Joel Baltazar Mendoza of the Hamilton City FFA Chapter in California has a supervised agricultural experience that includes rice field preparation, planting trials, collecting field data and harvesting the crop. Starting his freshman year, he began working with his father as a rice researcher. Starting with simpler tasks, Joel eventually learned to spray, irrigate, clean and dry seed, ship and harvest. He hopes to major in plant science at California State University at Chico. He is supported by his parents, Lorena and Baltazar, and his FFA advisors, Janice Lohse and Ryan Bentz. This award is sponsored by BASF.
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