The northern tier was well represented at this year’s farm show by several local Future Farmers of America chapters (FFA).

“I can't believe this place is 24 acres— I can definitely get my steps in, I can tell you that,” Aiden Miller said, a senior in the Athens FFA chapter. He received his Keystone degree at this year’s show, the highest honor you can earn in the organization.

“This year I've been volunteering in the Pennsylvania Maple Association booth, interacting with customers, learning more about the maple process myself,” Marissa Randall said, a sophomore with the Athens FFA. 

“The farm show is a place where agriculture just comes together,” Randall said when talking about why she loves visiting. "There are so many different branches of agriculture that some people may be an expert in one and not know anything about the other.”

Around 50 students came down with the Athens FFA chapter. Several of the middle schoolers entered the wreath and small landscape competitions.

“We all got together and had a fun little day where we made our wreaths together,” Kylie Hill said, an 8th grader with the Athens FFA.

“I put a bunch of fruits on mine cause, like, fruits,” Riley Wordin said, another 8th grader in the group.

The Northeast Bradford chapter also had members come down this week, and the high school teams had several entries in competitions.

The group won “Most Improved” for their tractor restoration project this year. They found an old Page Garden Tractor— that they restored to a crisp, clean blue while fixing up the engine.

“My favorite part was starting the engine, cause it's what we've been all waiting for. You know, we've been working hard to do all the other stuff we didn't want to do,” Adam Keir said, one of the students who worked on the tractor.

The chapter also won first place for their landscape exhibit.

“Oh, it feels good. We put a lot of effort into that, so I'm really happy we came out good for that,” Madalyn Smith said, one of the students who worked on the landscape project. It showcased plenty of greenery and nice stone paths, along with a pallet wall with ‘FFA’ spelled out with plants.

For students from both chapters, the competitions were one part of a show filled with learning and fund.

“I love it here. I love being able to see all the different booths— I found so many of my interests!” Sofia Marica said, a sophomore in the Athens FFA.

“It's so refreshing to see people from all kinds of different backgrounds come in. And even if it's their first time being here, they're just so shocked by what our whole state has,” Brooke Geider, a junior with Athens FFA. "This is our state showing off our agricultural background. And it's really just amazing to see them in shock and learning what different parts of agriculture are.”