Houston FFA team places first

Houston County High School’s FFA team won first place, in the 2012 Georgia State Dairy Cattle Evaluation Career Development Event which qualifys them to represent Georgia in the national competition, according to a news release. The contest was held at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton.

The winning team members, advised by their agricultural education teacher, Dr. Ronnie Thomas, are Jacob Bodien, Megan Douglass, Shayna Spivey and Eileen Shone. Three students also won the individual slots. Shone won State High Individual, followed by Spivey in second place and Douglass in third.

The team received $2,000 travel money to attend the National FFA Convention.

The event emphasizes skills in dairy cattle selection and herd management and provides experience in the evaluation of dairy cattle type, production records and dairy herd management. Participants judge the animals and place by type, verbalize reasons for the placing and take a written test.

-- Staff reports