AMES, Iowa–The 2014 Stars Over Iowa Winners were announced at the 86th Leadership Conference at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, April 29, 2014. A Star Over Iowa was selected in each of four different areas: Agricultural Placement, Agriscience, Agribusiness, and Agricultural Production.

Kelly Puhrmann of the South O'Brien FFA Chapter at Paullina was selected as the Iowa Star in Placement. His agricultural education instructor and FFA Advisor is Mr. Eric Kumm. Puhrmann has worked approximately 3,000 hours for Puhrmann Excavating. He helps manage their screening and crushing plant, operate excavators and dosers, and perform equipment repairs. Through his experiences with heavy equipment, Puhrmann has gained a greater understanding of how to operate a wide variety of equipment used in constructing waterways, laying drainage tile, as well as demolition and crushing. After graduation, Puhrmann plans to attend Iowa State University for Mechanical Engineering.

Drayce Webster of the Sigourney FFA Chapter was selected as the Iowa Star in Agribusiness. His agricultural education instructor and FFA Advisor is Mr. Jerry Driscoll. Webster turned his passion for Animal Science and Horticulture into a Supervised Agricultural Experience business of raising meat rabbits, feeder pigs, and sweet potato slits, to sell at the farmer's markets. Webster relies on niche commodities and markets to obtain the highest return on his business. He started his rabbit business with four breeding does and has since increased to 30. He started his sweet potato slits in a small patch and has since increased production by building raised beds for them. After graduation he plans to expand his operation while attending Hawkeye Community College and majoring in Agricultural Business.

Alex Alliger of the Prairie Valley FFA Chapter at Gowrie was selected as the Iowa Star in Production. His agricultural education instructor and FFA Advisor is Mr. Steve Kehoe. During the past four years, Alliger has developed skills with corn, soybeans, swine, and cattle production enterprises. Alliger began by recording his placement hours on his diversified family farming operation, and he also finished out 250 market hogs. Since that time, his SAE program has grown to finish over 1,000 market hogs, 50 beef animals, and keeping records of 40 acres of corn and 80 acres of soybeans. Alliger is currently a freshman at Des Moines Area Community
College and plans to earn a degree in the Agricultural Business program. His plan is to return home to his family farming operation to be involved with crop and livestock production.

Eric Koehlmoos of the South O'Brien FFA Chapter at Paullina was selected as the Iowa Star in Agriscience. His agricultural education instructor and FFA Advisor is Eric Kumm. For the last three years, he has conducted experiments on the cellulosic ethanol production of switch grass and prairie cord grass. Koehlmoos became interested in the subject after learning about research being done at South Dakota State University. He learned that production from switch grass and prairie cord grass yields more ethanol than corn and wheat straw; and when these grasses are pretreated with hydrated lime, the ethanol yield is also increased. His research has the potential to benefit people of marginal lands, like those in the CRP program because both grasses grow
best where corn does not. Because of his research, Koehlmoos was named the 2013 FFA Agriscience Fair National Champion. After graduation, Koehlmoos plans to double major in Ag Education and Animal Science with a minor in Genetics.

The National FFA Foundation sponsors cash awards for the four overall star winners. The Stars Over Iowa program is made possible through the Iowa FFA Foundation with support from DuPont Pioneer and SFP.

The Iowa FFA Association has 219 local chapters with over 14,200 FFA members. FFA is a national organization of nearly 580,000 members preparing for leadership and careers in science, business and
technology of agriculture. Local, state and national programs provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. FFA's mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

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