Written By Amy Grantz. On Tuesday, May 12 , seven FFA members planted our FFA Learning Lab with soybeans for the year. This year, they will be altering the population on different varieties of soybeans to see how that affects plant growth, pod size and overall yield. A huge thanks to Ryan Krukow for planting this year. Another thank you to Jason Spain of SpainAg Services and Jim LaFrenz of Pioneer for all of their education and assistance with planting our 17 acre field. Coy

Written By Cooper Barber. On Friday, May 8th, 4 FFA members participated in the Dairy Cattle Evaluation CDE. They traveled to NICC in Calmer Iowa. The team started the morning off by evaluating 6 live classes of dairy cattle and then gave a set of oral reasons. Followed by the written portion of the competition where they had to answer various dairy production management questions. The team of Kamryn Keester, Ethan Hoeft, Kalli Barber, and Cooper Barber received 5th overall t

Written By Carlee Garrity. The Central DeWitt FFA chapter spent the day out in Cedar Rapids on May 12th, learning about what Kirkwood Community College has to offer in agricultural-related fields. The students were first split into groups, then toured the horticulture building, vet tech building, and Washington building. Groups explored fields such as diesel mechanics, veterinary, aquaponics, turf management, horticulture, natural resources, and more. It was a great experienc

Written By Lucas Burken. Our member of the month for May is Owen Garrity! Owen has been an involved member all year. He spent a lot of time practicing for Conduct of Meetings, where Owen and his team received a silver. He also attended the middle school conference at state convention this year. And to top it all off, Owen is your 2026-2027 Chapter Reporter! Congratulations Owen!

Written By Taylor Houser. Central Dewitt FFA hosted approximately 46 children and their families at Lake Killdeer on May 2nd for our very first lil’ angler’s fishing derby. Kids aged 0-15 competed to catch fish and win prizes in the areas of most fish, largest fish, smallest fish, and first fish. In addition to the fishing fun, families also enjoyed minnow racing, a casting contest, face painting and a free lunch donated by our FFA boosters. After the event, all kids were giv

Written By Avery Mommsen. On May 6th, the FFA chapter visited a plethora of local businesses and establishments to complete service projects. A few examples included mulching at the DeWitt Historic Society, washing chairs and tables at the fairgrounds, and many more! Afterwards, the chapter met at Lincoln Park to mulch and take care of overgrown landscaping. Then, everyone met at Mezcal to enjoy the fruits of our labor, with lunch fully covered by the FFA chapter. Lastly, we

Written By Emily Sutton. For the final meeting of the year, the retiring officer team planned a scavenger hunt game for our members called Goose Chase. Members completed challenges like running a relay race on the track, finding the asparagus plot and posing with a piece of asparagus in their mouth, or finding a hidden officer and taking a picture with them. For dinner, former Sentinel Lucas Burken grilled hot dogs and brats for after the meeting and the Goose Chase. Thank yo

Written By Adam Wilke. The end of the school year is drawing near, but ag classes are still hard at work. The Ag Leadership class has been busy preparing for the final FFA chapter events. They helped run the Lil’ Anglers Fishing Derby and planned the May chapter meeting. They and the new officer team will be preparing for the club fair on May 19th to cap off the year. The floral design class recently created one sided asymmetrical flower arrangements for mothers day. Flowers

Written By Gavin Walker. FFA members Avery Heilig, Adi Schroeder, Sam Hootman, Will Vickers at Central DeWitt are excited to kick off another asparagus sale season! Fresh asparagus is available at the local farmers markets on Thursdays. Members have been working hard to take care and pick produce from our Asparagus plots at the school. Be sure to stop by the farmers market to support our FFA members, and enjoy some fresh local asparagus this spring!

Written By Lucas Burken. Floral Design: Students in Floral Design are just beginning to work with real flowers. They create bouquets, mug arrangements, and bud vases. The students also created centerpieces and two large potted arrangements for the FFA banquet. Agriculture Business: The class is working on learning about assets in a business and how to maintain a healthy business environment in the short term and in the long run. Horticulture: Students just finished preparing

Written By Adam Wilke. On Saturday, April 25th, over 100 members, parents, and guests congregated into the high school auditorium to see the Central DeWitt FFA chapter’s members be recognized for their hard work throughout the year. Chapter officers kicked off the awards by highlighting ways the chapter has demonstrated growth throughout the previous year. Following this was the degree ceremony, a perfect example of members who have grown throughout the year. Degrees recogniz

Written By Gavin Walker. The grand opening for the FFA Boosters plant sale is this week. We will be selling Hanging Baskets, Annuals, geraniums, veggies, succulents, etc. Location for this will be at the FFA Greenhouse behind the football bleachers. Times that you are able to buy plants: May 5th, 3:00- 5:00 PM May 9th, 9:00-11:00 AM May 11th, 3:00-5:00 PM

Written By Cooper Barber. On April 8th, five Central Dewitt FFA members attended the 15th annual Iowa Youth Institute (IYI) hosted by Iowa State University. Audrina Gordon, Kaite Grantz, Kalli Barber, Ethan Hoeft, and Cooper Barber all presented research papers on an agricultural issue affecting various countries around the world. The students also listened to talks given by former Governor and current CEO of the World Food Prize, Thomas Vilsack, and new Iowa State University

Written By Avery Mommsen. April's member of the month is Austin Nolin. Austin is an eighth-grade FFA member who's dove right into our program this year! Austin displayed terrific leadership skills and participation recently in FFA. He attended sub-districts and districts where he took the Discovery test and has advanced to take it at the state convention! Austin was also chosen to attend the middle school conference coming up! Austin's display of FFA knowledge and commitment

Written By Emily Sutton. This year prom was held at Tycoga Winery, where members Emily Sutton, Carlee Garrity, and Dalani Beuthien are pictured outside on this exceptionally chilly day while the dance was getting set up after the dinner, hosted by Cornerstop from Preston IA. Former President Emily Sutton was on prom court, prom king and queen were Kerrigan Jefford and Noah Ericksen. After Prom is hosted from 11 PM to 3 AM where many prizes were awarded including for the 14th

Written By Carlee Garrity. After a long season of contests, our members' hard work finally paid off. On Sunday, April 19th, the Central DeWitt FFA chapter left for Ames, ready to compete. That night, the group also took time to give to those in need and packaged meal packets at Iowa State University. The next day, Adam Wilke (competed in ag broadcasting), Taylor Houser (competed in prepared public speaking), Carlee Garrity (competed in chapter website), and Kamryn Keester (co

Written By Taylor Houser. On April 13th, FFA members attended the monthly meeting of the Central DeWitt FFA Chapter. Before the meeting, interviews were conducted in order to choose next year’s officer team! Once the meeting kicked off, members enjoyed a build-your-own sandwich bar and participated in a fun game of Mat Ball! The business meeting took place promptly at 7 PM, where members learned about upcoming volunteer opportunities, such as the fishing derby and setting up

Written By Avery Mommsen Mrs. Grantz's floral design class has been staying busy this March! Their most recent class materials are about the 8 principles of floral design. They've been working on slideshows to demonstrate their understanding of the topic. After spring break, they plan to start working with actual flowers to design beautiful arrangements this spring! A part of this class is FFA Vice President Emily Sutton. She gave her opinion on the class, “Floral design is j

Written By Lucas Burken. The DeWitt Central FFA chapter held its monthly meeting on Monday, March 9th. The evening began at 6:00 PM in the auxiliary gym, where members participated in archery tag, brought in by the Army National Guard. Before Archery tag started, the National Guard recruiter spoke to students about the benefits of joining and the opportunities the National Guard offers. Students had the chance to compete in friendly matches and enjoy the activity together. At

Written By Taylor Houser. Our March Member of the Month is Freshman Ruth Whitman! Ruth has been very active in FFA for being a first year member. She competed in the Creed Speaking LDE, where she received a bronze rating. She was one of 3 freshman members to compete in a contest this year. Ruth also served as a delegate at District Convention, where she voted for the FFA members who will represent the Southeast District on the 2026-2027 District Officer Team! She attended Nat

Written By Amy Grantz. On Saturday, March 14th, the FFA Boosters held their annual Farm Toy Show at the Clinton County Fairgrounds from 9am-2pm. Booster members showed up the night before with a handful of FFA students to get everything set up. The toy show drew in a large steady crowd all day long. Boosters had concessions on site as well as a handful of donated items for their raffle drawings. Each year farm toy vendors come from all over the county and surrounding counties

Written By Carlee Garrity. As spring approaches, the Horticulture class is busy planting flowers and vegetables to sell later next month at the FFA’s Annual Plant Sale, opening in April. Six kids in the Horticulture class plant every day, and the Floral Design class helps when needed. Most of the flower orders have come in, so the class hit the ground running to plant! Some flowers include Supertenuias, Calderas, Marigolds, and more. While a few examples of vegetables planted

Written By Gavin Walker. Caden and Avery have earned State Proficiency Awards, it shows their hard work, dedication, and excellence in what they do. Caden Bernauer has achieved 1st gold in Agricultural Education, and Avery Heilig achieved 3rd Gold in Vegetable Production at the state level. Their achievement shows their countless hours of effort and strong commitment that they have had. We’re incredibly proud of them and excited to see what they accomplish next. They definite

Written By Emily Sutton. Any FFA members who are looking to pursue an entrepreneurship SAE or otherwise have anything they would like to sell should take advantage of this opportunity this summer. The FFA will pay for a Farmers Market booth, which would give access to a space at every farmer’s market this summer. Farmer’s markets are on Thursday afternoons, and any FFA member who wants a booth must be committed to being there for most, if not all, of the markets. Please talk

Written By Adam Wilke. On a brisk Saturday morning at Cedar Rapids Prairie High School, the Central DeWitt FFA chapter brought six members to compete in contests and serve as delegates at the Southeast District Convention. Four members started the morning off by competing in contests: senior Taylor Houser competed in prepared public speaking, junior Carlee Garrity in chapter website, senior Adam Wilke in ag broadcasting, and senior Kamryn Keester in ag sales. The 2 other memb

Written By Avery Mommsen. During the booster meeting on February 16th, the Central DeWitt FFA boosters came together to discuss some of the most important updates and activities that are to come. They discussed and reviewed ideas for future events, such as running concession stands at the regional basketball games to help raise money for the chapter. They also reviewed the current account balance, showing how the money they raised has been used to support activities, travel,

Written By Taylor Houser. Thirteen Central DeWitt FFA members traveled to Muscatine High School on Monday, February 16th to compete at the Sub-District Convention. Students participated in the Leadership Development Events of Prepared Public Speaking, Ag Broadcasting, Ag Sales, FFA Knowledge Tests, Job Interview, Creed Speaking, Conduct of Meetings, and Chapter Website. Freshman Ruth Whitman, who competed for the very first time, said “I will never forget the experience, even

Written By Taylor Houser. On Friday, February 27th, middle and high school students were invited to wear blue to show their support for the Central DeWitt FFA Chapter! Ag Leadership hosted an assembly for the middle school, where they put on an educational skit and played fun and engaging games for prizes! Towards the end, the students were asked to sit down on the bleachers. Secretary Carlee Garrity listed off different categories of agriculture, and asked the students to st

Written By Adam Wilke. On Thursday, February 19th, FFA members Taylor Houser, Kamryn Keester, and Adam Wilke joined Mrs. Grantz and FCCLA members as they went to the capitol for CTE (Career Technical Education) Day on the Hill. At the capitol, they had the opportunity to be introduced by Senator Mike Zimmer during a senate session. Following this, they were able to meet with Representative Tom Determann and learn more about his time serving in the state legislature. FFA and F

Written By Emily Sutton. Tuesday of National FFA week started with a full breakfast bar for all high school staff in the teacher’s lounge to show our appreciation, along with a letter for each of them signed by the Ag Leadership class thanking them for their commitment to our education. The social media challenge for the day was guess the throwback picture of teachers in their official dress. Congratulations to the winner who was gifted a $20 Smilee’s gift card! To show our a

Written By Gavin Walker. National FFA Week has been really fun and a great way to celebrate everything FFA stands for. On Thursday morning, we had a breakfast for members that included breakfast pizza, donuts, and drinks. The breakfast was donated to us that morning by Megan Fuglsang of Farm Bureau. It was a good way to start the day and hang out with everyone before classes started. Later that night, we had a share night at Culver's in Clinton. Most of the FFA members showed

Written By Cooper Barber. The Central DeWitt FFA chapter held its monthly meeting on Monday, February 9th, at 6:00 PM. The event kicked off with guest speakers: Dr. Michelle Hohrman and Carson Deppe. Dr. Hohrman was a 2022 University of Illinois graduate and gave us the scoop on her life as a vet. Carson Deppe shared his experience working as a Real Estate Associate and also discussed his work at Martin, Goodrich & Waddell in ag real estate. Members snacked on various charcut

Written By Lucas Burken. FFA Officers and Ag Leadership class organized “Memory Monday” on Monday, February 23, featuring a social media challenge and school-wide activities. The event included posting photos of teachers who were previously involved in FFA and having students guess who they are, locker signs, and free energy drinks in the morning. The purpose of Memory Monday was to celebrate FFA history, recognize staff who were part of this awesome organization, and increas

Written By Carlee Garrity. In the midst of FFA week, the Agricultural Leadership class had something big planned for Wednesday, February 25th. To start the morning off right, the students set up a coffee bar and donuts in the teachers' lounge at Ekstrand to show our appreciation to them. Then, the students dressed up as various farm animals, a fair princess, a farmer, and an FFA member in official dress and read to kindergarten to third-grade students. The books taught the ki

Written By Carlee Garrity. FFA week is quickly approaching (Feburary 22-28), and our chapter has a fun packed week planned for members and the community!! Each day of the week will be titled something special because we will have social media challenges throughout the week related to the title. Stay tuned to find out what the challenges may be. Members - keep and eye out on https://www.instagram.com/dewitt_ffa/?hl=en for challenges posted daily, one member will receive a pri

Written By Caden Bernauer. On January 5th-11th, a group of DeWitt Central FFA Members earned the opportunity to travel and compete in the National Western Stock Show in Denver Colorado. The group included Senior Caden Bernauer, Senior Kyle Deppe, Senior Ty Henningsen, and Sophomore Audrina Gordon. They were coached and chaperoned by Douglas and Kim Deppe, and they received this opportunity from placing second at the FFA State Livestock Judging Contest. Following this on Tuesd

Written By Macy Poll. A lot has been going on in the eighth-grade class. They just finished their ag technology. These eighth graders created their own Ag technology innovation. Now these eight graders are working on international food truck projects. This is where they get to pick a country and research that country, and then make a menu and food truck to represent that countrys food. These eighth graders have done a tremendous job in this class so far this year.

Written By Klaire Gruntorad. The January FFA Chapter meeting was held on Monday, January 12th. The night started off with some pickleball fun at 6 pm, which was followed by the meeting at 7 pm. The meeting was very successful, with pizza and drinks provided. Mrs. Grantz talked about some opportunities coming up, which you can find out more about in the email she sent out.

Written By Molly Burken. In the FFA Greenhouse, there’s a myriad of succulents that are cared for by some ag classes and FFA members. There are fully grown plants, as well as some less-matured plants that were propagated by the Plant Science and Horticulture classes. This was accomplished by taking portions of matured plants, putting them in soil, and watering them regularly. There are various types of succulents, and they will be available to purchase in the Spring.

Written By Gavin Walker. This January and December, Mrs. Grantz’s Ag Leadership class participated in a unique assignment in which each student was responsible for teaching an important life skill. The class experienced several outstanding lessons, including how to hang a tree stand, jump a car battery, and evaluate livestock. Through this project, students learned practical skills that can be applied to everyday life, making each lesson both engaging and highly valuable. Tho

Written By Adam Wilke. Our member of the month for January is freshman Ashton Leibold! Ashton has been super involved in our chapter since entering high school, participating in a multitude of different activities. He has signed up for many shifts at the booster concession stand, which has been a big help. During fruit sales, he played a big role in organizing the fruit in the shop, which saved lots of time. Ashton recently signed up to participate in the conduct of meetings

Written By Carlee Garrity. On Monday, January 19th, the DeWitt Central FFA Boosters held their monthly meeting in the ag room at 7 pm. The boosters discussed topics such as the FFA’s fishing derby coming up, concession rewards party, updating the Facebook page, a recap of the livestock judging team, putting money into a CD to fund materials to build a storage shed, scholarships, and more. The two biggest takeaways from the meeting were that they still need members to help out

Written By Coy Krukow. On Sunday, January 18, 2026, members of the Central DeWitt FFA attended the Clinton County Cattlemen’s Banquet. The evening began with a meal that brought together local cattle producers, supporters, and community members. Following the meal, the Clinton County Cattlemen’s Association presented awards recognizing outstanding contributions to the cattle industry, along with scholarships and Cattlemen’s royalty. The awards highlighted the dedication and h

Written By Avery Mommsen. Our November member of the month is Cooper Barber! Cooper is a sophomore, third-year FFA member, who continues to exemplify an outstanding dedication to our chapter. Cooper recently attended the Global Youth Institute (GYI) from October 21-23. At this conference, students, teachers, and community leaders from around the world gathered to share ideas and develop solutions for ending world hunger and poverty. In addition to his involvement with GYI, Co

Written By Coy Krukow. The Central DeWitt FFA Chapter held its monthly meeting on November 10th, where officers shared updates on finances, communication efforts, and recent chapter activities. Members heard recaps of IAT Leadership Conference participation, the National FFA Convention trip, and Greenhand Night, along with a report on the chapter test plot and its sponsorship from LiqiGrow. New business included planning for fruit sales pickup, voting to officially change the

Written By Caden Bernauer. Moving into our winter season, one additional opportunity available to our chapter member, especially upperclassmen are State Proficiencies and Degrees. Proficiencies - Iowa FFA Proficiency Awards recognize the real-world skills and growth students gain through their SAEs. With dozens of categories from livestock and mechanics to agribusiness, research, and communications there's a proficiency area for whatever your SAE is. These awards give members

Written By Emily Sutton. This year, our Central DeWitt chapter set a fundraising goal of $35,000 for fruit sales, our largest fundraiser of the year. Each student was given a personal goal of $500 to qualify for our rewards party. This year we are going Snow Tubing! This fundraiser helps cover the cost of conventions, contests, and tours, allowing our FFA members to participate at no cost. Although we didnt meet our goal, we came close to a total of around $29,648 in sales. W

Written By Kamryn Keester. Our members spent their Monday evening learning from FFA Coach Skylar Bator about applying for scholarships and doing so effectively. When Skylar was a senior, she dedicated countless hours into applying for scholarships. She was successful in doing so and received over 40. Through this hours, she learned many tips and tricks. On Monday, November 24th, she held a workshop to help FFA members be successful as well. She encouraged members to keep a ru

Written By Claire McGarry. There has been a new addition to the Ag room. In the Ag hallway and at the back of Mrs.Grantz' classroom, TVs have been installed. The classroom TV will feature upcoming FFA events, meetings, and other things happening in the chapter. The TV in the hallway will feature Hall of Fame members who will be inducted into our Central DeWitt Hall of Fame, as well as past FFA members and their successes. If you have anything you think should be featured on t

Written By Adam Wilke and Carlee Garrity. To help 9th grade members learn more about FFA and degrees, Greenhand Night was held on November 6th in the ag room. After eating dinner and connecting with each other, the officer team began with a presentation. They hit topics such as earning degrees, Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs), and involvement in FFA. Chapter officers gave personal example from their time in FFA to show how involvement and dedication made a big diff