National FFA Organization

National FFA Organization

FFA Emblem
Motto Learning to Do,
Doing to Learn,
Earning to Live,
Living to Serve[1]
Formation 1928
Type Youth organization
Legal status Intra-Curricular Non-profit organization
Purpose To make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
Headquarters Indianapolis
Region served
  United States
 Puerto Rico
 United States Virgin Islands
Membership
 629,367 (7,757 Chapters)[2]
National Advisor
 Dr. Steve A. Brown[3]
Chief Executive Officer
 Dr. W. Dwight Armstrong
National President
 Taylor McNeel, Arkansas
Website www.ffa.org
Formerly called
 Future Farmers of America[4]

The National FFA Organization is an American youth organization, specifically a career and technical student organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. Originally founded in 1925 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, by agriculture teachers, Henry C. Groseclose, Walter Newman, Edmund Magill and Harry Sanders as Future Farmers of Virginia, in 1928 it became a nationwide organization known as Future Farmers of America. In 1988 the name was changed to the National FFA Organization, now commonly referred to as simply FFA, to recognize that the organization is for those with diverse interests in the food, fiber and natural resource industries, encompassing science, business and technology in addition to production agriculture.[5] Today FFA is among the largest youth organization in the United States, with 610,240 members in 7,665 chapters[6] throughout all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. FFA is the largest of the career and technical student organizations in U.S. schools.

The organization holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code.[7]

Overview

The National FFA Organization is a youth leadership organization that makes a positive difference in the lives of young people by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agriculture education.

FFA functions within the three-circle model of agricultural education as a student leadership organization that complements a student's classroom/laboratory instruction and supervised agricultural experience program.[8] FFA members can compete in Career Development Events (CDE) that cover job skills in everything from communications to mechanics. Some events allow students to compete as individuals, while others allow them to compete in teams.[9]

Students are supervised by agricultural education teachers in cooperation with parents, employers and other adults who assist individuals in the development and achievement of educational and career goals.

Official colors of the FFA are known as National Blue and Corn Gold.[10]

FFA structure

United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (3rd from right) stands with five former National FFA Officers in 2011.

FFA is represented at several different levels across the nation; FFA administration may change from state to state. The basic levels are the national level, serving all of the United States of America, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; the state level, serving an individual state association; and the chapter level, serving a school or set of schools in an area. By definition, there can be three types of chapters at the secondary level, they are middle for middle school, junior for ninth grade and senior which can be either tenth through twelfth or ninth through twelfth depending on the school. Other levels include districts, subdistricts, sections, regions, areas, federations, etc.

Originally created to serve high school students, FFA has recently moved into middle schools where membership may begin as early as age 12, allowing members to become active earlier and stay active for longer. Each chapter is chartered as part of the state association and national organization. Collegiate chapters exist as well.

Most states hold FFA conventions at least once annually, where members gather to compete, be recognized for awards, attend leadership workshops, debate organizational issues in a delegate process, and more. Nationally, the National FFA Convention & Expo is held once a year in the fall, and was originally held in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1928–1998. The convention moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1999 before moving again in 2006 to Indianapolis, Indiana. The 87th National FFA Convention & Expo took place once again in Louisville, Kentucky in October 2014.[11]

Officers of FFA

As the FFA is a member-led organization intended to serve youth around the nation, it elects officers from its own diverse membership to certain levels of FFA. Typical officer roles are:

Constitutional officers

Others may include

Each officer is an agricultural student and holds responsibilities needed to serve, and are elected each year by members at the respective levels.

National officers

This allows officers to be elected to one of the four national regions of the FFA, as well as a President and a Secretary

List of past national presidents

Official FFA dress

Odessa Oldham, of Casper College in Wyoming, explained her role in the National FFA Organization to the United States Department of Agriculture, as part of its Native American Indian Heritage Month celebration in Washington D.C., in November 2011.

FFA jacket

Former FFA emblem in use until February 2015.

The most recognizable symbol of the organization is the blue corduroy FFA jacket that is worn by current FFA members. The back of the jacket features a large FFA emblem just underneath the name of each FFA member's state. The name of the local FFA chapter, district, region or area is embroidered below the emblem. The front of the FFA jacket features a smaller FFA emblem on the left chest and the FFA member's name and sometimes, if applicable, office and year on the right chest. FFA members are required to wear the FFA jacket as part of official dress while participating in all official organization activities.[12]

Originally created to be worn by the Fredericktown Band of the Fredericktown FFA Chapter by Dr. Gus Lintner,[13] the FFA Jacket was adopted in 1933.

The color of the jacket's corduroy has ranged from shades of blue to shades of purple through the years. In 2004, the National FFA Organization worked with a supplier in North Carolina to set a new standard for the blue corduroy by using samples from archived FFA jackets. The jacket's color standardization was accompanied by a restoration of the embroidered FFA emblems and fit corrections led by Clemson University's Apparel Research Center. The improved FFA jacket, produced in both Van Wert, Ohio and South Vietnam, was first made available in August 2005. Currently, all lettering, embroidery and finishing of FFA jackets is completed by Universal Lettering Company in Van Wert, Ohio.[14]

Elements of FFA official dress

FFA members are required to wear official FFA dress while participating in official organization activities. For females, official dress consists of a black skirt (black slacks may be appropriate for traveling and outdoor activities), a white collared blouse, an official FFA blue scarf, black dress shoes with a closed heel and toe, black nylon hosiery, and an official FFA jacket zipped to the top. Male official dress includes black dress pants, a white dress shirt, an official FFA tie, black dress shoes with a closed heel and toe, black socks and an official FFA jacket zipped to the top.[12]

Awards and pins

FFA members earn metal pins that signify achievement within the organization. These pins can be placed on the front of the FFA jacket,[12] however, official guidelines state that no more than three pins may be worn at one time. The pins are to be placed beneath the FFA member's name on the right chest and can recognize the highest office, highest award, and highest organizational degree. Two exceptions exist within pin placement guidelines. When an FFA member earns a State FFA Degree or American FFA Degree, the award keys should be worn above the name on right chest or attached to the FFA jacket with a standard key chain, and no other pins should accompany these.[12]

Traditions

As an organization, the FFA has many traditions and trademarks identifying it as an agricultural education organization:[15]

The FFA Motto: Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.

The FFA Mission: The National FFA Organization is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.[15]

The Official FFA Colors: National Blue and Corn Gold (worn on the Official FFA jackets).[16]

The FFA Creed The FFA creed was written by Erwin Milton "E.M." Tiffany of Lyndon, Kansas[17] and adopted at the 3rd National FFA Convention.[17] It was revised at the 38th and 63rd National FFA Conventions by the assembled delegate body. It is recited by new members to the organization to reflect their growing belief in agriculture and agricultural education. The FFA Creed also must be memorized and recited to earn the Greenhand Degree.

I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words but of deeds – achievements won by the present and past generations of agriculturists; in the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles of former years.

I believe that to live and work on a good farm or to be engaged in other agricultural pursuits, is pleasant as well as challenging; for I know the joys and discomforts of agricultural life and hold an inborn fondness for those associations which, even in hours of discouragement I cannot deny.

I believe in leadership from ourselves and respect from others. I believe in my own ability to work efficiently and think clearly, with such knowledge and skill as I can secure, and in the ability of progressive agriculturists to serve our own and the public interest in producing and marketing the product of our toil.

I believe in less dependence on begging and more power in bargaining; in the life abundant and enough honest wealth to help make it so-for others as well as myself; in less need for charity and more of it when needed; in being happy myself and playing square with those whose happiness depends upon me.

I believe that American agriculture can and will hold true to the best traditions of our national life and that I can exert an influence in my home and community which will stand solid for my part in that inspiring task.

Career Development Events

FFA Career Development Event, or CDEs, are contests that members compete in to test their skills learned through agricultural education instruction. They vary at the different levels of FFA, and some are contested only at certain levels and certain states, districts, areas or federations.[18]

At the national level, there are 24 Career Development Events:[18]

Others

Examples of CDEs that can be available at the state level are:

Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs

To be an active member in the National FFA Organization, a member must have an Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) project.[19] The projects involve hands-on application of concepts and principles learned in the agricultural education classroom, with guidelines for the SAE projects governed by the state FFA delegation. SAE programs are grouped into four different areas:

Notable alumni

In politics

In entertainment

In the arts

Other


Notable historic events and milestones

Commemorative Future Farmers of America stamp issued in 1953
Commemorative 25th anniversary Future Farmers of America postage stamp issued on October 13, 1953

References

  1. ↑ "FFA Mission and Motto". National FFA Organization.
  2. ↑ "National FFA Organization membership explodes to 629,367 students". National FFA Organization. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Our Leadership". National FFA Organization. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Who We Are". National FFA Organization. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  5. ↑ "FFA History". National FFA Organization. p. 2.
  6. ↑ "Statistics". National FFA Organization.
  7. ↑ "36 USC § 70901 – Organization". Federal Charter; Future Farmers of America is a federally chartered corporation. Legal Information Institute; Cornell Law School.
  8. ↑ "School-Based Agricultural Education" (PDF). National FFA Organization.
  9. ↑ "Career Development Events". National FFA Organization.
  10. ↑ http://www.FFA.org
  11. ↑ "National FFA Convention & Expo". National FFA Organization. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "FFA Official Dress". National FFA Organization.
  13. ↑ Langstaff, Dave. "A Brief History of The FFA Jacket and The People Who Make It". Universal Lettering Company. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
  14. ↑ "FFA Official Dress PDF" (PDF). National FFA Organization.
  15. 1 2 105th U.S. Congress (August 12, 1998). "Public Law 105-225" (PDF). National FFA Organization. p. 6.
  16. ↑ "FFA Facts". Code of Ethics, Creed, Emblem, Mission, Motto, Name, Official Colors, Official Dress, Salute. Minnesota FFA Association. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
  17. 1 2 "The FFA Creed". National FFA Organization. Retrieved 2010-06-05. It was written in 1928
  18. 1 2 "FFA Career Development Events (CDE)". National FFA Organization. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
  19. ↑ "FFA Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE)". National FFA Organization. Retrieved 2013-03-11.

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