Righetti High School FFA Fruit Tree Pruning Team won state championship

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The Ernest Righetti High School FFA Fruit Tree Pruning Team won the state championship during the Mid-Winter State Finals in Fresno this past weekend.

"This is really an accomplishment because we don’t have thousands of orchards to practice with like the FFA students in the Central Valley,’’ said advisor Miguel Guerra. “My students are a teacher’s dream team.’’

The winning team members included Yasmine Hernandez, Erin Trathen, Isaiah Calderon, and Samantha McDonald.

The teams were evaluated individually on their ability to prune multiple fruit trees and on an oral evaluation of their efforts, according to Santa Maria Joint Union High School District spokesman Kenny Klein.

The Fruit Tree Pruning event seeks to effectively prepare students to learn current agriculture practices and procedures used in today's industry, Klein said.

The event blends the testing of manipulative skills and knowledge required for agriculture production careers.