Constantly Busting Ours to Feed Yours

How Muscatine High School’s Future Farmers of America program is celebrating and raising awareness in honor of National FFA Week.

Lanie Weikert, '23

Photo courtesy of Jaela Staker & Brooklyn McGinnis

This year, National FFA Week fell on February 18th through the 25th. The week is used to raise awareness about the organization and its job in developing leaders, and educating others on the importance of agriculture. Students and staff at Muscatine High School are finding ways to appreciate and celebrate the week.

FFA stands for Future Farmers of America, and it was created by Virginia Tech agricultural education professors, Henry Groseclose, Harry Sanders, Walter S. Newman and Edmund C. Magill in 1925. From there, the organization has flourished and been implemented throughout many schools throughout the country. One of the major advantages from the FFA organization at MHS is the experiences and opportunities it has created for its’ members.

President of the FFA organization at the high school, Emily King said, “Being a part of FFA has given me the opportunity to travel to Kansas, Denver, and Indianapolis just in the past few years for various contests.”

Emily, along with many others traveled to the national competition in Denver, Colorado last year. More recently, students are competing in various contests with the same goal.

To name a few, Emily said, “Six people are moving onto districts from sub-districts. Clayton Smith, and Landon Castle from the welding competition. Avery Schroeder for radio broadcasting, Chelsea Carlson for manual quiz, Bob Carver in extemporaneous speaking, Ella Schroeder in ag sales, and myself for the job interview competition.”

Competing in contests like these have given many opportunities to many students to acquire skills that will prepare them for the real world, a trait that few extracurriculars at the high school have.

Junior, Avery Schroeder said, “FFA is a good organization to be a part of because you get opportunities to meet many people, and improve skills such as leadership, communication skills, and public speaking.”

During National FFA Week, the organization takes time to give back to its community in many different ways.

Mr. Dave Tometich grilling pork chops on Friday, February 24th for staff and Agriculture students at MHS.

Emily said, “On Friday the ag teachers and students are going to be grilling pork chops for teachers and students in ag classes at the high school.”

Giving back is something that has always been important to the Future Farmers of America organization. In 1937, a national FFA leadership camp and training was established. Moreover, in 1944 the Future Farmers of America Foundation was created to support and contribute to war efforts, raising money for FFA programs across the country. These acts of service have helped many different communities, along with the country as a whole leaving a positive impact behind.

Senior, Ella Schroeder said, “FFA is important because the future of our world is agriculture and without it we would not survive.”

Agriculture is the largest industry in the world, generating trillions of dollars of food, and employing billions of people each year. FFA is a great way to prepare someone for a potential job in agriculture one day, or it is just a fun organization to be a part of.

Ella Schroeder said, “I enjoy seeing my hard work pay off. I just received first place in my ag sales competition. I also really like showing livestock, FFA teaches responsibility, and it is fun to do.”