The Agriscience Fair recognizes students studying the application of scientific principles and emerging technologies in agricultural enterprises. Fifty-five projects and just about 100 students competed at the PA Farm Show AgriScience Fair Jan. 6, 2023, in Harrisburg.
Four Tyrone Area FFA members made the trip with their advisor so they could present their research to the panel of judges and bid for a top spot at the state event. These members are working to better understand the people agriculture serves, as well as technical issues. All Tyrone Area FFA members are currently working on AgriScience Fair projects, but these individuals set a goal to compete at the Farm Show.
Sarah Zimmerman, sophomore, captured first place in Power, Structure, and Technical Systems, Grades 9-10 Individual, with her research on the flammability of wool.
“When growing up, I was always concerned with the future of the planet. During a vacation to Central America, I saw firsthand the limited resources many citizens of those countries had. Unlike America where fire protection is customary, Central and South American countries do not have the supplies for adequate equipment. I did know that those countries have different animals than America, one of which is an alpaca.
Our family has two pet alpacas. I decided to do my experiment on the flammability of their wool, as I have lots of knitted materials of alpaca wool and had always wondered what made it different from sheep. With my interests in the deforestation of rainforests and alpacas, I began theorizing about fire protection when I heard of the deforestation occurring in those countries.”
Reilly Rawlings, freshman, received 2nd place in Plant Systems, Grades 9-10 Individual, with his project on LED lights impacting the growth and yield of tomato plants.
“Tomato plants need light and warmer temperatures to grow and produce a yield of fruit for humans to consume. What effect do LED lights have on tomato plants? Using Light-Emitting Diode technology for plant cultivation under controlled environmental conditions can significantly reduce energy consumption. If LED lights were used to grow tomato plants, which color of LED light would affect the growth the most?
This AgriScience project was chosen because I am interested in learning what effect LED lights actually have on tomato plants, and which color would show the most growth in plants. I actually do not like tomatoes but I have grown them at my grandmother’s house in an unused flower bed. I believe this will help to curb the hunger crises by enabling farmers to grow tomato plants in climate control areas with artificial light.”
Paige Hoy, freshman and Nora Hoy, sophomore, competed as a team in Food Products & Processing Systems, Grades 9-10 Teams and were recognized for their great research with a 1st place award.
“This experiment was run to show how different solutes at various concentrates (salts and sugars) affect osmosis in a cell. Through discussions with our agricultural educator and previous observations in the Ag room, we began to conduct research to determine how osmosis impacts human and animal cells. Both of us are also active dancers and were interested in how the different solutes may be impacting our own bodies in regards to physical performances and intense training.”
