beef Production—Entrepreneurship
• Jeremy Brabec, Schuyler Central—Fiber and/or Oil Crop Production—Entrepreneurship/Placement
• Alicia Dather, Bloomfield—Food Science and Technology—Entrepreneurship/Placement

National Winner:

Fiber and/or Oil Crop Production – Entrepreneurship/Placement
Jeremy Brabec – Schuyler Central
Jeremy Brabec has always been involved in agriculture.  The Schuyler FFA member manages his own crop, rotating between corn and soybeans.  This has allowed him the opportunity to make his own decisions and learn about crop production.  He is supported by his parents, Mark and Sheila Brabec, as well as his FFA advisors, Tom Wheeldon and Ryan Schroeder.


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Career Development Events (CDEs)

Students can explore several areas from among the estimated 300 agriculture-related career opportunities. In order to succeed in the national event, students must work with peers, teachers, business leaders and community leaders to gain a complete and comprehensive picture of what it takes for a person to succeed in the related career area. Preparing for a CDE is preparing for the future.

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Honorary American FFA Degree
This is the highest honorary degree that can be presented to an individual by FFA.  In order to receive this award, an individual must have provided exceptional service to agriculture, agricultural education or the FFA. 

The Honorary American Degree was presented to: Jack Nemec, West Point, a 1966-67 Nebraska FFA State Officer and long-time supporter of the Nebraska FFA Association and Nebraska FFA Foundation.

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Agriscience Fair
The National AgriScience Fair provides the opportunity for members to apply scientific principles to an agricultural research/science project.

• Pat Arkfeld amd Rachael Arkfeld, Lourdes Central FFA, received second place in Biochemistry/Microbiology/Food Science. Tim Arkfeld is their FFA Advisor.
• Levi Ropers and Luke Pietzyk, Syracuses FFA, received second place in Botany. Tim Arkfeld is their FFA Advisor.