Nine winners of the 2022 Agricultural Proficiency Awards were named during the fifth session of the 95th National FFA Convention & Expo on Friday, Oct. 28, which is being held in Indianapolis
Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs), have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers. Students compete in areas ranging from agricultural communications to wildlife management. Proficiency awards are also recognized at local and state levels and provide recognition to members exploring and becoming established in agricultural career pathways.
Awards were announced for nine of the 45 categories during the fifth general convention session, including
Fruit Production -- Entrepreneurship/Placement -- Clark Simmons of the Penn Yan FFA Chapter in New York is the third generation to work on his family farm. When he was only ten years old, he started working by replacing broken posts that hold the trellis for the grapes. He learned to prune and trellis the grapes depending on the variety. Simmons was certified through the Environmental Protection Agency, trained for pesticide safety and to be a handler. This certification includes pesticides, fungicides and insecticides. Simmons is supported by his parents, Julie and Daren.
The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 850,000 student members as part of 8,995 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Categories: New York, Education, Sustainable Agriculture