shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com June 21, 2016 • Page 13 SD 4-H Members Benefit from FFA Membership Morning comes early for Jaclynn Knutson. The 18-year-old starts her days around 5 feeding her registered Rambouillet and Suffolk ewes and working with her show sheep. Showing sheep in 4-H has been a passion of this Viborg-Hurley High School graduate since she was 3 continuing a legacy which began when her dad, Jason, purchased registered ewes for his 4-H project. “I’ve always been competitive and a lot of hard work and preparation goes into gaining a competitive-edge in the show ring,” Knutson explains. “It begins before breeding season, when I select the right rams to breed to the ewes my sisters and I own together. It’s always our goal to improve the genetics of our flock.” Along with showing sheep in 4-H, Knutson also took on leadership roles, serving as a 4-H club officer which she says further developed her confidence and communication skills. During her senior year of high school, she served as a state 4-H officer. Since junior high, Knutson has also been actively involved in another youth leadership organization FFA. As an FFA member, Knutson discovered a knack for public speaking, winning several state competitions and going on to compete at the national level in Career Development Events. This spring, Knutson was selected to serve as the 2016-2017 South Dakota State FFA Reporter. In this role, she is one of six college students who serve as role models, leadership mentors and agricultural advocates to the more than 4,000 junior high and high school students who belong to the South Dakota FFA Association. Dual membership in both 4-H and FFA is not unique, says Sonia Mack, SDSU Extension 4-H Youth Program Advisor. “There are a good number of 4-H members who are also FFA members. As a result you have a large group of confident youth leaders who have gained a lot of experience and exposure to help them build self-confidence, self-esteem and life skills which benefit not only them, but their communities.” Mack explained that although the exact number of South Dakota youth who are members in both organizations is not known, she believes the reason many names show up on both rosters is because of the organizations’ shared roots in agriculture and similar focus to help youth develop personal and professional leadership skills through projects, competition, team work and community engagement. “Over time both organizations have also done a great job adapting from their original target audience of farm kids and rural communities to engage youth from all backgrounds and urban as well as rural communities,” says Mack, of 4-H, founded in 1902 and FFA, established in 1928. Partnering within communities The commonalities shared between the two organizations extends to their leadership. Alicia Petersen, says her involvement in FFA as a junior high and high school student is the reason she pursued a degree in agriculture education and applied for her current position as the SDSU Extension 4-H Youth Program Advisor for McCook County. “FFA is the reason I was interested in this position. There are so many parallels between the two organizations. Both teach youth great Meridian Bridge Book Event June 21 life skills, responsibility and service to our communities,” Petersen explains. “In high school I played sports, which I enjoyed. But FFA was the thing I got to throw my heart and soul into. I see this same passion in many of the 4-H members I get to work with.” For several years now, Petersen has worked closely with the McCook Central FFA Advisor, Terry Rieckman to engage 4-H and FFA members in community service projects. Each school year the teens host a farm safety day for local elementary students. “It makes sense to do a lot of community service projects together because there is a lot of overlap between students who are in FFA and also members of 4-H,” said Rieckman, who retired in May 2016 after serving as an FFA Advisor and Agriculture Education Instructor for 32 years. In fact, a few years ago, the McCook Central FFA Chapter began paying 4-H dues for FFA members who were not already 4-H members. “Being members of both organizations provides more opportunities for our members,” Rieckman explains. Logan Hoffman would agree. “I’m more of a go-getem and driven person thanks to my involvement in 4-H and FFA. Both organizations taught me how to connect with other people and have helped me become a well-rounded person,” says Hoffman, who was introduced to both organizations at a young age. Her parents are 4-H alumni and her dad, spent his career as an FFA Advisor/ Agriculture Education Instructor. As a teen Hoffman was looking for summer camp opportunities, Googled and learned about 4-H Teen Leadership Camp. She signed up and along with connecting with peers from across South Dakota, she developed a keen interest in serving on the state 4-H council. She is currently serving her second term as a State 4-H officer. She also serves with Knutson as a State FFA Officer. Hoffman explains that the skills she developed serving as a State 4-H Officer last year - listening skills and group planning - have already helped her in her new role as a State FFA Officer. “These organizations don’t compete with each other for members - they truly complement each other,” Petersen says. To learn more about how you can become involved in South Dakota 4-H, visit the iGrow 4-H community page. To learn more about FFA, contact your local high school agriculture education instructor. niGrow On Tuesday, June 21, at 6:30 p.m., join the staff of the Yankton Community Library and local historians to the Meridian Bridge as part of the library’s summer reading program. The theme, “Exercise your mind. READ!”, offers opportunities to exercise as well as enjoy books. Before the walk begins, Lois Varvel and Kathy Grow, co-authors of “The Bridge We Built: The Story of Yankton’s Meridian Bridge,” will present a brief history of the bridge at the Meridian Bridge Plaza. As participants walk the bridge, the authors will continue to share at special points of interest. There is no registration or fee for this event. For further information, contact the library at 668-6275. Precision Agriculture is Focus of New SDSU Extension Contours Episodes BROOKINGS, S.D. - Farming with their eyes closed, is how sixth-generation Chester farmer, Keith Alverson describes life before precision agriculture technology. “Yield maps really turned the light on for us. We had done things to the best of our ability up to that time, but to be able to create maps and use those maps in our fields has been something that is incredibly helpful,” Alverson explains in an upcoming episode of SDSU Extension Contours. Precision agriculture is the focus of the new SDSU Extension Contours episodes which will air at noon (CST) on South Dakota Public Broadcasting Sunday, June 19 and Sunday, July 17, 2016. “It’s a brave new world out there, as the last 10 years have seen a rapid evolution in agriculture technology and its application in agriculture here in South Dakota,” said Barry Dunn, President of South Dakota State University and former Dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences. Dunn and Alverson are among the panel of experts who will take a closer look at precision agriculture and its impact on South Dakota’s number one industry as it offers the potential to substantially increase productivity and profitability while reducing agriculture’s impact on the environment. The panel also includes; Shane Swedlund, Facility and Engineering Manager for Raven Industries Applied Technology Division; Dr. David Wright, Department Head of SDSU Plant Science Department and Nick Uilk, Instructor in SDSU Agriculture Engineering Department. Developed to explore important topics in agriculture in open conversations with agriculture leaders, Contours is produced by SDSU College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences and SDSU Extension. Efficient & Environmentally Friendly Precision agriculture is not a new concept. During the June 19 Contours’ discussion, panelists look at the roots of precision agriculture technology in South Dakota and how its continued advancements have helped those farmers who have adopted precision agriculture increase efficiencies and profits. “As we see variability across our fields and across a state like South Dakota, we see the capabilities and efficiencies of precision technologies really paying off,” Alverson said. “There are areas within my field which can handle higher or lower populations of seed, or need more or less nutrients. So, if I can put those things exactly where they need to be, it helps me be a more efficient and more cost-effective as a farmer.” To expand on Alverson’s comments, Swedlund points to research conducted at Kansas State University which noted reductions in fertilizer and chemical overlap as precision agriculture technologies advanced. He explained that prior to farmers implementing Global Positioning Systems (GPS) guidance in field application, overlap on a 3000-acre farm was about 8 percent or 240 acres. Following the introduction of GPS, it was cut in half. Today, by implementing autosteer and GPS technology overlap is down to less than a percent or 30 acres. “This is just one example of how precision agriculture is impactful and does make a difference,” Swedlund said. Alverson added that increasing efficiencies through precision agriculture directly impacts his family’s income. “Those things are huge. On average chemical costs, as far as a per acre basis, somewhere around $20 to $25 an acre. Our nutrient applications range from $60 to $130 an acre of investment by us. If we are overlapping on an acre - that is real money to us.” The discussion goes on to encompass how increased efficiencies on the farm through precision agriculture impact all South Dakotans as precision agriculture helps shrink the environmental impact of our state’s number one industry. To watch the entire discussion, tune in June 19 and July 17, 2016. Following their SDPB debut, the June 19 and July 17 episodes will be distributed online through iGrow. 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