By Elizabeth Wyss

“Rachel, come here and tell me what this bug is,” or “Elizabeth, what’s this weed growing in the yard?” are common spring questions in the Wyss house.

These questions stem from my mother’s closely held belief that if her children were ever on an FFA Career Development Event (CDE) Team in high school, we remember everything regardless of the gentle reminders that it has been more than five years since I was on the agronomy team, and more than a decade since my sister, Rachel, was on the entomology team.

But we’re often surprised at how easily we can answer Mom’s questions, even though our contest binders have long since been shelved.

Contest experience
Even now, the smell and feel of a crisp, near-spring March morning takes me back to the early-morning bus rides to the far reaches of the state for practice contests.  From FFA Knowledge my freshman year to Meats (surprise, surprise, a butcher's daughter on the meats team) my senior year, I spent many Saturdays on a school bus with my teammates, contest binders open on our laps to brush up before the competition began.

My most memorable team, however, was agronomy as a junior. We spent hours in the greenhouse or outside, nose to the ground, looking for plants to identify.

At the suggestion of our ag teacher, Mr. Jason Twenter, we even played "distance agronomy," trying to identify the weeds in the road ditch as the bus passed. My teammate and good friend, Taylor, went on to get a degree in plant science, bringing our time playing "distance agronomy" full circle.

While I understand that not every FFA member on the agronomy team will go on to become an agronomist, and not every meats judger will go on to become a butcher or even be on a collegiate team (I didn’t), I believe FFA members learn much more than specific content through contest experience.

Soft skills
Contests don’t just teach livestock judging, soil judging or FFA knowledge. They teach high schoolers transferable soft skills that are not always practiced through traditional ag classroom curriculum.

I may not identify plants every day, but agronomy taught me how to study. Kids learn through contests what study methods work for them, and that makes them more prepared and successful college students.

While ag classwork often goes hand in hand with contest preparation, being on a CDE team teaches FFA members the intrinsic motivation and personal responsibility required to apply themselves to something that isn't for a grade. There is no better lesson in "you get out what you put in" than an FFA contest.

For a contest team to be successful, it requires extra practice before or after school, all while balancing schoolwork, sports teams and other extracurriculars. While "distance agronomy" wasn't the most useful way to study, it was fun! It was a break in our hectic schedules and helped the team learn about work-life balance. Work hard, play hard. Do it all but know when you deserve a break.

Contests also teach FFA members how to work on a team. CDE teams don’t succeed on the work of only one person. Team dynamics are important, including helping your teammates study and learn so that the team improves.

Working with people who learn, teach or understand things differently than you (your ag teacher included) is a great introduction to teamwork in college and the workforce.

After all the hard work and soft skills learned, when it comes right down to it, CDE teams compete. You win some, you lose some, and contests are one of the best opportunities for a high schooler to learn to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat.

While I might not play “distance agronomy” ever again, I will take the lessons that I learned from my contest teams with me into my career.

Wyss is a senior in science and agricultural journalism at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. Contact her at [email protected].