TORRINGTON – After an incredibly successful finish at the Wyoming Future Farmers of America (FFA) Convention last April, Goshen Chapter leader, Jason Groene, along with fellow Torrington High School (THS) agriculture teacher, Sabrina Juma, are in the final stages of preparation for the National Convention.

The Chapter will be travelling to Indianapolis, Indiana on October 29 for presentations in the agronomy, marketing plans, and livestock evaluation categories.

The entire convention is scheduled to run November 1-4.

Although Groene acknowledges competition is going to be far stiffer at the national level, he and Juma are both confident that a respectable finish is absolutely attainable.

“This is the 96th national FFA convention,” Groene stated. “There will be well over close to 75,000 FFA members while we are there. Obviously we won’t see all 75, but they will be at these three contests. There will be teams from all fifty states, with even Puerto Rico being there. So, the kids will be competing again with the very best in the nation. We hope we have them ready to go and are prepared to do so. The goal is to obviously be a gold emblem team which, means we would have to be in the top 15%. Our goal is to be national finalists, so that would be placing in the top four of all teams in the area.”

According to Groene, despite the number of students making the trip are considerably smaller than those who competed at the state convention, this will actually be quite a substantial number brought to a national event.

“With 11 kids, this will be the biggest set we’ve taken to nationals,” Groene continued. “There are 15 of us total going to the convention, including five chaperones. We will have to be in three different places at the same time, and we are all going to be very spread out at the fairgrounds. So, we will have to split up while we are out there.”

Although the goal is indeed to finish with a gold emblem, Groene is still confident in the capabilities of his students. With plenty of experience to go around, the Goshen chapter is not hindering away from the one ambition that all 75,000 participants want.

“The ultimate goal would be to do the unthinkable and win the whole thing,” Groene said. “A realistic goal is always to be within the gold emblem teams, and a pretty realistic one is to be national finalists. We have two or three teams that have a real good shot at that. It’s difficult because of our geographical area. We don’t necessarily have the experience that others do. We live in a big agricultural area, but when you compare Goshen to the other teams there, it’s very hard. They live agronomy like we live livestock. We have a very capable set of girls in agronomy however that are certainly capable of achieving that goal.”

Along with Groene, fellow FFA leader Juma was in agreement. Juma was adamant that although challenges are certainly a part of a large convention such as this, it’s not something neither her or Groene tend to focus on or think too much about.

“There’s of course only so much the two of us can do, but I don’t think there’s anything unachievable,” Juma stated. “This way I’m not too focused on that, and whatever comes up will be fine. I’m not nervous to the point of it being nerve-racking, but whatever comes up we will get through it and get the kids ready. This year so far has been entirely enjoyable, just because I have so much more experience now. Having some experience has really helped with the way I feel. I feel like the kids are very eager this year to work. When we ask them to do something, they do it. We do have a lot of kids that are wanting to take on leadership roles.”

With the fall semester well underway, and with so many different activities going on on top of FFA, Groene was reassuring that a healthy balance of support with other coaches during this time has been a top priority.

“Scheduling is always the challenge for us,” Groene continued. “By the grace of God or dumb luck, we always seem to juggle them and make it work. Ms. Juma is always working with me, and the deal is always making sure we have all the kids at the right place at the right time.”

While the FFA program is able to start the new year off with a much-anticipated national appearance, there is much more to be learned and worked on once the chapter returns. 

“It’s been a nice start to the school year for us,” Groene said. “There have been a lot of reservations with the new administration like there always is, but it’s been a very pleasant start. Kids have been good in class, and we have a ton in the program this year as a whole. We had 251 kids on the first day again, so that was incredibly pleasant. They are gun-ho to participate, and it’s been so nice to see an enthusiasm that hopefully carries into the springtime. Our superintendent is very supportive and doing everything possible to get more room for us. That’s always a good thing, and we do run into challenges beyond the control of our district. Sometimes it’s hard for folks to understand, but we have to be on our A-game.”

With a national convention and a brand-new school year all in the mix, Groene still maintains that when it comes to keeping solid relationships in the community and school district, he is never too busy to have a conversation with someone.

“I think it’s important that if anyone ever has any questions or if they want to know something, please call or stop by and visit. We have an open-door policy, so please come and talk. I had a parent today that stopped by the shop and needed to discuss something neither of us really wanted to talk about, but we dealt with it appropriately. I’m slowly getting into the social media thing, and the kids communicate that very well. We continue to evolve, and if anyone has any questions just ask.”

For further information or questions regarding the Goshen FFA Chapter, feel free to visit their Facebook page, or call THS at 307-532-7101.