South Side agriculture students to compete at National FFA Convention
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SOUTH JACKSON — South Side High School will be represented on the national stage this October thanks to a beneficial agriculture project two students created this summer. Drew Johnson and Jacob Barber conducted an agriscience experiment this summer regarding the long-term viability of seed and its storage. “Drew’s family and some of my family have seen them store seeds in the freezer that were left over from the year before,” said Jacob Barber, South Side student and FFA member. “Then we had some extra seed left from our greenhouse class we were in. We thought we can just test it and see how well it actually works, if it makes a difference or if it’s worth keeping your seeds.” Those results did make a difference, allowing the students to place first within the State Future Farmers of America Convention and ultimately catapulting them into the national round. “It’s so good to have students that put hard work into what they do and go on to the next level, said Melissa Perry, South Side agriculture teacher and FFA adviser. “It gives them validation in their work, and it makes me proud to see my students on the national stage.” The project did have its fair share of trial and error, along with help from fellow members of the farming community whom the results look to benefit. “We have seed left over from this year. We stored it in the shop last year where it wouldn’t have a really good germination rate,” said Drew Johnson, South Side agriculture student and FFA member. “We stored it in the freezer this year after the conclusions of our project where it would come up a lot better and crops would have better yields for the next year.” The students hope this experiment will finally bring some national recognition to agriculture right here in West Tennessee. Drew and Jacob will be competing against 14 other teams from across America in Louisville, Ky., at the National Future Farmers of America Convention, slated to take place at the end of October.
