FFA will continue to State on April 23. after a successful result from the Area competition this past Saturday. Among the teams that placed were entomology, which came third, and Applied Engineering, which came in first place.

“Last year, we came third as well, but we didn’t have enough members to go on to State,” sophomore Lillian Nutt said. “Entomology isn’t exactly a super popular thing at school. But this year we had more members, so we get to move on, which is really exciting.”

Preparation for FFA contests is intense. Students participating in the entomology contests have to memorize 155 insects and be able to identify them on sight.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s still fun,” Nutt said. “Even though I qualified for State last year, I still had a lot of improving to do, and I kind of had to realize that it wouldn’t just be easy to qualify again. The competition is pretty tough.”

Contests like floral, which requires competitors to identify 200 types of plants, contain both a written and practical portion, adding an extra layer of challenge.

“I wasn’t originally going to do floral,” sophomore Ava Sweetland said. “When I was a freshman, I signed up to do vet classes, but they needed someone to compete in floral and I found out I really enjoyed it.”

Many contestants plan to take the skills they learn in FFA with them into their careers after high school.

“I’ve liked insects since I was really little,” Nutt said. “I have three pet tarantulas right now, and a lizard as well. I don’t know exactly what area I want to go into in college, but I know I’ll take an entomology class.”

After the difficulty of preparing for the competition for weeks, more challenges arose on the day.

“Remembering all the flowers was really hard,” Sweetland said. “We studied a ton, but on the day there were a lot of nerves.”

Overall, as State looms closer, the FFA team will have to continue to work hard to succeed.

“I’m really excited for State, no matter what happens,” Nutt said. “I’m just happy to be around other people who share my interests. I always learn something new talking to people that know about insects.”