FFA expanding, viable and vibrant

Three advisors organize and run the Future Farmers of America program at California High School: from left, Dale Hodges, Adam Bieri, and Lee Longan.
Three advisors organize and run the Future Farmers of America program at California High School: from left, Dale Hodges, Adam Bieri, and Lee Longan.

It's true, said Dale Hodges, one of three Future Farmers of American (FFA) Ag advisers at California High School.

It's true that there aren't as many "traditional" farm students these days.

No.

But what there are are a more forward-looking, tech-savvy, more diverse group of ag students these days.

"It's the largest youth organization in the world," Hodges said. "A lot of careers nowadays deal with agriculture in one way or another. In the job market, lots of jobs relate directly and indirectly to an agriculture occupation. They are heading down a career path they may never have thought of before."

And these students are expanding into roughly 20 percent of all industry and job areas available around the country. These new era ag students are involved in animal science, plant science, forestry, field crops, landscaping, manufacturing, equipment development, processing, marketing, and management.

"It's no longer just the plows, sows and cows," Adam Bieri, one of the three FFA ag teachers at CHS. "It's a lot more than that nowadays."

Three distinct main pathways are available for today's student: animal husbandry, plants and crops, and mechanics. Many, however, find that the fields overlap and work in more than one.

But the modern FFA offers a great deal more in addition to practical training and skills, although the FFA advisers point out that members do get vital hands on experience dealing with a variety of situations.

"One of the big things is lots of opportunities for leadership," said Lee Longan, the third ag adviser with the high school FFA. "And the chance of getting several awards and competing in a variety of contests. There are several ways of getting recognized these days at the local, state and national levels."

And the main requirement for being able to join the FFA and take advantage of all its opportunities and learn all the program has to offer is to simply be in an agriculture class.

And all three advisers unanimously encourage any student to check out the FFA.

"Kids get a lot out of it," Longan said.

And that must be so, because the local FFA is the largest it has ever been with 200 members. Fifty-five percent are young men, making the local FFA membership 45 percent young women.

"The FFA expands the student's horizons," Bieri said.