(07/22/22) BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana FFA members gathered in Alexandria in June for the 93rd Louisiana FFA State Convention. The convention recognized achievements of the organization’s members, thanked stakeholders and supporters and members elected the state officer team.

State officers serve as student leaders and advocates for agriculture and agricultural education.

The 2022-2023 Louisiana FFA State Officer Team includes: president – Colton Conley, Natchitoches Central; secretary – Sydney Bruchhaus; Elton; vice president – Rachael Reed, North Webster; vice president – Annie Heard, Winnfield; vice president – Kayden Smith, Acadiana; vice president – Allie Hubbard, Northshore; treasurer – Grace Manuel, Florien; reporter – Abbygail Davis, Pearl River;

sentinel – Lauren Poole, Winnfield; and parliamentarian – Alaina Lyons, Central Lafourche.

During the convention, FFA gave out the 2022 Honorary State FFA Degrees. Recipients are:

Kathy Conerly, former Louisiana FFA executive secretary

Jim Lemoine, associate professor, University of Buffalo School of Management

Barrett Lyons, Natural Resource Conservation Service district conservationist

Chad Shimmels, Louisiana Food Science Career Development Event superintendent

Angie Shimmels, Louisiana Food Science Career Development Event co-superintendent

Al Simmons, superintendent of Winn Parish Schools

Monty Sullivan, president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System

Karl Wiggers, video specialist and co-executive producer of This Week in Louisiana Agriculture

The Louisiana FFA Association announced the names of 27 members that were selected as the state winners in the FFA Proficiency Award program. These members will now move on to represent Louisiana in the national competition to be held this fall. The 2022 state winners are:

Agricultural Communications – Jacy Regan, Crowley

Agricultural Education – Autumn Smedley, Ponchatoula

Agricultural Mechanics Design and Fabrication – Dawson Hoffpauir, Crowley

Agricultural Mechanics Repair and Maintenance (Entrepreneurship) – Wesley Doucet, Eunice

Agricultural Mechanics Repair and Maintenance (Placement) – Cayl Doise, Elton

Agricultural Sales (Entrepreneurship) – Landyn Bazile, Ponchatoula

Agricultural Sales (Placement) – Katelynn Sargent, Florien

Beef Production (Placement) – Garrett Walker, West Ouachita

Dairy Production (Placement) – Savanna Hutson, Starks

Diversified Agricultural Production – Morgan Green, Florien Diversified

Crop Production (Placement) – Thomas Lingo, Forest

Diversified Livestock Production – Abbygail Davis, Pearl River

Environmental Science and Natural Resources Management – Lauren Poole, Winnfield

Equine Science (Entrepreneurship) – Gracie Castaneda, West Ouachita

Equine Science (Placement) – Ashle’ Hudspeth, Walker

Goat Production – Madison Green, Winnfield

Grain Production (Placement) – Emma Stelly, Kaplan

Landscape Management – Caleb Barton, Dodson

Nursery Operations – Jasmine Vargas, Eunice

Outdoor Recreation – Grace Manuel, Florien

Poultry Production – Adam Pousson, Iota

Sheep Production – Juliana Carbalan, Elton

Small Animal Production and Care – Camille Berzas, Basile

Specialty Animal Production – Jace Hebert, Kaplan

Swine Production (Placement) – Reiley Roger, Crowley

Vegetable Production – Alexis Covington, Walker

Wildlife Management – Craig Rodrigue, St. Amant

The State Star Awards represent the best of the best among Louisiana FFA members. Finalists for the awards have mastered skills in production, finance, management and/or research. Members who earn the State FFA Degree are eligible for these awards. The 2022 State FFA Star Award winners are: Sydney Bruchhaus, Elton, Star Farmer; Dawson Hoffpauir, Crowley, Star in Agricultural Placement; and Landyn Bazile, Ponchatoula, Star in Agricultural Business.

The Louisiana FFA Association announced the names of 105 members that earned the State FFA Degree, the highest award for FFA members in the state. One of those members is Colton Conley of the Natchitoches Central FFA Chapter. He said earning the degree is a culmination of his efforts in agricultural education over the past four years.

“It is a meaningful token of the progress I have made as an agriculturist,” Conley said. “Earning such an honorable degree is rewarding as I continue to pursue my passion for agriculture.”

Louisiana FFA members elected a new slate of state officers at the Louisiana FFA State Convention. The officer team includes, from left: Rachael Reed, vice president; Allie Hubbard, vice president; Kayden Smith, vice president; Colton Conley, president; Sydney Bruchhaus, secretary; Grace Manuel, treasurer Abbygail Davis; reporter; Alaina Lyons, parliamentarian; Lauren Poole, sentinel, and Annie Heard, vice president. Photo provided by Cade Lejeune