In a recent conversation about the need to create more farmers, Future Farmers of America came up. The New York Times gives an update on how this organization is expanding its scope, with the fastest growth occurring in urban and suburban areas, and now making up 10 percent of their membership:
“You would think that something called Future Farmers of America would have come to a screeching halt by at least the 1960s in most parts of the country,” said Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, a historian at Iowa State University. “What amazes me is the degree to which they have made themselves relevant when by all expectations they should have simply ceased to exist.”
The group has succeeded in part by expanding well beyond agricultural science while also broadening that field to include genetics, logistics, landscape gardening and alternative fuels.
Now, the group’s chapters aim to teach students leadership and job readiness as much as the finer points of cattle care or corn fertilization. Mr. Rizzo said that although he learned about farm life, he spent more time honing skills like public speaking and developing business budgets, which he believes will improve his job prospects someday. Read more…
A quick search located several chapters within the Seacoast, including Dover High School, UNH-Durham, Seacoast School of Technology-Exeter, York High School, and Sanford Regional Vocational Center.
For more information about Future Farmers of America: www.ffa.org