Grafton FFA Chapter

10/08/2026

From Plants to Profit: Botany Meets Business🍂

Yesterday, our Botany students put their plant science, floral design, and business skills to the test with a 20-minute flash sale!

Students have been learning how the plants around us can be used in floral design. They harvested and dried grasses growing near our greenhouse to use as part of their arrangements and explored how different flowers, grasses, and greenery can be combined to create an appealing fall color palette.

From there, students took their knowledge into the floral design side of the project and created their own fall centerpieces, learning how plant materials, texture, shape, and color all work together to create a finished product.

Then came the business challenge!

As a class, students worked together to determine a fair price for their centerpieces by considering the materials, time, and work that went into creating them. They then had just 20 minutes to sell their products to staff members throughout Grafton Public Schools and North Valley Career & Technology Center.

Students had to market their product, communicate with customers, and put their sales skills to work — all while learning that there is much more to a floral product than simply putting flowers in a vase!

This project brought together botany, floral design, creativity, and real-world business skills in one hands-on experience.

A big thank-you to all of our staff members who supported our students by shopping the flash sale! 🍁

10/07/2026

🍎 Harvest Season is Here in Grafton Ag! 🌾

Our ag students have been getting hands-on with the apple harvest! Students visited the orchard to learn about different varieties of apples and what happens from harvest to finished product.

Back in the classroom, students turned their apples into value-added products, making delicious apple pie, apple crisp, and dried apples. Along the way, they learned about the process of taking an agricultural product from the orchard and turning it into something ready to enjoy.

🎥 Be sure to check out the video in the comments to see our students in action in the orchard!

We also connected harvest season to personal growth by learning about SMART goals. Students learned what makes a goal Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound and created a SMART goal of their own.

A great combination of hands-on agriculture, food science, value-added products, and goal setting! 🍎🌾

10/02/2026

Botany Gets Hands-On at Joyflora Farms! 🌸🌱

Yesterday, our Botany students had the opportunity to visit Joyflora Farms for a hands-on learning experience focused on growing and maintaining flowers.

Students learned more about what it takes to successfully grow flowers, including planting, caring for plants, maintaining healthy flowers, and the work that goes into producing quality blooms. They were able to see how the skills we discuss in the classroom connect to a real working flower farm.

Students also had the opportunity to assemble their own flower vases, giving them a chance to work with the flowers they had been learning about and see the process from growing and maintaining plants to creating a finished floral product.

A huge thank you to Tana at Joyflora Farms for welcoming our Botany students, sharing your knowledge, and giving them such a great hands-on experience! We appreciate you helping our students see the many possibilities within the floral and horticulture industry. 🌿💐

09/30/2026

Grafton FFA had two members attend the North Dakota FFA Leadership Conference. Students participated in leadership activities, met FFA members from across North Dakota, participated in service projects and gained valuable skills they can use in their chapter, school, and community. It was a great opportunity for students to step outside their comfort zones and continue developing as FFA leaders.

09/16/2026

🌱🐄 We’ve been busy in Ag! 🐄🌱

The first few weeks of class have been full of hands-on learning, teamwork, and getting our students involved right from the start!

🥚 Egg Drop Challenge — Students worked together to design, build, and test a structure to protect an egg from a drop. Along the way, they practiced communication, problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork — and, of course, we had a few successful drops and a few splats! 😂

💙💛 Learning About FFA — Students have also been introduced to the FFA and the many opportunities it provides for students to develop leadership skills, explore agriculture, compete, travel, and become involved in their school and community.

🌿 Botany has been especially busy! Our Botany students have been preparing the greenhouse for the year by getting it organized and ready for use, taking inventory of what we have, and making plans for the growing season ahead.

They’ve also been getting outside and collecting grasses to dry for fall centerpieces, giving students a chance to work with plant materials while preparing something they’ll be able to use later this fall. 🌾

💼 Board Room Project — Students also took on a team challenge where they worked together to develop projects and prepare presentations as if they were presenting to a real board room. They had to collaborate, organize their ideas, make decisions as a team, and confidently present their work — all while learning what it takes to work together in a professional setting.

It has been a great start to the year, and we’re just getting started! We’re excited for a year filled with agriculture, hands-on learning, teamwork, leadership, and plenty of opportunities for students to learn by doing. 🌱🐴🐮

06/12/2026

State convention might be over but we aren’t done thinking about it.
Help us continue to celebrate our success from last week: National Chapter Application- moving onto national judging, Food For America finalist, Premier Chapter finalist, Proficiency finalist Aly Kringstad, and much more!

06/04/2026

Another state convention in the books 💙💛 there was competitions and a little bit of fun. From dancing the night away to practicing our Happy Gilmore swings we played just as hard as we worked.

Here are the results of our competitions!

Proficiency Finalist- Aly Kringstad

Small Animal Care- Klarissa Rivera: bronze 🥉, Myleigh Desjarlais, and McKenzie King

Food Science and Technology- Klarissa Rivera: bronze 🥉, Myleigh Desjarlais, and McKenzie King

Farm and Agribusiness Management- Kale Tanke: bronze 🥉, Andrew Richardson

Floriculture- Aly Kringstad, Brayleigh Close, Ashlyn Botla

Environmental and Natural Resources- Andrew Richardson, Ashur Hughes

Choir- Ashur Hughes (swipe to see a familiar Grafton face!)

Courtesy Corps- Kale Tanke, Andrew Richardson, Ashlynn Botla

06/02/2026

State convention started with a bang for our chapter!
We traveled to Fargo in a bit of rain and a quick Starbucks stop. Once we got to state convention we took off running with members competing in Small Animal Care, delegate work, and the first session.
At the first session our chapter was recognized for Food For All, Premier Chapter, and Superior Chapter for Ag Voices Unleashed.
To top it all off we found out that our National Chapter Application qualified for national judging!

05/25/2026

Congratulations to the chapters selected as finalists in the National Chapter Award program!

Final award rankings, along with the chapters advancing to national judging, will be announced during the 1st General Session of the 97th North Dakota FFA Convention on June 1 at 7:30 PM. We can’t wait to celebrate the outstanding work happening across North Dakota FFA chapters!

05/25/2026