FFA, Crops, Women in Ag

NCTA Dean’s Message by Larry Gossen, Ph.D.

It is National FFA Week.  We are appreciative and proud of all FFA members.

We pay special tribute to the agricultural educators across America, and particularly to the graduates of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

Our NCTA Crops Judging Team won the 2-year college division in a contest Saturday at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas.  The team members swept the individual placings, 1-2-3-4. Congratulations, Aggies and Professor Brad Ramsdale.

The NCTA Women in Agriculture club is attending a two-day Women in Ag Conference in Kearney. We are very proud of the eight Aggie students and Professor Mary Rittenhouse for their leadership in agriculture and here on the NCTA campus.

This weekend begins the 2022 Shotgun Sports season for our Aggie team. Coach Alan Taylor and 11 Aggie students make the short drive up to North Platte for a dual meet with Mid Plains Community College.

Discovery Day March 1

Some of the greatest recruiting for college-bound students comes from the graduates of a college.

We also know that high school classmates and acquaintances often influence decisions on the direction or location of where they spend the next two to four years of life after graduating high school.

At NCTA, our faculty, student ambassadors, recruiters and current Aggies are influencers, as well.

The spring sessions of NCTA Discovery Day will be March 1 and April 11. I encourage anyone who is interested to know more about a college, to first go to that campus. Meet the people, look around the town, talk to the faculty, and see the students in action at their labs, classrooms, on-campus jobs, and where they reside.

High school juniors and seniors, or transfer students, come and “discover” what NCTA is all about. I invite you. Bring your friends and family.

Register for the lunch and activities this week, preferably by Thursday. The current meal count is over 100 so we certainly want to be prepared for the small group tours, interactive sessions, and space for all.

Call Gaylene at 1-800-3-CURTIS or register online at: https://ncta.unl.edu/discovery-days.

FFA Week

Perhaps you saw tractors or pickup trucks driving around your community, then assembling at the school parking lot? That is part of National FFA Week.

FFA is near and dear to my heart as I have spent most of my career in the classroom or part of the National FFA Organization.

Still today, decades after teaching in Kansas classrooms, I continue to hear from former students.

Agricultural educators make a huge impact in the lives of their students.  And, in turn, students from the high school years can leave a special mark on the teaching career and amongst the family of the agricultural educator.

This week, NCTA salutes all of our graduates from this institution who have been or are now agriculture educators. Thank you.

We’ve heard from several alumni about highlights of being an Agriculture Education major at NCTA.

Wade Overturf, native of Sutton, graduated in 2014, and one of the first class of graduates. He has been teaching at Wisner Pilger High School since 2016.

“A highlight from the program at NCTA would be getting to be one of the pioneers to start the program and working with Dr. Doug Smith in its launch and creation. I’ve enjoyed seeing all the students come through the Ag Education program at NCTA.

“The biggest highlight of my career at college would be the long-lasting friendships that were made through the rodeo team and on campus in Curtis.”

Thank you, agriculture teachers and FFA advisors, for making every week great.

NCTA Aggie Events:

Feb. 19-26:  National FFA Week

Feb.  24-25:  NCTA Women in Ag Conference, Kearney

Feb. 25-26:  NCTA Cattle AI class (for students)

Feb. 26: NCTA Shotgun Sports Team at MPCC match, North Platte

March 1:  NCTA Discovery Day, 8:30 a.m., Ed Center

March 2:  FFA District 11 CDE program, NCTA campus

Part of the University of Nebraska system, the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is a two-year institution with a statewide mission of preparing students for successful careers in agriculture, veterinary technology and related industries. NCTA is known for its affordable tuition, high job-placement rate for its graduates, and for the success of student teams in competitive activities including crops judging, ranch horse events, livestock judging, shotgun sports, stock dog trials, and intercollegiate rodeo. The college is consistently ranked as one of the best two-year schools in the nation.