Today we will take a look at just what Future Farmers of America Organization members do and learn while they are actively involved this organization. If you have happened to have a nice meal today, just offer up a prayer on the farmers behalf when you read this.
Getting Started in FFA
The FFA was originally open to high school students but as times have changed so has the organization and there are middle school chapters that now offer younger students to get involved with FFA and work their way up through the program. These middle school programs focus more on educational aspects of the program and less on raising live animals. The middle school program features and Agriscience Fair that the students can develop science related projects that have to do with agriculture. These can be individual or team entries, the main purpose of the middle school program is to teach team work so most entries are team collaborations. At this younger level they also learn to conduct meetings, organizational skills and self discipline. All these things lead to a smoother transition as they move to the high school level FFA programs.
The FFA programs are chartered through the public schools that offer agricultural education programs as part of the school curriculum.
The Heart of The System is SAE
SAE is the acronym for Supervised Agricultural Experience, in the SAE program students apply the lessons learned in the classroom with regard to agriculture. SAE is self controlled by the student, it teaches them to apply the class room knowledge to a real world project that they select and undertake as their own work. These projects are supervised by the agriculture teacher of the school, these projects often involved business enterprises started by the student that relate to the students particular area of interest in agriculture. This could mean developing a tool or process that could be used in agriculture or could even be a part time service business like a landscaping or yard service for hire in the local community. I personally know of one venture that started out this program, so that the kids could make money for college. They paid their way through college and have continued on with the venture and have grown it into a full service landscape and irrigation company that now employs thirty full time employees and has been in business for over twenty years. The program really works, as this business is evidence of how it can work.
Ownership and Entrepreneurship is the category that the previous testimony falls under within the SAE system. There is also a placement and internship area of SAE where students are placed or find work as an intern with a agribusiness that they have interest in but can’t just run out and start their own. Research is another area that is encompassed and can be on an individual basis or even done with the local agricultural extension office that are run by the state, this may involve studying how different cultural practices effect plant growth or crop yield.
School based Enterprise is another area of SAE that is a popular choice for FFA members to pursue, some of these ventures include raising plants for sale in the school greenhouse or building stock panels in the school metal shop. Repairing small lawn mowers and even tractors is another part of the businesses undertaken, agricultural mechanics is a specialized discipline in farming. Several large farms employ their own full time mechanics.
Service – Learning is the other SAE that is popular where students do a community assessment and determine what some needs are that are not being addressed and formulate an action plan that will meet the need they have identified , then they will work to raise funds and implement the plans.
All these SAE can lead to FFA awards and may also gain them scholarships for college. Some SAE even qualify for grant money to launch these micro businesses at their start up, grants can be as much as $1,000.00
So that was a look at the Heart of the SAE system, let’s take a look at the Soul
Programs of Activities are the soul of FFA in that it works to establish the goals of local chapters. Also known as the POA is divided into three areas or divisions; growing leaders . building communities ,and strengthening agriculture. The regular chapter meetings are used to plan events around these three activities. It teaches discipline, team work and organizational skills along with communication skills. All members are engaged in this aspect of FFA.
So that brings us up to speed on the workings let see how it pays off
The ultimate goal in FFA is to master some aspect of agricultural interest that you have while in high school. This most often is raising some form of animal for the live stock shows. Where animals are judged on a variety of different qualities based on the type of animal. The list of animals is pretty extensive but the major ones are steers, lambs, hogs, goats, chickens and turkeys. So the investment of money can be from very little to a lot depending on what animal you elect to raise as your FFA project.
All of these animals when they are shown are judged by professional judges who have years of experience and knowledge in those animals that they are judging. The animals are judge based on the confirmation, which means, are they proportionally correct and represent what a good animal would have as to appearance. They also judge muscle and fat content, skin or coat, and feathers if in the poultry realm. Each animal has its own unique judging parameters.
The goal is to win but there can only be one winner in each category, but that doesn’t mean that if you don’t win your class you won’t be rewarded. Most events take at least the top four animals of each event to the FFA Sale Auction where the animals are sold to the public. These auctions can raise huge sums of money for the student owners of the animals, winning Grand Champion Steer at the Houston show will pretty much fund a year a college with room, board, books and tuition and some pretty darn good colleges.
The events that FFA members can compete in at these shows are not limited to raising and showing animals. There are several events that are judging events where the students judge show animals and then have to explain in detail to professional judges how they determined their selections they chose as winners.
Like I mentioned earlier about ag-mechanics being important, there are competitions in which teams of students from each school have twenty minutes to diagnose and repair tractors that have been disabled intentionally with identical problems, it is a race against the clock and other teams.
There are also horticultural competitions where shrubs and flowers that have been raised by students are judged for health and plant beauty by knowledgeable horticulturalists.
Baking, sewing, and art are all found at these FFA shows as well along with shooting competitions.
Shooting is something you would think would not be a part of something that is school related, but it is, because life on the farm sometimes does involve needing to use a firearm. Rabid varmints like skunks, raccoons and others can wreak havoc to a live stock operation. Also coyotes and fox can cause major problems, ever hear of the fox guarding the hen house? Well it does happen and eliminating the problem is a necessity so being proficient with a gun is an important part of farming.
The shooting competition is with shotguns and the targets are clay pigeons that are mechanically thrown in the air from various positions. Just to give you an idea on just how good these students are with a shotgun; a friend of mine has a son who competed last week in San Antonio at the event he hit 286 out of 300 clays. He didn’t even make it to the final round of shooting. It took a score of 297 out of 300 to make the final round. That is damn good shooting in anyone’s book.
That about wraps it up on the FFA and what it is all about, I know I have left some things out but you get the big picture.
Agriculture is big business now, it has always been important as we all need to eat. FFA works to grow these kids knowledge, desire and confidence in agriculture; so that we can be confident that there will be people who will raise the food we find for sale a local grocery stores.
This is a program that from its inception has been needed and while the business of agriculture has changed so has the FFA to insure that our needs will be met now and in the future. If you have a local chapter in your area makes plans to attend a local event and get to know these future farmers by name.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
