2012-2014 Event Superintendent Edward A. Franklin
This web site will be updated as information becomes available throughout the year. Any updates made between August and the date of the National FFA Convention will appear in red to highlight the change. If you find a mistake or an electronic reference does not work, please send an email to the appropriate contest associate superintendent and the superintendent.
last updated 4/9/13
Introduction
The changing workplace in
To effectively prepare students for the agricultural mechanics work environment, the students must acquire knowledge and skills, and develop the ability to solve difficult problems. The agricultural mechanics professional of tomorrow will perform these skills while working with others and apply these skills to a range of systems and technologies that interrelate. The agricultural mechanics profession requires employees to do much more than perform tasks.
The National FFA Agricultural Mechanics Career Development Event is designed to recognize those students who have developed the competencies necessary for success in the constantly changing workplace. The traditional knowledge and skills are still a part of agricultural mechanics technical content, but many other abilities are now necessary. Emphasis is placed on the way in which students work with others, access information, solve complex problems, select an appropriate technology, and apply the principles of science. The agricultural mechanics career development event balances problem solving abilities, with knowledge, skills, and experience. These abilities are evaluated for students working together as a team and for each student working independently.
Content Areas for the Event
The career development event will be developed from the following subject matter topics described under the five systems areas listed below.
Information / Rules for
the Event
Click here to review general information about the event!
Click here to review the rules about the event!
General Rules for the
Event
Beginning 2005, it was REQUIRED that each team has a laptop computer and printer.
Please understand that the National FFA will no longer provide computers for this activity, so teams without this equipment are placing themselves at
an extreme disadvantage. Teams should bring at least one laptop computer and one portable printer (you can bring more). The two computers will allow more than
one team
member to work on the team report at the same time and provides a backup in the event of a computer failure. The laptops must be able to read HTML,
Adobe Acrobat 6.0 (PDF) or higher, MS-Excel, and MS-Word 2003 of higher files from a USB flash drive. Laptop computers that are
several years old (5+) will present a disadvantage to students. A USB flash drive will be used to provide information for the team activity. The large
computer files and graphics on the USB Flash drive can operate very slowly on older operating systems and sometimes will lockup the software, requiring
the computer to be rebooted. To summarize, each team is REQUIRED to bring their computers for use in the team activity.
Computer Equipment Checklist:
During the 2013 team activity, each team will be given a flash drive for their computer(s). The flash drive will have the instructions and information specific to the activity and the final report will be typed and printed. Each team will use either their printer(s) or the CDE printers to printout the final report and any other information needed from the computer's hard drive or the flash drive. Teams may save any information they wish on the hard drive of their computers and they may access and use this information during the team activity.
Please Note: Teams may save any information they wish on the hard drive of their computers and they may access and use this information during the
team activity. Students will NOT be allowed to bring any external storage medium (flash drives etc.) to the team
activity. Students will NOT be allowed to establish a connection to the internet during the event. Students connecting to the Internet will be
disqualified from the event.
All team members must wear safety glasses during the team
and skill events. To enter the CDE area, students must have safety glasses in
their possession. Each year there are individuals and teams that arrive for
Wednesday's team activity and/or Thursday's skill activities without safety
glasses. To enter the CDE area, students must have safety glasses in their
possession.
Each team member will need a calculator to complete the
multiple-choice examination on Wednesday and the skill activities on Thursday. Cell phones cannot be used as a calculator.
Students will not be allowed to share a calculator during the examination
on Wednesday or during the skill activities on Thursday. The team activity will
also require calculators, but team members may share them during this activity.
No team member is allowed to use a cell phone or any other communication device at any time during the event.
This is the emphasis area for the 2013 National FFA
Agricultural Mechanics Career Development Event. The Structural Systems Skill activity update: Other Reference Material: Associate Superintendent: Dr. Craig Morton, All students must wear safety glasses during the skill
activities. To enter the CDE area, students must have safety glasses in their
possession. Please check back for more information at a later date. Textbooks: Other Reference Material: ·
No other reference material has been
identified. Other references will be
announced as they are identified. Associate Superintendent: Dr. Mack Strickland, 2013
Environment and Natural Resource Systems Skills All students must wear safety glasses during the skill
activities. To enter the CDE area, students must have safety glasses in their
possession. References: Other Reference Material: No other reference material has been identified. Other references will be announced as they are identified. Associate Superintendent: Dr. Ryan Saucier,
No palm pilot (PDA) and cell phone devices will be allowed in the contest area. The activity will involve problem solving and calculations. A
calculator is highly recommended.
Electrical equipment is widely used in agricultural processing operations. All electrical equipment must be connected to correctly planned and properly installed electrical branch circuits.
Therefore, it is important that agricultural technicians and workers have an understanding of electrical loads (including motors), over-current and motor protection devices, control devices (both
manual and automatic), conductor selection (for conditions of use, ampacity, and voltage drop), and approved and safe wiring procedures. The ability to correctly wire dual-voltage and
electrically-reversible electric motors is also essential.
Suggested References for Activity: Review the general
references for the CDE.
Other Reference Material: No other reference material has been identified. Other references will be announced as they are identified. Associate Superintendent: Dr. Don Johnson, University of Arkansas, 1.479-575-2039 Email:dmjohnso@uark.edu
All students must wear safety glasses during the skill
activities. To enter the CDE area, students must have safety glasses in their
possession.
The 2013 Energy Systems activity will focus on one or more the following skills:
Textbooks: ·
No textbooks have been identified. Textbooks will be announced as they are
identified. Other Reference Material: Associate
Superintendent: Dr. Stephen Poe, Telephone
1.520-621-5879, Fax
1.520-621-3963 Email:
spoe@ag.arizona.edu All team members must wear safety glasses during
the team event. To enter the CDE area, students must have safety glasses in their
possession. Team members will work together to complete the activity in two hours.
This team event is worth 250 points. If a team member exhibits or performs any
unsafe practice, points will be deducted from the total team score. Equipment Provided:
The equipment for the Team Activity portion of the event has not yet been determined. Please check back for
additional information at a later date.
Equipment provided by the Team:
Teams will be expected to provide appropriate personal protective clothing, a laptop computer with Adobe Reader
(version 6 or higher) capable of reading FLASHDRIVE's, HTML, and pdf documents, and a printer and cartridge, printer paper for printing, power cable, and
connecting cable. Teams will be expected to test their laptop computer and printer compatibility BEFORE the Team Activity. The students will be
provided with the references and an answer sheet via a flash drive that will work with the lap top computer that they bring with them.
Description of Team Activity: Please understand that the Associate Supt. reserves the right to make
necessary changes to this activity based on the availability of materials and
resources to successfully conduct this activity.
Textbooks: Other Reference Material:
SCORING CHANGES for 2012-2016
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
TEAM SCORING
Event Theme for 2013:
PROCESSING SYSTEMS
2013 Written Examination
The written examination for the event took on a new format for 2012. The students had 60 minutes to complete this activity as
in the
past. However, the number of questions and the points alocated for each question changed. A total of 25 questions were asked; five for each
area of the event. Each question is now worth two points (not one point). Please click on the link for the example exam so that you can download and
review prior to the event.
Sample Exam for the National FFA Agricultural Mechanics Career Development Event
Please note that reference sheets will be included with the exam. These reference sheets may include tables, diagrams, pictures, formulas, and additional information. If a reference sheet should be
viewed in order to answer a specific question, the reference sheet will be indicated in the question.
2013 Structural Systems Activities
All students must wear safety glasses during the skill activities. To enter the CDE area students must have safety glasses in their possession.
Students must wear clothing and footwear appropriate for metal working. Any required eye and/or hearing protective equipment and/or gloves will
provided.
Suggested References:
Textbooks:
2013 Machine & Equipment Systems
Activities Activities (Note: the piece of equipment has changed from an earlier posting)
Suggested References:
The skill activity will be as generic as possible so that students will not be put at a disadvantage if they do not have access to a
particular type of machine. When practicing for the event, remember that the skill activity is designed to be performed by an
individual in a 25 minute time period. However, there will be an assistant available at each machine to provide limited assistance
for any student that may have a physical limitation of some type. If there is anything specific to the equipment, this information
will be provided on the day of the event. At this point please secure the following manuals:
We suggest that you also visit the websites and/or look at product literature on mower-conditioners.
No other specific reference materials has not been selected at this time. Please check back for additional
information at a later date.
In agriculture and in life, water is a very precious resource for processing agricultural bio-products. Whether on a
traditional farm, an urban garden, or processing facility, water can mean the difference between efficient production
or tragic economic losses. Therefore as agriculturalists, we must understand the efficient use of this resource in
our daily lives, both on and off the farm. Participants should be prepared to utilize traditional and emerging
technologies in the area of water use, related equipment uses and calculations, area measurement, and weather
monitoring. The ability and knowledge to determine slope, land area, etc. is recommended. Only specific formulas will
be provided. Common formulas used for land area, gallons per acre, etc. and will be required knowledge of the
participant. Participants should also be prepared to identify, utilize, convert, and manipulate units associated with
length, area, and volume such as gallons, cubic feet, square meters, acres, square feet, cubic yards, etc.
Please check back for more information at a later date.
2013 Electrical Systems Skill Activity
Possible scenarios for the 2013 Electrical Skill activity include: (Again, please check back for more information at a later
date.)
Electrical Systems
2013 Energy Systems Activities
2013 Team Activity - MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEMS
The team activity will focus on pumping water. Skills and problems addressed will include:
Additional information will be provided at a later date.
The students will be provided with the references and an answer sheet via
digital media (ie USB drive)
that will work with the lap top computer that they bring with them.
Note: Teams may provide their own tools. However, as noted above, duplicate tools that we provided will be removed from their work
station.
Suggested References:
No other reference material has been identified. Other references will be announced as they are identified.
No textbooks have been identified. Textbooks will be announced as they are
identified.
Other reference material will be announced as they are identified.
Associate Superintendent: Dr. Rick Bockhop/ Dr. Mark Zidon, Telephone: 1.608.342.1391, Email: bockhopr@uwplatt.edu Email: zidon@uwplatt.edu
|
YEAR |
EVENT
THEME |
|
2013 |
Processing Systems |
|
2014 |
Plant Production
Systems |
|
2015 |
Integrated Pest Management Systems |
|
2016 |
Animal Production Systems |
|
2017 |
Material
Handling Systems |
·
D. M. Johnson, J. Harper, D.E. Lawver & P. Buriak. Mechanical
Technology in Agriculture, Prentice Hall, 2001
·
The National Fire Protection Association. National
Electric Code, 2002.
·
Ray V. Herren and
Elmer L. Cooper. Agricultural Mechanics Fundamentals & Applications, 4th
edition, Delmar Publishing.
If you have concerns about specific references that will be used, please contact the respective Associate Superintendent.
|
Edward A.
Franklin |
|
2012-2014
Event Superintendent |
|
|
|
1110 E. South Campus Dr., Saguaro Hall 205 |
|
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(520) 621-1523
(voice) |
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(520) 621-9889
(fax) |