Students from Arizona, California, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky and Oklahoma were elected to serve on the 2017-18 National FFA Officer team. Breanna Holbert, an agricultural education major at California State University of Chico, made history as the first female African American elected as National FFA president. Her fellow officers include: National Secretary – Erica Baier, agricultural education major at Iowa State …
ZimmCast with Dr. Steve Brown, National FFA Advisor
This week’s program features a conversation with National FFA Advisor, Dr. Steve Brown. Jamie Johansen is involved in judging during the National FFA Convention but had time to sit down with Dr. Brown. According to Jamie, “Dr. Brown and my dad were state FFA officers together and then worked for the Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education in Agricultural …
Secretary Sonny Attends First FFA Convention
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue attended his first National FFA Convention this week and held a press conference to take questions about various topics, prior to addressing the group’s opening general session. Perdue appeared at the press conference with six members of the FFA policy committee. “I’m looking at our House and Senate Congress behind me here,” Perdue joked. The secretary …
National FFA Kicks Off Today
Today is the official start of the 90th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, but the blue coats have been seen around the city for the past week, since the national officer team joined state and local officials last Thursday in a welcoming ceremony that included turning the downtown Indy canal blue. This year, the theme of the convention and expo …
GROWMARK Announces 2018 Essay Contest Theme
For the past 25 years, GROWMARK has challenged students to think creatively about the future of agriculture and how cooperatives can continue to thrive and contribute to the industry through an annual essay contest. This year’s 2018 GROWMARK Essay Contest asks students “How can cooperatives demonstrate their value to the next generation of agriculturists?” All high school FFA members in Illinois, Iowa, …
Farm Bureau and FFA Work for Ag Education
The American Farm Bureau Federation and National FFA Organization have signed a memorandum of understanding to grow leaders, build communities and strengthen agriculture. The MOU outlines how the two organizations will work together to discover opportunities that benefit both their members and agricultural education students in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It was signed in …
E15 Awareness Through Prime the Pump
Members of the Twin Cedars FFA Chapter in Bussey, Iowa, canvassed Iowa Speedway racegoers prior to the American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen on June 24. Their goal was to increase awareness of the benefits of E15 and raise money to support Prime the Pump. Funds raised will be matched by Syngenta, and Twin Cedars members will earn money …
LibertyLink Finds Partners in FFA and AHA
LibertyLink may not immediately make you think of the American Heart Association (AHA), but Bayer wants to change that. “So our goal is to build awareness around heart disease– one of the major killers in the rural market,” explains Jody Wynia, soybean and cotton manager for Bayer. “It’s 39 percent more prevalent in rural communitites than it is in the …
Celebrating National #FFAweek
Tomorrow kicks off National FFA Week, running from Saturday to Saturday around George Washington’s birthday. More than 649,000 FFA members will share the message of agriculture by hosting activities that highlight the importance of raising food and fiber. The tradition began in 1948 in recognition of Washington’s legacy as a farmer. Today National FFA Week encourages chapters to be involved in …
Strategic Communications Director Retires from FFA
Members of the FFA community will miss Bill Stagg, 40 year director of strategic communications of the National FFA Organization. Stage has announced that he will retire at the end of this month. He has been with the National FFA Organization since November of 1978, dedicating his life to the motto “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living …