Elizabeth Vincent and Ahnalee Kappauf of the Oxford FFA chapter received a Bronze Award in a national Agriscience Fair. (Photo from Oxford School District)

OXFORD – More than 20 agricultural teachers, state leaders and college professors from throughout the U.S. recently met virtually to judge state Agriscience Fair winners on a national level.

Elizabeth Vincent and Ahnalee Kappauf of the Oxford FFA chapter received a Bronze Award in the Plant Systems category, Division 2 of the competition.

First-place winners in each state have qualified for the national pre-qualifying judging. The panel of judges reviewed entries and selected a maximum of 10 in each category and division to move on to the national competition. Elizabeth and Ahnalee participated in the NYS FFA Convention’s Agriscience Fair project this past May and their work was sent to National FFA this summer.

The National FFA Agriscience Fair is a key competition that is part of the annual national convention and expo. To qualify, members working as individuals or teams in grades seven through twelve are required to conduct a scientific research project pertaining to the agriculture or food science industries and win their state's FFA agriscience fair.

Individuals or teams compete in one of six categories –  animal systems; environmental services/natural resources systems; food products and processing systems; plant systems; power, structural and technical systems; or social science – in six divisions –  individuals in grades 7-8, teams grades 7-8, individuals grades 9,10 and teams grades 9-10, individuals in grades 11-12 and teams grades 11-12.

Elizabeth and Ahnalee conducted a research project studying the germination rates of seeds both new and old. As a team, they planted seeds from 2016 and 2023 to answer the age old question of “are old seeds worth planting?” After the terms of their research, they found that yes, you can! Don’t throw away those seeds from last year – save them and plant them.

The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 945,000 student members as part of 9,163 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. For more, visit the National FFA Organization online at FFA.org and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

– Information From Oxford Academy & Central Schools