Marshall FFA- What you need to know!
What is the FFA?
The FFA is a national youth organization that spans all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Across the nation there are over a half million FFA members (540,379 to be exact) ages 12-21.
The FFA was created in 1928 by a group of young farmers who were interested in getting a little competitive with their farming knowledge. Topics were mainly about "typical" farming topics such as crops and animals found around the farm. As agriculture has evolved through the past 84 years the FFA evolved with those changes. Through these changes we now see what the FFA has to offer today.
Most people know and remember that the letters "FFA" stand for Future Farmers of America, BUT today the organization as a whole is called the national FFA organization to incorporate the many avenues that agriculture now represents. Yes, there are still future farmers in the group but there are also future scientists, engineers, sales representatives, horticulturalists and many more.
To understand a little bit about how FFA ties into classes we should discuss the Agricultural Education 3 Circle Model. The 3 circle model includes lessons learned from the classroom, FFA contests and leadership positions, and experimental learning through SAE’s. All agriculture departments strive to have a combination of all 3 elements to develop well rounded students.
How the FFA is organized?
Local: this is each individual community's group of members called a CHAPTER
Region/district: depending on the state, each chapter is located within a region or district.
Minnesota is currently divided into 8 regions numbered 1-8. Marshall is in REGION 6.
State: the name says it all. Each state has its own association that includes all members from each region and chapter within the state.
National: Again as the name states this is includes all FFA members throughout the nation.
What do we do throughout the year?
There is a LOT of things that we do as a chapter throughout the year. It seems like we are always busy with meetings and other fun events! Check out the Marshall FFA Calendar for a full listing of our activities.
Common terminology we use
CDE/Career Development Event- These are content specific contests that members are able to participate in to develop the skills and knowledge that agricultural industries believe is important for students to learn. There are 28 different CDE's FFA members can participate in regionally and 24 at the national level.
SAE /Supervised Agricultural Experience- This portion of agriculture education allows students to put into practice what they have learned in the classroom as well as in the FFA. Keeping accurate records of what students do is a key part of having an SAE. With SAE's a student is able to apply for various awards at the local, state and national levels for things they already do!
Proficiency- this is an award members to honor FFA members who, through their SAEs, have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers. They are able to compete against other FFA members with similar SAE’s at the region, state, and national levels.
Degree- there are 5 degrees of FFA membership. The different levels of membership are based on how many years a student has been in FFA and various achievements members have earned
- Greenhand: first year FFA member for high school students. Typically this is awarded to 9th graders but can be achieved by any first year member of the FFA
- Chapter: this is the last degree available to be earned at the local level. Students must be in FFA for at least two years and must complete a number of activities and other requirements
- State: this degree is awarded at the state level and the requirements for this degree are more advanced and time consuming
- American: this is the highest honor an FFA member can achieve. It takes many years of continuous record keeping and dedication to the FFA and agriculture. Only about 1/2 of 1% of all FFA members ever receives their American degree.
OD- this acronym refers to the Official Dress standards that FFA members wear to all official functions. This includes the iconic blue corduroy jacket. Not all members are required to wear an FFA jacket at all functions.
COD- Casual Official Dress. Typically this is worn by the officer teams of FFA chapters at functions that require them to look distinguished but not official. Each COD is set by the individual group.
Leadership opportunities
There are many leadership opportunities for FFA members to be involved with to develop their personal leadership styles. The first (and most simple) is to participate on a committee for various tasks throughout the year. These committees are generally in charge of setting up a particular FFA event. By doing this, the whole chapter is involved and the work load throughout the year is spread out. Volunteering to be a committee chair (the main leader) is another great, easy way to participate.
The most common form of leadership roles in a FFA chapter is to become part of the officer team. There are 6 constitutional officers that all chapters across the nation have, with 2-3 others depending on the preferences of the chapter. The constitutional officers include: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Reporter, and Sentinel.
Other ways FFA members can take on a leadership role would be to attend the numerous leadership camps at the local (Timberland), state (SGLC: State Greenhand Leadership Camp, SLCCL: State Leadership Camp for Chapter Leaders), and national (WLC: Washington Leadership Conference) levels.
Common Questions
Paying dues- Why do I have to pay dues each year? What does it go for?
Membership dues are paid to the national, state and regional levels to provide funding for all of the awesome opportunities for FFA members. There is a great deal of "behind the scenes" doings that yearly dues goes towards to support.
Do I have to own animals or live on a farm to be in FFA?
Not at all! FFA has a wide variety of opportunities for any members’ interest. Many FFA chapters are within the largest cities in the US including Chicago, Philadelphia, and Atlanta and have never been on a farm or owned any animals.
Is anything required to be in FFA?
The only basic requirement of all FFA members is to be enrolled in one agriculture class per year and pay their annual dues. Other than that, everything else is voluntary. However much effort and commitment members want to put in is completely their decision. I, however, will always encourage MORE participation rather than less.
There is a lot more information about the FFA and what it has to offer its’ members at the National FFA website: www.ffa.org and Minnesota FFA: www.mnffa.org