Students Compete In FFA Forestry Field Day

This year marked the second-annual Stephens County FFA Alumni Forestry Field Day Invitational hosted at Plum Dent Farms in Hancock County, where 125 students gathered from six different counties to compete in an FFA forestry skills contest.

The event was brought to life by Teegan Jameson, of Toccoa (hence the name of the event including Stephens County, while being held at a Hancock County property). Teegan has been immersed in the field of forestry and all things outdoors since she was a young girl, introduced and influenced by her father Gregg Jameson, who has more than 27 years of professional forestry experience.

Teegan competed in FFA events throughout middle and high school. Last November, Teegan’s FFA proficiency project was ranked best in the nation in the category of Environmental Natural Resources. She created this event as a way for students to develop and hone their skills before competing in regional and national FFA events. Teegan described this event as “another opportunity for students so that we can give them feedback on the events they compete in. The event is also important for the schools to finalize their regional roster as this event acts a “team determination event,” said Teegan.

Dent Farms has hosted the Stephens County Field Day for two consecutive years. The property is owned by Dr. Slade Lail, of Duluth, and Billy Jones, of Duluth. Dr. Lail is a long-time friend of the Jameson family, and with Teegan growing up on the property helping her dad manage the property, they thought there could not be a better place to host the FFA event. Plum Dent Farms has been recognized with several awards over the years, including the 2007 Tree Farm of the Year. Plum Dent Farms is a great example to the students of how timberlands can be managed to create thriving habitat for wildlife for generations to come.

Students who attended the second-annual Stephens County FFA Alumni Forestry Field Day Invitational competed in events such as: Reforestation, Timber Stand Improvement/Thinning, Timber Cruising for Cord Volume, Timber Cruising for Board Foot Volume, Tree Identification, Ocular Estimation, Land Measurement, Hand Compass Practicum, Forest Management and Tree/Forest Disorders.

There was a junior competition category for grades 6 through 9 and a senior competition for grades 10 through 12. Within the junior and senior competitions, each category had an individual winner, as well as an overall winner with the highest cumulative score out of 1,000 possible points. Each category was supervised and graded by the staff of the Georgia Forestry Commission.

Student competing in Hand Compass competition during the FFA Forestry Field Day.

The results are as follows:

Junior Overall Winners

Junior Overall First Place: Dodge County Middle School (674.99 points)
Junior Overall Second Place: Bleckley County High School (545.04 points)

Junior Category Winners (out of 100 points)

Reforestation: Case Cravey (66 points), Dodge County Middle School
Timber Stand Improvement: Kye Faulk (91.25 points), Dodge County Middle School
Timber Cruising for Cord Volume: Nathan Crider (56.42), Mary Persons High School
Timber Cruising for Board Foot Volume: Alexis Christian (68.86), Bleckley High School
Hand Compass: Faizon Shelley (93 points), Mary Persons High School
Land Measurement: Levi Arnold (97.68 points), Bleckley High School
Tree Identification: Caroline Lancaster (81.5 points), Dodge County Middle School
Ocular Estimation: Ty Sheffield (45 points), Dodge County Middle School
Tree Disorders/Insects: Nate Lancaster (100 points), Dodge County Middle School
Forest Management (2-person contest): Lillie Tyles and Kiley Adkins (87.6), Bleckley High School.

Senior Overall Winners

Senior Overall First Place: Bleckley County High School (737.25 points)
Senior Overall Second Place: Mary Persons High School (672.66 points)

Senior Contest Winners

Reforestation: Gabe Bearden (73 points), Mary Persons High School
Timber Stand Improvement: Breckyn Johnson (91.25 points), Glasscock High School
Timber Cruising for Cord Volume: Carter Johnson (72.72 points), Mary Persons High School
Timber Cruising for Board Foot Volume: Ryan Bertram (89.19 points), Mary Persons High School
Hand Compass: Isaac Hayes (91 points), Stephens County High School
Land Measurement: Shelby Peavy (98.53 points), Bleckley High School
Tree Identification: Ricky Diaz (90.75 points), Mary Persons High School
Ocular Estimation: Barrett Usry (52 points), Glasscock County High School
Tree Disorders/Insects: Kady Raines (81.5 points), Jefferson County High School
Forest Management (2-person contest): Liam Parks and Aubrie Stowe (75 points), Mary Persons High School

Congratulations to all the students that won and competed, the future of Forestry looks bright, even on this cold rainy Field Day.