Super Farmer Contest brings out the competitive spirit among CAFNR students
by Emily Schmidt, posted May 1, 2008
Bales were tossed, two-by-fours were nailed and sawed, and eggs were broken as teams of CAFNR students competed for the honor of being named the first “Mr. and Mrs. Super Farmer.” The Sigma Alpha Professional Agricultural Sorority held its third annual Sigma Alpha Super Farmer Contest at the Trowbridge Livestock Arena from 6 to 9 p.m. this past Thursday, April 24.
“Sigma Alpha is a Professional Agricultural Sorority. Grounded with the motto: ‘Women Excelling in Agriculture,’ Sigma Alpha focuses on scholarship, leadership, service and fellowship,” said Sigma Alpha president Cheryl Ficken. “We give back to the community by completing over 1,500 hours of community service each year. We desire to grow as leaders and spread knowledge about the agricultural industry. Super Farmer technically is a fundraiser for Sigma Alpha but is really more for the fun than the money.”
This year, Super Farmer teams of one male and one female competed in six events including the bale toss, the nail and saw, tire changing, the boiled egg hunt, a five-gallon bucket walk, and last but not least, the relay race.
Fourteen teams registered for the competition, more people come just to watch.
Kaity Kerwin, freshman agricultural journalism major, partnered with Matt Holtman, a senior majoring in Agricultural Systems Management. Holtman participated in the competition at Kerwin’s request.
“[The easiest and best part of the competition] was probably busting the eggs over my partner’s head for obvious reasons,” Holtman said. “The hardest part was definitely hammering aluminum nails into a two-by-four.”
The results of these contests set Mr. and Mrs. Super Farmer apart from the Almost Mr. and Mrs. Super Farmer. This is the first year a Mr. and Mrs. Super Farmer was crowned. In previous years, teams were comprised of four individuals, not two.
Members of the winning team, Katie King and partner Jon Kirchhoff, both come from farming backgrounds. They participated in the event because it seemed like something fun that they both enjoyed.
“I didn't know we had won until the very end; it was a close race,” King said. “It was exciting; we had a lot of fun with it!”
Sigma Alpha members enjoy sponsoring the event and hope to continue it in upcoming years.
“My favorite part about Super Farmer [was seeing] the excitement that builds around the competition,” Ficken said. “It's fun to see the intensity and determination of every team increase and how they change their strategy as teams go through the events.”
