This past week, the Mid-Prairie High School Chapter of FFA has been celebrating National FFA Week. Next week they prepare for their district convention.

Chapter Reporter Junior Carmen Sieren says she joined FFA in part due to family tradition, “I’ve been a member of FFA since the beginning of my freshman year, my dad was in FFA when he was in high school and he pushed me to part of FFA and I’m also interested in agriculture and thought it would be a good fit for me.”

Sieren says her favorite things about FFA are opportunities to travel to different places and meet new people. She says she’d like to eventually take over the family farm near Keota which includes a small cow-calf operation where they grow corn and soybeans.

Student Advisor Sophomore Payton Peck says his father’s and grandfather’s farming operations influenced him towards joining FFA as a freshman, “I got involved because I’m interested in agriculture and it would be a good experience just getting out and trying new things. I’ve met a lot of new people and it’s pushed me to do things out of my comfort zone.”

Mid-Prairie will compete at the Southeast District Convention Saturday, March 6th. Agricultural Education Instructor and FFA Advisor Elsa Schmidt says the event will be conducted differently this year due to COVID-19 with each chapter assigned a time slot to make their presentation and then leave after the presentation is complete.