Submitted article
On Saturday, October 25, the Buckeye Central FFA was able to harvest the 30 acres of soybeans that were planted this past spring. The FFA utilizes the farmland to provide a real world educational experience for the FFA members. From soil sampling, fertilizer formulations, pest monitoring, yield estimating, bookkeeping, and budgeting, the educational opportunities that the members gain through the utilization of the field in the classroom are invaluable.
On Saturday morning three Buckeye Central Alumni joined forces to help the FFA harvest. Casey Niese operated the Lexion Combine provided by Niese Farms, Ken Kark operated the buggy cart provided by Niese Farms, and David Green supplied the manpower to harvest and haul the crop to market in a semi-truck and trailer supplied by Phenicie Farms.
The volunteer work provided for the harvest is one example of the overwhelming support the FFA receives when fieldwork is needed to be completed. This past spring, Ron McGinnis planted the soybeans, with seed donations coming from, Greg and Rose Hartschuh, Utz Seed Farms, Scott-Reinhard Seed, and Garrett Kraft.
This year the FFA planted an 8 variety test plot on the West side of the field in front of the School. There were 6 varieties of NK soybeans provided by the Hartschuhs, one variety of Pioneer Seed donated by Kraft, and one variety of Croplan seed. The top producing variety was the NK S27-J7 variety with 60.9 bushels per acre.
The FFA would like to thank all of the volunteers and donors that assisted in the planting and harvesting of this year’s soybean crop.