Colorado FFA Opportunities Prepare the Next Generation With Leadership and Life Skills
In partnership with: Colorado Department of Agriculture
The Colorado FFA Foundation’s motto clearly states its goal: developing the next generation of leaders who will sustainably feed, clothe and fuel the world.
“We truly believe this and work toward it every day,” says John Stahley, Colorado FFA Foundation executive director.
A vital aspect of developing the next generation of leaders is helping FFA students understand the vast breadth of careers within the ag industry.
“A little over 1% of the population is involved in production agriculture, but nearly 30% of jobs in the United States touch agriculture in some way,” Stahley says.
See more: The STEAD School in Colorado Transforms High School Experience With Agriculture
To help students visualize those employment possibilities, FFA offers multiple programs and opportunities, including supervised agricultural experiences, or SAEs, where students participate in work-based learning. Good leaders communicate well by explaining and defending their ideas, and they also work collaboratively.
“These aren’t just traits students learn at FFA conferences or other leadership events,” Stahley says. “They are skills infused into the classroom every day, developing leadership abilities so students become great employees and great employers, hopefully in the ag industry.”
See more: Colorado Programs Teach the State’s Youth About Agriculture
From Project to Profit
In South Routt County, Soroco High School ag teacher Jay Whaley also believes critical leadership skills include presenting and defending ideas when speaking publicly. Leadership Development Events, or LDEs, and SAEs are just part of the ambitious, multifaceted ag education program at Soroco, where 80% of the 100-member student body has joined FFA.
In recent years, Soroco and nearby Hayden High School received a $1 million grant from Colorado’s RISE (Response, Innovation and Student Equity) Education Fund. The grant funding helped the school add a meat lab, a commercial kitchen, a storefront to sell the foods the students produce and a catering business.
Steers and hogs butchered under U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection are brought to the meat lab, where students learn to fabricate retail cuts, smoke and cure bacon, and even prepare sausage products such as bratwurst.
“We’re one of only a few Colorado ag programs that processes meat products,” Whaley says.
Student-made foods and other local items are sold in the storefront located at the school. This work-based learning helps students understand not only the breadth of potential ag-related careers but also the financial advantages of vertical integration.
“For every food dollar a consumer spends, only about 9 cents goes to the farmer or rancher,” says Whaley, citing the USDA’s Food Dollar Series he teaches.
Students learn the advantages of marketing ag products direct to consumers, thereby capturing more of the dollars spent on food.
Skills for Success
Great leaders display confidence in themselves and their organizations. For Natalie Wright, who serves as a state FFA officer, the greatest lesson from her FFA experiences has been building confidence both in herself and her future in agriculture.
“As a freshman in high school, I was terrified of people and couldn’t talk to a stranger,” she says. “But because of the competition opportunities FFA offers, along with support from family and friends in my community, I came out of my shell, which boosted my confidence.”
Now Wright makes presentations at middle and high schools around Colorado as a state officer. The Bayfield High School graduate uses her state role to help other students gain confidence as well.
“If we can help one kid believe in themselves and that FFA is a community, or if we can plant a seed in one kid’s mind about the importance of leadership, that person takes those ideas to the chapter level, and then the whole tree grows,” she says.
The confidence and leadership skills FFA members learn filter into the workforce, building stronger advocates for agriculture and beyond.
“I want to spread the word there’s potential for everyone, whether they have a career in agriculture or they become advocates on the importance of agriculture and FFA,” Wright says.
To learn more about Colorado FFA, visit coloradoffa.org.