Youth News
Introducing the 2018 FFA Star in Agriscience Riley Bingham of the Vinita FFA Chapter
Wed, 02 May 2018 18:03:47 CDT
Vinita FFA member Riley Bingham, the 2018 State Star in Agriscience, has participated in everything from dairy products evaluation to agricultural mechanics design and fabrication, but he found his passion in the scientific process. Bingham's supervised agricultural experience was rated the best in agriscience among the 794 FFA members who received the State FFA Degree during the 92nd annual State FFA Convention on May 2. Click or tap the PLAYBOX in the window below to watch a short clip of Bingham speaking about his SAE.
The Star winner from the Northeast Area has a passion for structural design and functionality, which he hopes to cultivate after high school by pursuing a degree in architectural engineering at Oklahoma State University. In the meantime, though, he turned his passion into his agriscience project, measuring the structural impact that Oklahoma's three main environmental hazards has on homes and barns and how to best protect structures from them. In his research, Riley examined how earthquakes, high wind speeds and drastic temperature changes impact buildings in Oklahoma. He then tested different types of structural reinforcements such as hurricane clips and roof sheathing to determine what worked best at minimizing extreme weather's impact.
"I found that putting a half-inch sheathing on a home or barn will prevent the wind damage and movement during an earthquake as well as keep the home or barn cooler and help cut down on energy costs to heat or cool the structure during the winter and summer months," he explained. "Literally one solution can help solve all three problems."
To conduct his research, Riley used earthquake simulators and spoke with knowledgeable engineers to construct his experiments and synthesize his findings into useable information that can be applied in real life and on the farm. As his chapter's vice president and an active member of its farmers market and catering team, forestry team and others - Riley has had a lot of exposure in during his high school career to the benefits that FFA offers its members. He says FFA has helped him develop his work ethic and a sense of commitment to something, which truly shines through in his project.
"FFA has opened me up as a person and showed me these new opportunities in life I can pursue," he said, "and really helped me to pick out a path for myself."
You can hear his entire conversation with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays, by clicking or tapping on the LISTEN BAR below.
Our salute of the 2018 Area Stars of the Oklahoma FFA is brought to you by American Farmers & Ranchers and AFR Insurance, proud to support Oklahoma's youth. Visit the AFR website by clicking or tapping here to learn more on how AFR supports the young people of Oklahoma, and how AFR can provide you with quality insurance for your home, auto, farm, and life.
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