UA Cossatot Collegiate & Alumni FFA Attends Conference in Alaska

Students in the UA Cossatot agriculture program attended an FFA Alumni & Supporters Development conference in Alaska over the summer. Agriculture instructor and FFA Advisor, Kelli Harris, along with program assistant, Hadley Philamlee, traveled to Palmer, Alaska from June 20 - 24 with three students: April Klitz, Gynder Benson, and Hannah Jackson.

The conference provided information on topics such as agriculture program development, student retention, and offered an opportunity to network with other FFA alumni members from around the country. The group learned about production agriculture in Alaska, which is widely known for gigantic cabbages that can easily grow up to 50 pounds during the long daylight hours of the Alaskan growing season. They also toured a musk ox farm where they were able to see how these animals are managed for their hair, which is called qiviut, and how the fibers are used in textile production.

"This was an amazing experience for our students at UA Cossatot and we were all excited to learn more about agriculture beyond our region of the United States. Attending these conferences helps us expand our knowledge about agriculture and bring new ideas back to our college," says Kelli Harris.

The agriculture program is looking forward to planning more educational travel experiences for students this fall.

Pictured L to R: Hannah Jackson, Hadley Philamlee, April Klitz, Kelli Harris, Gynder Benson

The University of Arkansas Cossatot is a community college in Southwest Arkansas accredited by the

UA Cossatot Collegiate FFA receives Living to Serve Grant from National FFA Organization

INDIANAPOLIS (September 21, 2023/National FFA Organization) – The UA Cossatot Collegiate FFA chapter in De Queen, Arkansas has been awarded a Fall Semester-Long Living to Serve Grant in the amount of $1200. The nationwide program provides grant money to local FFA chapters to support semester-long service-learning projects that address needs related to community safety; environmental responsibility; hunger, health and nutrition; and community engagement during the fall semester. 

UA Cossatot Collegiate FFA plans to use grant funds for education and outreach about alternative therapies, such as laser and red light therapy, for horses, livestock, and pets. Agriculture faculty, Kelli Harris, and students will provide no-cost educational demonstrations to the public about these therapies and how they can benefit animals. They will also be partnering with Running WJ Ranch in Texarkana, Texas to provide free services for their horses. 

Red light and laser therapy is a safe and effective treatment for a variety of conditions in animals, including pain relief, inflammation, wound healing, and skin conditions. It works by stimulating cellular activity and increasing blood flow to the treated area. 

The program provided over $75,000 to FFA chapters in 28 states. The 2023 Fall Semester-Long Living to Serve Grants are sponsored by Tractor Supply Company and Cargill. For more information and a complete listing of sponsors, visit FFA.org/livingtoserve. 

The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 850,000 student members as part of 8,995 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

UA Cossatot Student Posters Chosen at NSF ATE Conference

Two agriculture students from UA Cossatot, Ryan Vance and Misty Goings, applied to present a poster on the GSTARS (GIS Skilled Technicians in Agriculture and Related Sciences) grant at the NSF ATE conference and were both students were selected to participate in this year’s virtual conference.

Ryan Vance, a Natural Resources major, is collecting data using GIS applications on feral swine in Southwest Arkansas. He also received an FFA Day of Service mini-grant to fund building hog traps to place on private property. Payton Hibbs, who is majoring in agriculture science at UA Cossatot, has also worked extensively on this project helping set-up traps and collect data.

Misty Goings created a tool to collect GIS information on the invasive Chinese Tallow trees. Last year, she also obtained skills in a forest management workshop in UA Cossatot’s Introduction to Forestry class that will allow her to offer management assistance to people who submitted sightings of the tree on private property. Misty is majoring in STEM and Natural Resources at UA Cossatot, and plans to transfer to UA Fayetteville in the spring.

With the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the American Association of Community Colleges will host the 28th National ATE Principal Investigators’ Conference on October 18-22, 2021, as a virtual event.

The conference will host more than 850 NSF ATE grantees and their project cohorts to focus on the critical issues related to advanced technological education. Fundamental persons working on ATE projects across the country will partake in the hybrid event. Conference partakers represent community colleges, business and industry, secondary school systems, and four-year universities covering projects in a wide variety of areas, such as information technology, engineering technology, micro-and nanotechnologies, chemical technology, biotechnology, and other program areas.

The primary goal of the GSTARS project is to design and implement a curriculum that meets the region’s need for technician-level GIS skills in agriculture and related science industries. In addition, the $299,635 grant will create pathways for future GIS Technicians to enter the local workforce.

“This grant has created an amazing opportunity to integrate technology and technical skills, such as GIS data collection and drone operations, into our agriculture and science programs. We are excited to see what our students achieve over the next several years thanks to the resources made possible though the GSTARS grant," said GSTARS team leader and agriculture faculty, Kelli Harris.

To learn more about this grant and conference, contact Kelli Harris at kharris@cccua.edu.

Brentley Morris Student of the Month at De Queen Lions Club Meeting

Brentley Morris, a senior at De Queen High, was awarded Lions Club Student of the Month at the noon meeting Tuesday in De Queen. Brentley is a member of the FFA and has been a member of the Forestry Judging Team. In sports, Brentley played baseball and basketball for the Leopards and was awarded 6th Man of the Year for the basketball team. Brentley will be an honor graduate from De Queen High on May 17th.

De Queen FFA Show Team at District Livestock Show

Press Release: 4/12/21

De Queen FFA Show Team does well at the District Livestock Show. On Saturday, April 10, three members of the De Queen FFA showt team exhibited their livestock projects at the Southwest District Spring Livestock Show held at Hope Ar. The members in attendance were Tristan Whisenhunt, Olivia Cooley, and Katie Cooley.

Whisenhunt exhibited a Chianina bull and won Grand Champion honors. He also had a steer who placed second in his class. Katie Cooley presented her Hereford heifer and brought home a Reserve Grand Champion placing for the team. Olivia Cooley showed a Simmental heifer and placed first in her class.

Congratulations to these De Queen FFA students who did a great job with their cattle exhibits. They have plans to exhibit at more shows later this spring.

UA Cossatot Collegiate FFA Gun Raffle November 19th

It’s that time of year and the UA Cossatot Collegiate FFA members are out selling gun raffle tickets to raise money for scholarships and other FFA activities. We had to change up the raffle a little bit this year due to COVID-19 and we are disappointed that we won’t be able to have the chili supper. Tickets are available for $5 each or get 5 tickets for $20. See the flyer below for more information! We appreciate everyone’s support!