FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA: PATHWAY TO SUCCESS

I talk a lot about the country lifestyle and rural land near Houston. FFA is a wonderful feature of that Country Lifestyle, not just within 100 miles of Houston, but nationwide. It is one of the oldest (1928) and largest and most successful youth organizations in the nation. There are currently 760,000 students in the program in 8,739 Chapters with 13,000 teachers and advisors. All 50 states and Puerto Rico are represented. I hope you will visit ffa.org for more information.

If you are reading this, you may be very familiar with the FFA or, you could be a parent who wants to know more. What I really hope is that you are a student looking for options. Maybe you don’t feel like you are on the right path. You might be searching for your niche. If so, I want you to know that the FFA will provide you an opportunity for premier leadership, personal growth and career success. It also offers you a chance to be associated with some of the finest young men and women you would ever want to know. I know this from personal experience.

How to Join

If you are interested in joining the FFA, talk to your school counselor or one of the agriculture teachers at your school. FFA is available beginning in the 7th grade and continues through the 12th grade. You can enter the program at any point. Being involved the FFA will enrich your school experience in much the same way as sports and other school activities but very possibly, in an even more comprehensive way.

Pathway to college

Think of the FFA as a funnel to college and training for a career. College is an important part of the journey and there are collegiate FFA Chapters in many colleges and universities. Students are exposed to college agriculture curriculums throughout the program. FFA is college focused and this emphasis has been working for almost a century. Not only will FFA point you to college, it may help provide some of the money to go there. We will talk about financial scholarships for college available to FFA members later in this post.

Pathway to a career

A career in Agriculture doesn’t necessarily mean being a farmer or rancher. Production agriculture is just the beginning. Agri-Business is the largest industry in the world. During the FFA journey, a student will be exposed to the full range of career possibilities in agriculture. There is more information about careers in agriculture in the Career Success discussion below. You might want to visit agcareers.com for more information.

School based agriculture education

FFA is part of a comprehensive three part program in a junior high or senior high school setting which includes (1) classroom/lab instruction, (2) supervised agricultural experience (hands on learning in the form of an array of projects) and (3) extracurricular FFA activities. Visit saeforall.org for more information.

Leadership and Career Development Events

Students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of development events and competitions. The following are just a few of many.

• Agriculture Issues Forum (debate)
• Parliamentary Procedures
• Prepared Public Speaking
• Agriculture Communications
• Livestock Judging
• Food Science and Technology
• Agronomy, Nursery/Landscape
• Natural Resources

Career Success

One in three of all people in the world work in Agriculture. Given, most of them are manual laborers. Let’s talk about you being one of the leaders. First of all, visit agexplorer.ffa.org for information about the incredible range of opportunities in agriculture. Think about veterinarians, agriculture finance, drone technology, food research, communications, becoming an agriculture teacher in high school, rural sociology, farm and ranch appraising, resource management to name just a few and yes, there are lawyers who specialize in agriculture law. Those specialties just scratch the surface.

Scholarships

There are 8 million FFA alumni and they are unusually loyal and supportive in many ways. I am going to talk about the financial aspect of that support here. FFA Alumni donations allow the National FFA Foundation to fund millions of dollars annually. Basically, alumni donate to the National FFA Foundation which in turn funds grants and scholarships. Grants go to individual chapters to strengthen their programs and to individual students who need financial help to fund their projects. Additionally, the National FFA Foundation provides scholarships to deserving students to attend the college of their choice. Joining the FFA is the first step to going to college.

My Personal Testimonial

I am a product of the Vocational Ag and FFA program of many years ago. My Ag Teacher was an award winning instructor who pushed his students to excel. Because of his interest in me, I was fortunate enough to be elected a Texas Association Vice President which resulted in a scholarship to Texas A&M. FFA was a life saver for this country boy from Carrizo Springs, Texas.

Famous People who were in the FFA

Jimmy Carter: President of United States
Sam Brownback: Kansas Governor and Senator
Bo Jackson: Pro Football and Baseball
Richard “Tuff” Hedeman: Pro Bull Rider
Jordan Gross: NFL
Jordy Nelson: NFL
Mark Tauscher: NFL
Kent Benson: NBA
Sterling Martin: NASCAR Driver
Taylor Swift: Singer
Willie Nelson: Singer
Tim McGraw: Singer
Toby Keith: Singer
Zac Brown: Singer
Brantley Gilbert: Singer
Don Henley: Singer
Lyle Lovett: Singer
Eddie Montgomery: Singer
Tom Wopat: Actor
Julia Roberts: Actress
Roy Rogers: Actor/Singer
Matthew Fox: Actor
Chris Colfer: Actor
Jim Davis: Creator of Garfield

Summary
The FFA prepares its members for premier leadership, personal growth and career success. I write posts about FFA and 4-H and County Fairs because they are an important part of the country lifestyle within 100 miles of Houston. Living in the country is worth it. Allen Realty Advisors has been helping folks buy and sell rural land near Houston for a long time. Contact us at rurallandnearhouston.com if we can help.

CHECK IN WITH US

Allen Realty Advisors represents buyers and sellers of fine quality rural land near Houston. We specialize in weekend retreats, country estates, farms and ranches, recreational property and investment land. Our market area is generally within 100 miles (two hours) of Houston.