Ag students earn competency certificates

Three Centre FFA students — Zach Barney, Jacob Bittle, and Grace Peterson — have qualified to receive certificates that document skills and competencies gained by them in agricultural education.

The certificates are meant to enhance their job resumes, leading to higher pay.

“There’s no guarantee, but these students may earn $1 or $2 more per hour because they have these certificates,” sponsor Jon Meyer said.

To earn the certificates, students were required to have completed three high school agriculture education courses; be an FFA member; submitted a district proficiency award application or earned a state FFA degree; accumulated a 2.5 or higher grade-point average; participated in qualifying events at district or state level; and completed a comprehensive test on agriculture.

Students were asked to describe skills and competencies they had gained technically and personally from the ag curriculum.

The three Centre students graduated this spring. Zach plans to get a college degree in feed nutrition, Grace plans to get a degree in hospital management, and Jacob plans to get a degree in wildlife and outdoor enterprise management.

The certificates, which are offered annually, are sponsored by Kansas Department of Education and supported by the governor, Kansas Department of Labor, Kansas FFA, and Kansas ag industry organizations.