St. Charles FFA headed to nationals

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — It was a nail-biter for two dairy cattle evaluation and management teams as the top teams in the FFA Career Development Event waited for the outcome of their contest at the State FFA Convention April 29. The Top 5 teams were identified late April 28, the day of the contest, and they waited until the convention’s final session to learn their ranking.

Even after St. Charles FFA was announced as the first-place team over Melrose, it was not yet over. As the CDE results were held for review for one week, as is customary each year, the outcome changed twice. In the end, St. Charles retained their win by one point.

“It was not a very good feeling (as we waited),” said Brianna Brogan, a high school junior and the oldest of three Brogan siblings on the team. “We spent 12 hours in second.”

Brianna, her sister, Emily, and brother, Will, are the children of Scott and Angie Brogan, who farm with Scott’s brother, Keith, and father, Gerard. The family milks 650 cows. All three of the younger Brogans help with calf raising and field work.

The fourth St. Charles FFA member on the dairy cattle evaluation and management team was Avery DeCook.

Monika Frericks of the Melrose FFA received first place individual.

The Brogans’ uncle, Keith, is their coach for both FFA and 4-H, where the Brogan youth have also excelled.

Emily, a high school sophomore, won the state 4-H dairy judging contest during her eighth-grade year, and topped the FFA event individually once as well. Brianna, a high school junior, was second individual at this most recent contest, and her team has been in the Top 10 the last three years.

Some skills — placing classes and giving reasons — are the same in 4-H and FFA. But in FFA, there is a team activity focusing on dairy management.

“We spent a lot more time on that this year,” Brianna said. “The team test is a lot more background you need to know.”

Emily said their coach was clued in about their possible FFA win and made it to Minneapolis to watch the awards.

“I think he was surprised because in practice we don’t always do the best,” she said.

Still, the team has always had a strong showing in the FFA contest.

“I’m hoping one of these years we can win 4-H,” Emily said. “We’ve been second.”

Their FFA dairy judging will be over after competing nationally and they will need to find new Career Development Events.

For Brianna, that may be marketing plan, where she might develop a plan for a dairy product. Emily is thinking about livestock evaluation or agricultural technology and mechanical systems. Will plans to do creed speaking next year. However, creed speaking is only for freshmen.

“Then I’ll have to find a new team,” he said.

In other FFA convention awards, Brianna was honored as a top-three finisher in the dairy production placement proficiency. Porter Kuechle of Eden Valley-Watkins was the winner, while Blake Siewert of Lake City was second.

Kamrie Mauer of the Sibley East FFA Chapter won the dairy production entrepreneurship proficiency.

William Bastian of the Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop FFA Chapter was named star in production placement. Bastian earned the title by virtue of his work on his family’s dairy farm near Fairfax.