HOWARD — East Knox FFA juniors Hayden Baker and Blake Elliott recently received their State FFA Degrees at the 96th annual Ohio FFA Convention in the Celeste Center at the Ohio Exposition Center.
This is the highest degree that an FFA member can receive on the state-level and is earned by only about two percent of the state membership.
To receive this award the members had to complete the 14-page degree application, then submit it to the county and district level before the final evaluation at the state level.
Requirements for the degree include having net earnings from Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects of at least $2,500, productively investing a minimum of $2,000, serving as an FFA officer or committee member, participating in FFA career development events on the state-level, completing school and professional activities, participating in at least eight FFA activities above the chapter level, completing a minimum of 25 hours of community service, having a satisfactory grade point average, and having at least 93 percent attendance at school.
Hayden Baker’s SAE projects include raising and showing market hogs at the Knox County Fair and completing various home improvement projects.
He is serving as the 2024-2025 chapter Vice President and was also in this same position last year. Hayden has competed in four national-level FFA Career Development Events and will compete in a fifth one this fall.
He competed at the Eastern States Exposition in Massachusetts in Forestry in 2022 and Milk Quality & Products in 2023 and represented Ohio in Indianapolis at the National FFA Convention in the Nursery/Landscape CDE in 2023.
Hayden is on the first place State Milk Quality & Products team that will represent Ohio this fall in Indianapolis. He attended state and national FFA conventions, state leadership nights, and district officer training.
Hayden is the son of Dustin and Lisa Baker of Bladensburg.
Blake Elliott’s SAE projects include raising and showing dairy market steers at the Knox County Fair, completing various home improvement projects, and working on the home farm.
Blake is in his third term as the East Knox FFA treasurer and has been a state gold-rated treasurer the past two years. He has competed in agricultural soils, farm business management, greenhand quiz, and urban soils career development events. He attended state and national FFA conventions and district officer training.
Blake is the son of Josh and Alissa Elliott of Howard.
This year’s two State Degrees now make 112 total East Knox State FFA Degree recipients since East Knox FFA was chartered in 1964.