BLINN TO HOST AG MECHANICS SHOW, APRIL 24
Students from approximately 80 high schools will showcase their agricultural mechanics projects at the W.J. ‘Bill’ Rankin Agricultural Complex=
(Courtesy: Blinn College)
High school students will bring the most innovative agricultural mechanics projects in the state to the Blinn College-Brenham Campus Wednesday, April 24, for the College’s 18th annual Agricultural Mechanics Show.
More than 500 participants will showcase approximately 185 agricultural mechanics projects at the W.J. “Bill” Rankin Agricultural Complex beginning at 10 a.m. The awards ceremony will take place at 4 p.m.
“It is always amazing to see the students’ projects and what they are capable of,” said Johnnie Schroeder, event founder. “This event also is a great opportunity to showcase what we do in the Agriculture Sciences Program and our wonderful facilities at Blinn College.”
The show features projects developed and designed by students in high school FFA chapters and county 4-H clubs. Students work 300-400 hours on some projects, which then are judged on workmanship, design, degree of difficulty, showmanship, and documentation, including pictures of each step.
Projects include agricultural machinery and equipment, livestock equipment, trailers, barbecue pits, picnic tables, metal and wood furniture, entrance gates, deer blinds, animal traps and horticulture products, engines, and reconditioned tractors and restored equipment.
Projects will be judged in five categories: agriculture machinery and equipment, livestock and equipment, trailers, recreation, and engines. The winners of each category will be awarded a Blinn scholarship. There also will be an on-site welding contest at 1 p.m. and cutting torch contest at 2 p.m.
Blinn’s Agricultural Sciences Program is roughly four times the size of any other two-year agricultural program in the state and offers agriculture classes on all of its campuses, with the W.J. “Bill” Rankin Agricultural Complex serving as the program’s hub.
In addition to its excellence in the classroom, Blinn offers extracurricular educational activities in the areas of livestock judging, agriculture club, wildlife, agriculture mechanics, horticulture and agriculture sciences. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu/agricultural-sciences.