East Knox FFA earns 14th place in National Forestry Career Development Event

The East Knox FFA recently represented the state of Ohio on Oct. 29 and competed in the National FFA Forestry Career Development Event held an hour south of Indianapolis at Morgan-Monroe State Forest near Martinsville, Indiana, in conjunction with the 98th National FFA Convention. 

Graduates Hayden Baker, Aiden Kapper, and Dylan Springer, and sophomore Curtis Divan placed 14th out of a field of state-winning FFA teams from across the United States. Individually, Dylan Springer placed 22nd with a Gold rating, Curtis Divan finished 38th with a Gold rating, Aiden Kapper was 84th with a Silver rating, and Hayden Baker placed 97th with a Silver rating. The top four teams and the top 10 individuals in the nation were recognized on-stage in Lucas Oil Stadium at the fourth general session of the National FFA Convention on Oct. 30. 

The team qualified for the National Career Development Event by winning the State Forestry Career Development Event hosted by Hocking College in Nelsonville last September. Individually, in the state contest, Springer placed second, Kapper finished fifth, Baker was ninth, and Divan placed 26th out of 235 contestants.

In the contest team members had to identify tree species, identify forestry tools, conduct a timber cruise to determine the volume of lumber in a forest stand, determine chainsaw parts and trouble-shooting, determine wood species from products presented, and identify diseases and disorders of a forest. They also completed a written test over the forest industry.

In addition, the members had to complete a team activity where they were given a management problem and situations where they had to determine tree heights, diameters, and species; calculate distance and azimuth of property lines; determine features from topographical maps; compute forest management calculations; determine timber stand improvement; identify disorders of trees; and measure slopes. 

This is the ninth East Knox FFA forestry team that has qualified and competed on the national level, with five being at the National FFA Convention as Ohio’s first-place team and four competing at the Eastern States Exposition in Massachusetts as Ohio’s second-place team. Their highest placing in the forestry CDE at the National Convention was sixth place in 1999. 

The Forestry Career Development Event is an educational activity designed to assess a student’s knowledge of this field of study and to provide recognition for those who have demonstrated skills and competencies in the area of forestry management.