Haley Berry
Staff Writer
Cameron University hosted a statewide competition for high school Future Farmers of America (FFA) participants, known as Interscholastics, at 8 a.m. on April 12.
Over 500 students had the chance to apply their knowledge in several agriculture career development events and competed for a chance to call themselves the best in the district.
The competitions included livestock judging, land judging, entomology, food science and agriculture communications.
Professor of Agriculture and Biological Sciences and event coordinator Dr. Leon Fischer said this event is a long-standing tradition that brings back memories for him year after year.
“I remember doing it when I was a college student here in 1973 through 1977,” Fischer said. “It’s been going on at least forty to fifty years, and probably 15 to 20 years before that.”
Fischer added that Cameron Interscholastics helps prepare the participants for the State Interscholastic Meet held at the end of the month in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
He also said the competition gives the students the opportunity to find out what the judges are looking for in their field while providing them with experience of working under pressure.
Senior agriculture major Carley Rains said months of planning and preparation went into organizing the event. She and other agriculture students took that time to ensure Interscholastics ran as smoothly as possible.
“It’s great to have all these people around to see our campus,” said Rains. “But this is nothing that is just planned overnight. We want everyone to have a wonderful experience here which is why we worked so hard to put all these events together.”
Dr. Fischer said the competition would not be where it is today if it was not for Rains and her peers’ efforts.
“We couldn’t do this contest without the help of the agricultural students at Cameron University,” Dr. Fischer.
“That includes those that are in our newly reformed department and those that are still in the same ag program we’ve had for years. Without those students, these contests don’t happen.”
For competition results, visit the Department of Agriculture and Biological Sciences’ home page on the Cameron University website.