1. Proficiency Awards “Filling out a winning application!”

2. Judging Procedure National FFA Center Judging Committee Review Committee

3. New Mexico Results In 2007 15 Applications sent in for National Competition  1 Gold rating  5 Silver ratings  9 Bronze ratings

4. Helpful Information: www.ffa.org > Award Programs > Proficiency Awardswww.ffa.org Proficiency Handbook Scoring Rubrics Judge Recommendations Proficiency Review Sheets Frequently asked questions

5. Major-ly Bad Things! (or Common Mistakes) SAE project does not fit into Proficiency Category Application is altered Financial mistakes Numbers don’t add up Inventories are wrong TMI – Extra information included not relating to area Labor trade not accounted for in financial pages Hours don’t add up Incomplete applications

6. Things to do! Read directions – Follow the rules! Use application as it is set up! Use Rubrics! (Score app. Yourself) Check Numbers! (Financial and Hours)

7. Pages 2 and 3 – Muy Importante!! o Explain everything completely. Do not assume the judges know anything. o Be specific in explaining projects and skills and activities. o Write creatively! You have to separate yourself from the stack. “Ever since I was little…” is overused and does not set you apart. o Proofread, Proofread, Proofread!!!

8. Goals  Make sure goals are defined and measureable and then addressed in results. *Number goals and use bold print  Be reasonable and realistic in defining goals and outcomes of these goals.  Be specific with goals

9. Poorly written goal *My first goal was to develop my sheep project because I really enjoy working with my show lambs and decided that raising my own lambs would be very satisfying. I would like to increase my ewe numbers up to about twenty head. I feel that this would allow me to raise enough quality show lambs for me to show and have enough to market to 4-H and FFA members in my area. I would like to increase the quality of my lambs so they will be competitive in county and state fairs.

10. Well Written Goal I have set three goals to achieve in my SAE: 1) To develop and become proficient with skills of pork production. As in the FFA motto this goal will involve "Learning to Do". The development of skills such as litter processing, Artificial Insemination with a 90% conception rate, machinery operation, nutrition management, and Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) marketing 100% drug residue free pork. These skills will be measured through my efficiency factors. 2) To operate my swine enterprise at a profit. I can achieve this goal through good management and record keeping. I will develop a business plan with a strong marketing plan. Profits not re-invested into the SAE will be invested in savings for college which I hope to have a savings of $10,000 by the end of my senior year of high school. This goal will be evaluated through the use of my enterprise summaries and net equity statement. 3) To make genetic improvement of economically valuable traits in my herd. The economically valuable traits that I will measure for genetic improvement will be growth rate and carcass traits such as percent lean of 55%, loin eye area of 6.0 to 8.0, back fat thickness of 0.4 to 0.9, and reproduction efficiencies of 11 pigs born live with 9 weaned. Also, the economic value will be measured by the demand for my genetic…

11. Well Written Goals When I started this SAE I had already achieved success with my sheep, winning several shows, showmanship contests and selling them at premium in state and national sales. I decided I wanted to learn more about the biology and financial fundamentals of raising sheep including basic nutrition, reproduction, genetics, production costs, pasture management, diseases, and diagnosis while learning to interact with people of diverse backgrounds. My principal objective was to leverage the knowledge gained to produce even better animals that could be sold for a premium to fund my college career. A secondary objective was to use the knowledge gained to participate on Skillathon, quiz bowl, livestock and meats judging teams. A personal goal I set for myself was to become skilled and knowledgeable enough about breeding, feeding and showing sheep that I could teach other sheep project youth what I had learned, particularly in my home county of Anywhere. I really enjoy teaching and helping others achieve their objectives with sheep and eventually conducted numerous sheep selection, showmanship and fitting clinics. I have also taken younger sheep friends with me to shows all over the United States so they could experience the fun of showing sheep and meeting other youth their age from all over the United States. Finally, I wanted to create an outstanding set of Southdown ewes that could serve as an investment for my future in sheep beyond my college career.

12. Page 3 – Item I B 3  Placement app’s – Responsibilities need to increase. Demonstrate that student is seeking increased responsibilities.  Entrepreneurship App’s – Identify a clear plan for marketing products. Advertising is a huge plus. Utilize industry norms and standards when possible.

13. Skills, Competencies, and Knowledge  List the ten best skills!  Use action words in describing skills and list higher order skills  Identify contributions to success which support improvement or efficiencies consistent with industry

14. Placement App’s  Placement Description – Describe business, size, equipment, etc. Don’t assume the judges know anything. (Don’t use “typical”)  Skills – Something you learned how to do. “High level” and “Transferable” skills. Include complete description and identify importance to success of the SAE or future career goals.  Activities – Something you do on a daily basis. Do not repeat Skills.  Hours on Skills and Activities should not exceed total!  Scope, Income and Expense Summary – Be sure you list at least 3 activities. Give complete descriptions and be sure activities (responsibility) expand every year. Hours need to increase every year. If not, explain why in disadvantages section.

15. Entrepreneurship o Inventory Related to this Proficiency Area – Consistent with summary report. Only items dealing with Proficiency area. Any inconsistency explained in app. o Scope – Numbers need to increase realistically. Expansion explained in write up and is due to student’s own efforts. o Financial pages – accuracy most important. o Efficiencies Attained – Relevant to today’s industry standards. o Change in Equity – Gain in equity cannot be greater than possible reported gain.

16. Pictures!  A picture can be worth a thousand words.  Show action!!  Tell a story with your caption. Do not start “This is a picture of me …”  Show projects. No more than one staged picture.

17. Contact Info: Tommy Thompson School – (575) 576-2466 Cell – (575) 799-3422 tthompson@sanjonschools.com