Chapter Activity

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

Written By Molly Burken. The November Boosters meeting was held on November 17th in the ag room. The boosters discussed the concession stands, toy show, and Roots to Riches event. They made a list of what needed to be purchased for the for the concessions, as well as what new items they may offer at the stands. There was discussion of advertising methods for the Toy Show, as well as other logistics of the event, such as cost per table. Mrs.Grantz shared in her Advisor update

Written By Taylor Houser. Five of our FFA members traveled to the DMACC FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny, IA for the IAT Conference on November 8th. The Ignite, Amplify, and Transform conferences are intended to teach FFA Members valuable leadership skills they can apply to their future careers. The Ignite Conference for 8th and 9th grade members focuses on teamwork and collaboration, encouraging students to get out of their comfort zones and interact with people they may not

Written By Lucas Burken. Ten FFA members who attended the National Convention Board meeting on Monday, November 17th, talking about what they learned and experienced during the trip. They described the sessions and industry tours they too part in, all of which helped them grow their agricultural knowledge and career skills. This presentation was important because it gave the school board a clear look at how valuable the convention is in providing real-world learning opportuni

Written By Amy Grantz. Middle School: 8th grade middle school students have been such a joy this semester! They have been learning about the history of agriculture, FFA basics, livestock and poultry production, companion animals and are just wrapping up their dairy unit by making ice cream this week. They have completed many hands-on activities in the classroom! Animal Science: High school students in animal science have completed their beef unit and are just starting to wrap

Written By Caden Bernauer. On October 10th, we had 9 Central DeWitt Members attend the Kirkwood Livestock Judging Contest. There members judged 6 classes of cattle, swine, sheep, and goats, with a set of questions on cattle. One major highlight of the evening was Audrina Gordon being the champion individual out of almost 350 kids. A big thank you to the West Branch FFA and Chapter President Caden Bernauer for helping put on the contest and Kirkwood Community College for hosti

Written By Gavin Walker. Adam Wilke and Cole Nieman qualified for state cross country on Wednesday, October 22 and are number one in 3A and it happened in Williamsburg, IA. It is big for our school so that people know us and know we are capable of running at state. They were also able to run in the top 5 at the district race for cross country. Emily Sutton won Miss Clinton County Teen, it happened on October 18, 2025, at Camanche High School, this was good because it gives he

Written By Carson Tobey. The National FFA Organization allows their members to apply for SAE grants to support their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) Projects. Projects can be from raising livestock to starting your own small business. These grants support members with extra cash to kickstart their project. Members 7th-12th grade that are starting or expanding their SAE can apply from November 15th-December 15th on the National FFA website. Central DeWitt graduate Kai

Written By Molly Burken. The Gift of Blue is a National FFA Program that helps provide members with FFA Official Dress components. Normally, the FFA jackets are $60.00, and the official ties or scarves are around $13.00-$15.00. For some students, this cost may be a barrier to getting their own offical apparel. The goal of the Gift of Blue is to help students be able to receive their own jacket, even if they can't afford it themselves. To help some receive the Gift of Blue, yo

Written By Klaire Gruntorad. The FFA Boosters business meeting was on October 20th, with the discussion of upcoming events, such as the Greenhand Fireup on November 6th, the Tour Show on Saturday, March 14th at the Fairgrounds, and our chapter activity and Boosters meeting, and Roots to Riches on December 15th at the Fairgrounds. The chapter is taking the chance to make a change to the name of our chapter from DeWitt Central to Central DeWitt to match our schools title. The n

Written By Adam Wilke. Sophomore Cooper Barber had the opportunity to attend the Global Youth Institute (GYI) from October 21-23. GYI is a small part of the World Food Prize organization that brings together students, teachers and leaders from around the world to discuss solutions to hunger and poverty. To be invited to GYI, Cooper first had to write a research paper about food insecurity around the world and attend the Iowa Youth Institute. This is an opportunity available t

Written By Carlee Garrity. On October 29th, the Central DeWitt FFA chapter took 10 kids to Indianapolis, Indiana for National Convention. 70,000 total members all over the country came to attend this convention. Our chapter took multiple tours, such as the Louisville Slugger Bat Factory, the Kentucky Derby Museum, and Bradley's Orchard. At the convention, three members got the chance to be interviewed by Pete Simmons about events in our chapter. In session, we heard retiremen

Written By Dalani Beuthien. On Monday, October 13th, we held our monthly chapter meeting in the ag room. Our activity for the meeting was painting pumpkins! The pumpkins were donated by Sweely Farms. Members were able to express their creativity through their pumpkins and had tons of fun. After our activity, we enjoyed a delicious meal of ribeye steak sandwhiches, chips and cookies. This month we welcomed a special guest to our meeting. Mary is from Brazil and graciously dona

Written By Kamryn Keester. An all-girls team, including Avery Heilig, Dalani Beuthien, Emily Sutton, and Kamryn Keester, won the Southeast District Soils Judging contest. Last year, the team placed 8th at the district contest, and through many hours of preperation, they won the contest this year. Dalani took home the second-place individual banner, and Kamryn took home fourth. This qualified the team for the state contest. The team, along with the other qualifying teams from

Written By Lucas Burken. On October 9th, the Central DeWitt FFA helped River Valley with their Feed the Farmers event. This was an event sponsored by River Valley, and 15 of our members were asked to help run the event. The members assisted in the whole lunch, from cooking, packing orders, running orders, and taking orders. This was a free lunch for the farmers to help us show them how appreciative we are of them. The truckers were really appreciative of them, one even said:

Written By Macy Poll. Do you wonder what Fruit Sales are and why the chapter does them? Every year, the Central DeWitt FFA Chapter sells fruit. This is where all members sell fruit from October 1st to November 3rd. This is important because it helps us raise money to support our chapter. This money will then fo to our chapter for upcoming events. Fruit will be delivered in the beginning of December.

Written By Coy Krukow. The Central DeWitt FFA Chapter wrapped up its annual test plot harvest on October 16,2025. This years test plot compared different tillage methods to see how they affect the corn yield. With this data, members and local agronomists, Jim LaFrenz and Jason Spain, have analyzed yields to identify which vertical tillage is the best option for our test plot. "The test plot gives our members real-world experience and shows how small changes can impact product

Written By Emily Sutton Our October Member of the Month is Dalani Beauthien! Dalani has excelled in soil judging and has become one of our chapters most active members. Here's what Dalani has to say about her favorite part of FFA: "My favorite part of FFA is going to contests and conventions, getting to meet new people, and being able to see those people at different events." This really describes Dalani as a person, making connections and taking advantage of everything FFA h

Written By Claire McGarry. There are three Next Gen Conferences available to FFA members, each focused on a different AFNR career pathway. Power, Structure, and Technical Systems will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina on March 3-7 2026, Agribusiness Systems will take place June 23-27 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Animal Systems will be held September 15-19 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. To attend, members must complete an application and pay a $200 registration fee plus travel

Written By Taylor Houser. On October 2nd, FFA Students were treated to a fun and engaging chapter visit by Iowa FFA State Officers Laura Steinkamp and Jagger Ferrie during their ag classes. In the Agricultural Leadership class, the officers led students in various group activities that helped them build skills in areas such as teamwork, time management, and organizing priorities. FFA students enjoyed the visit and were grateful for the opportunity to sharpen their leadership

Written By Klaire Gruntorad. The FFA Fruit Sales items were delivered to the ag shop on December 3rd. Members and their parents were allowed to pick up their orders between 10:00 am and 5:30 pm. In the morning, Mrs. Grantz had a middle school class that helped unload the pallets and organize the items. Then, later in the day, there were some very helpful high school students who took time out of their classes to help sort the items into individual orders. Members sold $29,468

Written By Adam Wilke Poinsettia sales for the Central DeWitt FFA chapter were held on Wednesday, December 3rd in the greenhouse. There were a variety of different selections, including red, white, pink, and jingle bell (a red and white marble). These were sold for $15, and sold out on Wednesday. The chapter donated 12 flowers to 6 of our sponsors in the community, and finished selling the flowers at the chapter’s annual Roots to Riches event held on December 15th. Poinsettia

Written By Molly Burken. DeWitt’s Hometown Christmas featured a lighted parade, live nativity, caroling singers, and many businesses were open to spread Christmas cheer and hand out treats and refreshments. There was also a horse-drawn carriage ride up and down the street for everyone to enjoy. FFA members Avery Heilig, Ashton Leibold, and Sam Hootman helped clean up horse manure after the horses during the parade. Inside DeWitt Bank & Trust, there was a gingerbread house con

Written By Gavin Walker A tremendous amount of classroom activities have taken place this December. In the agricultural leadership class, students have stayed busy doing there “Leadership activities”. These activities are an outstanding way to teach, and let the class demonstrate leadership with a hands on activity. A new assignment the Teach Me Something activity, is an opportunity for class members to teach an important life skill, that they consider themselves highly knowl