Don’t break the piggy bank.

In a down economy, it’s important to have a smart financial strategy in place. To that end, Brookville Sr. FFA in Florida contacted 15 neighboring FFA chapters and 4-H clubs to establish a swine cooperative.

 
The purpose of the project – called “This Little Piggy Goes to Market” – was to lower the cost of both swine and feed. As they began the project, members surveyed all of their fellow swine exhibitors to determine everyone’s needs for the project. Then they contacted Kent Feeds in Louisville, Ky., to determine the best prices for bulk show pig base mix and supplements.

 
Participants in the “This Little Piggy Goes to Market” project bought swine feed for $13 per 50 pounds, for a savings of $6 per 50 pounds – and an overall savings of $1,440.

The Lisa and Dan Stone Memorial Endowment

The National FFA Foundation has created a new endowment to memorialize the lives of National FFA Center employee Lisa Stone and her husband, Dan.

The Lisa and Dan Stone Memorial Endowment will provide an annual scholarship for a deserving student who demonstrates the ability to champion FFA and agricultural education through the use of new media.

Lisa was a web developer who played critical roles in many of National FFA’s online successes. An employee since 2007, she led a host of projects, including our efforts to establish and grow our social media sites, design and improve our websites and various program-specific pages within FFA.org and to substantially grow and enhance the way we’re able to accept and process our scholarship applications each year.

Putting a stop to bullying at school

Working together, Ridgemont FFA members developed activities to help in the prevention of violence.

Some studies show that as many as one in four children are being bullied at school. It’s not always easy standing up to a bully. That’s why Ridgemont FFA in Ridgeway, Ohio, decided to do something about it.

“A student’s sister had been getting bullied at school,” chapter president Malana Ledley explained. “We researched what we could do about it in our school using the FCCLA (Family, Career and Communication Leaders of America) initiative.”

Ridgemont FFA collaborated with the Crossroads Crisis Center (CCC), gifted English classes, geometry classes and FCCLA. Their goal was to create the first-ever “STOP the Violence Week: Students Taking on Prevention.” They hoped toinvolve 100 percent of the STOP committee and 65 percent of the student body in the week’s activities.

Ag businesses need FFA members

If you’re an ag student who’s wondering what your job prospects will look like once you graduate, we have some good news for you!

According to National Public Radio, the agriculture industry has many available job opportunities, but cannot find enough qualified people to fill them in spite of high unemployment rates across the U.S.

Ag  Business Strained in Finding Good Crop of Employees: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/19/139745806/ag-business-strained-finding-good-crop-of-employees

 

Register Now for Convention!

Imagine a world full of happiness. Imagine a world where everyone knows you by first name, where love is evident and where adventure hides behind every corner. A world where family and community mean everything, where passion abounds and where there is no such thing as the impossible. That is the kind of world that we believe in.

FFA members greeted by President Obama at Rural Economic Forum

National FFA officers Riley Pagett and Wyatt DeJong and State FFA officers from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin were present at the Rural Economic Forum yesterday, where President Barack Obama announced his rural jobs initiative.

During the president’s remarks, he pointed out the FFA members in the audience and said that with their enthusiasm and energy, they are ready to take American agriculture to the next level.

Video: http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/flash/video_embed.swf?videoId=218381052&edition=BETAUS

The meeting was hosted by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, Iowa.

Flashback to 1991…

Stepan Khrouslov is pictured in the 1991 edition of "National FFA Convention Proceedings" reading a message from Boris Yeltsin.

Attendees at the 1991 National FFA Convention received a special greeting from Boris Yeltsin, then president of Russia, who commented on the abundance of food in the United States in the early ‘90s compared to the economic situation in Russia. He also expressed the desire that we never return to the Cold War.

Yeltsin’s message was read at the national FFA convention by Stepan Khrouslov, a Russian student who had come to the United States through an FFA exchange program to study agriculture.

 Because of the economic collapse in Russia at that time, Khrouslov says “it was a great chance for me to come to the United States, gain an experience, save some money and get my education.” Khrouslov attended Spartanburg Methodist College (graduating with high honors) and Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., and he worked at a nursery for one year.

2011 American FFA Degree Recipients

Congratulations to our 2011 American FFA Degree recipients!

The American FFA Degree is awarded to FFA members who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to FFA and made significant accomplishments in their Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs).

Approximately 3,500 American FFA Degrees are handed out each year at the National FFA Convention.  That number represents less than half of one percent of all FFA members, making it one of the organization’s highest honors.

2011 Agri-Entrepreneurship Awards

The 2011 National FFA Agri-Entrepreneurship Award winners have been selected! They are…

• Chris Heiser – Lamar, Arkansas
• Jason Mendes – Modesto, California
• Brent Sexton – Rockwell City Lytton, Iowa
• Caleb Jay Brannon – Calloway County, Kentucky
• Shane Greenwell – Spencer County, Kentucky
• Dillon Ochsner – Sutton, Nebraska
• Christopher Doane – Letchworth, New York
• Raymond James – Walton Central, New York
• Ashley Siferd – Cory-Rawson, Ohio
• Wesley Davis – Mason County Vocational, West Virginia

In addition to the winners, we also have the list of all medal rankings for this program.

The Agri-Entrepreneurship Awards honor FFA members who recognize market opportunities and capitalize on them by developing solid business plans.  Awards are available at the chapter, state and national levels.

 

For more information about the program, check out this video:

http://www.schooltube.com/embed/5d39f960f08109585c86

 

 

2011 National Proficiency Award finalists

Here are your 2011 National FFA Proficiency Award finalists!

The Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through their SAEs, have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers.

Students can compete for awards in 47 areas covering everything from Agricultural Communications to Wildlife Management.  Each award area has two categories, placement and entrepreneurship.