Elmwood FFA: leaders in Ohio

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The Elmwood FFA has recently been busy engaged in various career development events.
Each of six different teams have placed in the top 10 in Ohio.
In addition to the teams, Mason Benschoter and Alexis Miller each earned individual top rankings in their
contests. The chapter’s cooperatives team and Greenhand teams each took championship honors in the
state.
The grain merchandising and farm business management teams each ranked second in the state.
With a second part of the competition yet to come, the Ag. Technology & Mechanical Systems
(formerly Ag. Engineering) team is in second place. The meats team placed eighth in Ohio.
Cooperatives: The chapter’s cooperatives team ranked first out of 39 teams. During this contest members
completed a 75-question test on their knowledge of cooperatives as a business form. Ashley Veryser
ranked second out of 361 contestants. She was followed by fellow team members Megan Hathaway in fifth,
and Alexis Miller in 11th; Samantha Laborie, 12th and Jack Hagemeyer 13th. Addition team competitors
ranking in the top 50 were Veronica Walter, Andrew Nye and Katie Peters.
Greenhand: The chapter’s Greenhand team took top honors in the state contest as they ranked first among
119 teams. The team also boasted the top four individuals and five of the top 10.
During this event contestants answered 75 questions on their knowledge of the FFA. Mason Benschoter fared
the best by ranking first of 1,692 individuals. Right behind in second place was Parker Kennedy,
followed by Justin McKenzie in third, and Jacob Wilhelm in fourth. Colleen Kreias ranked eighth, Adam
Lewallen, 14th and McKenzie Mercer in 20th were also among the team leaders.
Business management: The farm business management team ranked second of 67 teams. This event required
contestants to answer 90 questions on various aspects of agricultural economics. Contestants also solved
problems related to finance, and marketing.
Leading the way for Elmwood was Samantha Laborie who ranked eighth of a possible 512 individuals. She was
followed by Ashley Veryser in 11th, Jack Hagemeyer, 12th, Alexis Miller, 13th, and Dylan Benschoter,
16th. Other team members ranking in the top 40 were Megan Hathaway, Meagan Wise, Paige Drees, Gage
Kennedy and Taylor Barndt.
Grain merchandising:The grain merchandising event found 32 teams competing to see who possessed the
greatest knowledge of grain marketing. The team ranked second. Contestants completed a test that
consisted of 100 questions. These questions addressed topics such as marketing news, grain marketing
strategies, marketing alternatives, and mathematical computations related to grain merchandising. 
Alexis Miller was the individual champion out of 224 contestants. Right behind was Samantha Laborie in
second. She was followed by Brett Jones in 12th and Taylor Barndt in 33rd.  Other team members included
Nick Stearns, Paige Drees and Emily Schmitz.
Technology: Still another of the chapter’s teams to experience success was the Ag. Technology and
Mechanical Systems (formerly Ag. Engineering) team.
They are temporarily in second place out of 41 teams. They completed a 100 question written test on areas
such as hydraulics, chemical storage, electrical wiring, and safety in the preliminary round. In the
finals portion of the event, they will perform various skills related to the previous categories
including arc welding, electrical wiring, sprayer calibration, and environmental management. Competing
for Elmwood will be Noah Fouty, Dylan Benschoter, Samantha Laborie, and Andrew Housholder. In the
preliminary portion of the contest, Fouty was second among 314 individuals. Benschoter is fifth, with
Laborie in sixth and Housholder in ninth. Other preliminary finishers in the top 20 were Alexis Miller,
11th, Noah Smith, 14th and Luke Hagemeyer, 17th.
Meats: The meats team ranked eighth out of 19 teams in the state.  Meats contestants identify retail cuts
of meat, rank classes of primal cuts, rank carcasses, and complete a written test on the meat industry. 
Leading the way for Elmwood was Jack Hagemeyer who ranked 25th out of 80 contestants. He was joined on
the team by Noah Fouty, Anthony Borders and Dylan Benschoter, all of whom were among the top half of the
field.

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