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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Isabella High School had several of its FFA students earn their State FFA Degrees, and a few won Agricultural Proficiency Awards at the 96th Alabama FFA State Convention in Montgomery.

Isabella FFA students Isabella Ballew, Alexis Joiner, Mason Littleton, Laura Beth O’Dell, Leah Porter and Tiffany Smith all earned their State FFA Degrees at the convention. The degrees are awarded to FFA students by the Alabama FFA, and are given to students in 11th or 12th grades. Students earn the degrees by being involved in chapter leadership roles, participating in state-level activities and community service, and completing a set number of instructional hours while demonstrating growth in their supervised agricultural experience.

Littleton and Smith both took home Agricultural Proficiency Awards in their respective divisions at the convention as well. Littleton placed first in the area of diversified crop production, and Smith placed first in the area of agricultural sales. Both advance to compete in the National Agricultural Proficiency Awards at the 97th National FFA Convention & Expo in October.

There are over 50 different agricultural proficiency areas students can compete in ranging from fruit production to outdoor recreation. Students earn awards through supervised agricultural experiences that develop specialized skills they can apply toward their future careers. The awards are presented to ones that are establishing themselves in agricultural career pathways.