I am a big proponent of youth organizations. I think they help young adults learn responsibility, respect, determination and perseverance. They also give students opportunities to develop real world skills like leadership, communication and professionalism.
FFA, in my opinion, is one of the best youth programs in this country. FFA is geared towards high school students, and was a program that I participated in. FFA students can compete in all sorts of contests from speaking to livestock judging, and this year, 2014, FFA has the highest membership it has ever had with more than 600,000 members.
That is incredible to me. Ag teachers and volunteers across the country help guide these students into adulthood, where they will hopefully become productive members of society.
I have a passion for FFA, but I did not have the ideal FFA experience when I was in high school. I joined as a freshman, and enjoyed the experiences of that first year, from learning to creed to attending the State FFA convention. I won the Star Greenhand award that year, and was my class representative on the officer team.
However, my sophomore year all but killed that passion that I started with. Our chapter was struggling, and I did not feel like I was getting out of the classroom what I was looking for. Many students would have loved the opportunity to mess around, but I was there to learn. So my junior year, I decided to quit FFA.
I wish I would have stuck it out. Not because I wanted to sit all class, but because I missed out on opportunities like being on the officer team and competing in state career development events. I never competed at anything above the chapter level.
My senior year I decided I wanted to show livestock at the county fair, and since I wasn’t in 4-H, I rejoined FFA. I worked hard, and the spring of my senior year, I purchased two hogs, three lambs and some turkeys to show. I’d never shown livestock, but I wanted the experience.
It turns out, I loved it. My gilt was the Reserve Grand Champion Bred and Fed, and I was hooked. I kept her back and started my own sow program, which I still operate today. When I was able to move my hogs to college, I did, and I competed in jackpots and at the county breeding show.
When I aged out, I looked for another species I could show, and that’s how I landed on goats. I purchased a few dairy and a few Boer goats, and that started what is now a 50 head goat operation.
My supervised agricultural experience (SAE) included horses, hogs, sheep, goats and placement at my parent’s farm. I decided my senior year that I wanted to pursue my state and American FFA degrees, because I wanted to know what it felt like to earn something above the chapter level.
Because I had left my junior year, I wasn’t eligible until I was 21, because you have to have a membership for 4 consecutive years. I worked hard on my application, and in June 2009, I received my state FFA degree. In October of the same year, I earned my American degree. It was a dream come true.
When I look back at my FFA experience, it would have been very easy for me to give up and leave for good when I didn’t get what I was expecting. But I decided to give it another go, and if I hadn’t, I don’t think I’d be in the career that I am today.
It’s because of this that I promote FFA. I know what the program is capable of in the hands of the right ag teacher. I have numerous friends I graduated college with who are now ag teachers, and I love seeing the difference they are making in their student’s lives. It takes a lot of commitment on behalf of the teacher, but the rewards for the students long term are priceless.
I have had the opportunity to attend the the National FFA convention five of the last six years, and this one was my fourth in a row. I’ve recruited for Colorado State University, Sigma Alpha Sorority, and now for the Junior American Boer Goat Association. I still love the experience, and hearing young people get excited about agriculture, and especially about goats.
I know that FFA will remain a part of my life. I’ve had the opportunity to judge state CDE contests, and in a few weeks, I will be giving workshops at a district leadership conference about agricultural communication and advocating for agriculture. If I can make a difference and inspire even one student, it will be a success.
#GoFFA