Update on State Ag Mech and AAE CDEs
State AG Mech CDE
Individual
Machinery & equipment – Boom Sprayers
Electricity – Motors 7 controls
ENR – PVC
Team
Compact equipment – small engines
Structures – welding SMAW (6010,6011,7018)
Registration fee for the state contest is going to be $125 per team.
Tool list will be added to judging card.
State AAE (Applied Ag Engineering)
Welding – GMAW
Gas mixture 75% Argon 25% CO2
.030 - .045 wire size
Cutting – oxygen and acetylene
Registration fee for the state contest is going to be $125 per team.
Update from State Checking Committee
Notes from the meeting held in July.
Tammy said that they are working on Compliance Teams for SAEs to basically check on the legitimacy of certain projects that they feel might be fraudulent.
At state convention next year, they will look at doing the star finalist interviews on Monday afternoon instead of in the morning.
They will also look at changing the star banquet to a breakfast proceeding the those star kids crossing the stage.
State degree check will be June 2-6, 2025.
Lonestar check will be Monday
Everything else begins on Tuesday
It is highly recommended that all judging take place in person (excluding John Justin and Ryan Mott), but virtual may still be offered with times that you have to start and end.
Star Americans will be due May 14, 2025
Americans will be due April 1, 2025
Golden Horizons will have 2 new requirements next year, each applying chapter must submit a copy of their chapter constitution and Program of Activities when submitting the award app.
We had 2,519 Lonestars and 305 Americans this past year.
They like how the Lonestar process is working, will continue to use the same system as this past year.
The state is pushing for more Americans, Missouri has more than double our number of Americans this year.
With AET, the expense categories are changing this year.
There is no longer an inventory purchased for resale expense category.
There are now 31 expense categories, it should simplify entering expenses.
These changes are to match the IRS Schedule F form.
There will now be 70 proficiency categories at nationals
Mainly busted up the entrepreneurship/placement categories into two separate categories.
Nationals is also revising the star categories and agriscience fair.
National changes will affect how recordkeeping is done. Should go into effect in October.
If anyone has any questions or concerns about what is changing, please let me or Chudej know.
Travis Lange
AST Irion County
Lonestar Degrees
Just to give everyone some clarification on submitting Lonestars, you as the teacher must add the applications to the Area submission list. You can do this by going to the "Reports" tab, clicking on "Degree/Application Manager", and then the green button in the middle of the screen that says "Submission Lists & Feedback". Once there you need to click "edit list" on AET State Degree. This is where it will show you all of the applications that you have submitted as well as any feedback that the applications may have received at the district or area level. If you don't see the applications that you are expecting to, click "browse" in the upper right of that page. This will show you all completed applications from your chapter that have not been submitted. In order to be checked at both the district and area levels, applications must be submitted this way. Do not send member login information for applicants to your district check person. If you do it that, we cannot tell what has been checked from the Area side. All checks must be completed through the submission list. Apps must be completed without any "not Mets" to be submitted. If you are having trouble getting them submitted, generate a new version under the print/save app tab in the applications. Some districts have already begun checking Lonestars, so be looking for that feedback. Make corrections and then resubmit them to the Area. If you have any questions, please call me.
Travis Lange
AST Veribest ISD
State CDE Committee Report
Report provided by Committee Chair: Will Hartnett
We’re a couple years away from any major rule revisions and really only discussed issues with contest providers along with a few clarifications of current rules. Please let me or Ramon know if you have any questions about what was discussed.
1.) Length of drive to and from Tarleton Area/State Land/Homesite/Range contest sites from Stephenville. While we appreciate the beauty of these ranches and the generosity of the owners, it’s very challenging for schools with single teachers competing in multiple contests to get everywhere on time when the contest sites are such a long drive from town.
2.) State Livestock Contest @ TAMU - quality of classes and/or logic in how classes are structured needs to improve. Example: Market Hogs & Breeding Does this year. A&M officials need to understand how to properly evaluate feeder cattle or get help from a qualified individual. Absolutely horrible officiating this year on that part of the contest.
3.) It was brought up that Tarleton ran out of some products in milk quality contest.
4.) Cotton and forage need to look at having area qualifiers to reduce size of state contest. Nothing will likely happen until rules change year but something to keep an eye on. Will possibly try having 3 groups at state cotton contest this coming year.
5.) Lots of schools/areas still don’t understand or like the wildcard system for state qualification. More complaints this year than last. Primary concern is how long it takes to certify those results and the confusion that can come from a school thinking they qualified but actually did not. There is no provision in the rules saying each area is guaranteed a team at state. The wildcard rule says that every area’s last qualifying spot is up for grabs. Meaning, if an area only has one team competing at area, it could lose that spot to anyone area.
6.) Areas need to be better at providing monitors for materials and dress. Some area contests didn’t have anyone there to check.
7.) Dress code rules don’t address holes in jeans and that cannot be a disqualification. Use common sense when checking dress code.
8.) Multi-tools with rulers can not be used for knives in Land/Homeside. Goes against rule for having measuring devices.
9.) New contest idea was presented (Ag Education theme). A few other states have this contest and National FFA is looking into it. Monitoring what National does going forward. Needs lots of work before anything happens. Based on the presentation we saw, I could easily see this also considered for SDEs or possibly an LDE.
Vet Tech CDE Committee Report
Report provided by Committee Chair: Misty Day
Committee Members: Misty Day - Seminole/Chair, Jennifer Knight - Wellman-Union, Vanessa Rodriguez - Clint, Dana Sparks - Iraan Sheffield, Chris Cleveand - Plains, Ron Gill - Canutillo, John Osbornw - Eldorado, Andrew Hauser - Glasscock Co.
Purpose: To determine the pros and cons of relocating the Area 2 State Qualifying Vet Tech contest to another location.
Discussions:
1. The committee would prefer a site that utilized more live animals; therefore, giving students a higher quality contest.
2. The benefits and conflicts of various alternative dates were discussed.
3. Several locations were considered: the current date and location at Tarleton, various dates at West Texas A&M, Texas Tech Lubbock campus, Texas Tech Amarillo Campus, and Angelo State University.
4. The committee unanimously determined April 8, 2024 would be the best date for the Area.
5. Angelo State University is centrally located in Area and higher quality than the current location; Texas Tech Amarillo Campus would host a high quality contest, but date conflicts prevent this option.
Recommendation: After discussions and agreement from Dr. Dickinson, the committee recommends to move the Area 2 Vet Tech State Qualifying contest from Tarleton State University to Angelo State University on Monday, April 8, 2024.
State LDE Committee Report
Report provided by Committee Chair: Mackenzie Allison
As always, many things were discussed at the State LDE Committee meeting.
There was a lot of discussion on finding and sending qualified judges to the state level. Workshops should be available next year on Monday (free, by the way) that will assist teachers in knowing how to judge various contests.
At state, there will be a contest superintendent meeting, as well as a judges' meeting.
At the state LDEs, all results for finals will be held at 6 PM Saturday so that no teacher or student misses any results as they have when results are staggered.
In the radio contest, don't try to make commercials happen. Not allowed.
In the radio contest, it looks like they're going to try and allow people to adjust individual microphone volume..........
No judges are to take off points if a chapter uses the same script they used last year for LDEs; that's not illegal whatsoever.
Judges will be told that they are to use common sense. If a student comes into the room to perform The Creed, for example, and the judges make eye contact, and the kid begins, the judges are NOT to take off points simply because the kid didn't wait for the judges to say "you may begin."
SHSU will try to have warm-up rooms available for Chapter Conducting heats this year.
Mention of a "Battle of the Gavel" at state convention...a bracket parli pro situation...not sure this will actually happen.
Two blank pages of white scratch paper will be added to the back of quizzes at state.
The new SHSU staff member that will assist Dr. Hainline is Dr. Maureen Victoria.
State Degree Check Committee Report
Report provided by Committee Chair: Travis Lange
Area Concerns:
Area I- No concerns
Area II- No Concerns
Area III- Star interviews are overlapping with Agriscience Fair at State Convention
Area IV- The Lonestar process
Area V- Having more in person check at Degree Check and Golden Horizon Scores
Area VI- No Concerns
Area VII- Releasing Star Interview Critique sheets and Defining Categories on Golden Horizon
Area VIII- The overlap at State Convention
Area IX- John Justin and Ryan Mott selection at Area level
Area X- No Concerns
Area XI- More time to judge National Chapter Awards, Star Interview scores released, Golden Horizons released
Area XII- Judge Proficiencies in person, wanting to count shooting sports and BBQ team as FFA activities.
One of the biggest issues that came up during the meeting was that there needs to be degree checks at the district level and chapter level. The suggestion to the committee was that if it doesn’t get checked at district, then it won’t be checked at area.
The Lonestar degree process must have integrity. We have to stop all the shortcuts at district and area check.
39% of all Lonestars this year had no entries before 2023.
There were 350,000 journal entry hours in this year’s Lonestars, and the average backdating was more than a year.
There will be an instructional Zoom meeting in January for all degree check members on how to best check apps
Ryan Mott & John Justin- Tammy said the dollar value of those awards doesn’t justify a trip to Stephenville, so that may change.
There was a motion to have Star and Proficiency apps scored in person at Degree Check. It was seconded and passed. It will go to the board for approval. So no more virtual scoring at the state level, judges will have to go to Stephenville.
There is a change to the National Proficiency Application. It is changes to the narratives.
American concerns: correctly adding outside of class hours on shop projects.
State Degree Check will be June 3-7, 2024 in Stephenville. Scholarship Interviews will be June 3rd.
Deadline to get Applications to state will be May 20, 2024.