Submitted by EV FFA Reporter
The 2024 Iowa FFA Agricultural Mechanics contest was held on Thursday, June 6 at the Iowa State University Ag450 Farm. This contest aims to motivate students to learn and develop skills and understandings of electrical systems, environmental systems, machinery and equipment systems, metals and welding, and structural systems. Four members of the Easton Valley FFA Chapter participated in this contest: Gavin Regenwether, Easton Rathje, Wyatt Holdgrafer, and Ethan Matthiesen, traveled to Ames, along with FFA Advisor Mr. Eskildsen.
At the contest, students participated in five areas, involving both a skill activity and a general knowledge exam. In the electrical systems area, participants wired a one-way switch to a light fixture, being evaluated on safety, connectivity, proper wire identification, and correct tools used. Metals and welding required students to weld schedule 40 pipe to a coupon, using a GMAW (wire) welder. In the machinery and equipment systems, students had to identify parts on a Kohler small engine, such as crankshaft orientation, and determine the intake and exhaust valve lash. In the area of structural systems, students needed to display their knowledge of fasteners to secure materials together; fasteners included: galvanized finishing nails, roofing nails, common nails and roofing screws. Lastly, the environmental systems area challenged students to understand and utilize the concept of pace to determine the area of a proposed building site, including determining and calculating slope. Each skill activity and general knowledge exam had a time constraint of 15 minutes, so preparation was key. This team would earn a gold rating, placing 11th of 31 teams competing from across Iowa.
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