The Righetti High School FFA Poultry Team has been named the State FFA Champion Team and will be traveling to Indianapolis, Indiana, to represent California during a national contest in October.

Members of the Righetti High FFA Poultry Team show off their blue, red and yellow ribbongs. (Courtesy photo)
The participating Righetti High School students included Diego Melgoza, Hazel Ward, Anthony Medina and Saramerrie Torres. (Courtesy photo)

The honor was announced at the State FFA Judging Finals at Cal Poly on May 4, where more than 3,000 students from throughout California competed.

The poultry evaluation event includes individual and team knowledge exams of the poultry industry, evaluating more than 10 sets of poultry products based on USDA grading standards, and two oral presentations to industry professionals.

This is a very competitive event that requires countless hours of preparation outside of the classroom, according to Righetti High School FFA.

“These types of career development events involve blending practical hands-on experiences with a basic knowledge of the various agricultural related industry sectors required for careers in each field. The opportunities give students excellent exposure to careers, universities, and networking with industry professionals,” the Righetti FFA said.

The participating students included Diego Melgoza, tied for 1st High Individual; Hazel Ward, 3rd High Individual; Anthony Medina, 8th High Individual; and Saramerrie Torres, 18th Individual in the state.

“The team worked very hard since getting top five last year and set their minds on improving to be the best in the state, which they demonstrated at Cal Poly,’’ said Amy Guerra, Warrior agriculture teacher and FFA.

“The students did an amazing job of balancing their tight schedules, juggling their involvement in other clubs, caring for their livestock animals, maintaining jobs, and staying on their academics on top of countless hours preparing for this event,” she said.

Both the Nursery Landscape Team and the Soil and Land Evaluation Team received 5th place in the state.

The Best Informed Greenhand Team, Vegetable Crop Team, and AET Team also competed at Cal Poly.

“I am beyond proud of this team and our FFA students for their persistence and work ethic,’’ Guerra said. “They have inspired their peers to also strive to be the best and they all enjoy learning about the various contest areas.

“Our students that get involved in these competitive events expand their knowledge and greatly improve their public speaking skills. These are all tools that they will be able to use in their future endeavors.

“I look forward to representing California with this outstanding group of students at the national level,” Guerra said.

Righetti High has six Agricultural CTE Pathways: the Ag Business, Ag Mechanics, Agriscience, Animal Science, Ornamental Horticulture and Viticulture. There are seven Agricultural Pathways throughout the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District.