FFA members see agriculture in action

By Cassie Wandersee, Staff Writer

Chris Thompson, Field Marketer for MKC, explains
some of the products and services available
through the agronomy center at Groveland.

Forty students from Inman High School involved in Future Farmers of America (FFA) participated in an educational tour at the Groveland location in late February.

“I wanted my students to see that they live close to agriculture,” said Daniel Knapp, FFA advisor and Ag Instructor at Inman High School. He went on to comment that many of his students were not aware of the presence of the Groveland MKC location close to where they live.

Students were given a tour of the offices and had an opportunity to hear about each employee’s job responsibilities and their educational background.

Saluting the Blue and Gold

We thought the following statistics were quite enlightening as we continue to celebrate National FFA Week.

MEMBERSHIP​
Today, there are 557,318 FFA members, aged 12‒21, in 7,498 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• 44% of FFA members are female; women hold approximately 50% of state leadership positions.
• 73% of our membership is White; 15% is Hispanic/Latino; 7% is Black/African-American; 5% is American Indian, Asian or Pacific Islander.
• 9% of FFA members are currently enrolled in grades 6-8; 87% of FFA members are currently enrolled in grades 9-12; 4% have already graduated from high school and may be engaged in postsecondary studies.
• FFA chapters are in 18 of the 20 largest U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
• The top five membership states are Texas, California, Georgia, Missouri and Oklahoma.
• The 2012 National FFA Convention was host to 56,167 members, FFA advisors and FFA supporters.
• 2010-11 National FFA Organization membership by states: (English) (Spanish)

EDUCATION
More than 11,000 FFA advisors and agriculture teachers deliver an integrated model of agricultural education providing students with innovative and leading-edge education, enabling them to grow into competent leaders.

•  92% offer agriscience; 71% offer advanced agriscience and biotechnology; 59% offer agricultural mechanics; 49% offer horticulture; 43% offer animal science; and 24% offer environment-related
• In 2001, 59% of qualified agricultural education graduates pursued teaching, 35 agriculture programs closed due to lack of qualified teachers and 365 agriculture teachers teach in more than one school
• 23% of teachers have five or fewer years of teaching experience
• The shortage of qualified agriculture teachers is the greatest challenge facing FFA and agricultural education

CAREER EXPLORATION
FFA classroom activities include math and science as well as hands-on work experience and the development of life skills, helping members discover their career path and realize success.

• Collectively, FFA members earn more than $4 billion annually through their hands-on work experience.
• Members participate and learn advanced career skills in 47 national proficiency areas based on their hands-on work experiences ranging from agricultural communications and food science and technology to turf grass management and wildlife production and management.
• According to the student magazine readership study, 87% of our students are interested in learning about career exploration, 81% about college preparation and 81% about technology. 
• Through 24 national career development events and one activity, FFA members are challenged to real-life, hands-on tests of skills used to prepare them for more than 300 careers in the agriculture industry.