New Face of the FFA – City Folk

If you haven’t had a chance to catch up on the FFA lately, you may want to read this article from the New York Times. It clearly articulates the changes in the FFA, which in many respects, has echoed the changes in farming. It states:

A new face has emerged on this old-fashioned tradition. More FFA members now come from towns, suburbs and city neighborhoods, including Queens and the South Side of Chicago, than from rural farm regions, FFA officials say. The largest chapter in the country? At W. B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences in Philadelphia.

Mainly, the FFA, created to build pride among young farmers-to-be, is drawing students who say they do not in the least wish to become farmers, but rather food industry scientists, seed bioengineers, florists, landscapers and renewable fuels engineers.

When we attended the FFA convention in October, this evolution was readily apparent. While we talked to quite a few students who lived on a farm, many did not. They totally understood, though, the value of agriculture in American society.

For many, the convention was an opportunity to learn about agricultural sciences, meet others with like interests as well as take lessons in leadership. Overall, they said it was a very positive experience, even if they had to spend 18 hours on a bus to get to the Indianapolis convention.

The staff at Farmers’ Almanac TV found the whole event very inspiring. The students we met clearly were “good kids” with their hearts in the right places.

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