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The FFA organization is one of the largest student-run organization in the United States. Future Farmers of America was founded in 1928 with the mission of preparing future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing population. In 1988, the name changed to “The National FFA Organization” to reflect the growing diversity of agriculture and to recognize that the organization was not only for those who wanted to be farmers.
Today, there are over 579,000 members in more than 7,570 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Kansas membership is currently over 9,454 members and 211 chapters.
According to its mission statement, FFA strives to develop premier leadership skills, personal growth, and career success in its members. Students are able to be involved in the FFA in a variety of ways, which will be discussed in the sections below.
FFA gives students an opportunity to compete in contests and apply the skills they have learned. Contests are broken into 2 categories, Leadership Development Events, and Career Development Events.
FFA District Leadership Development Events (LDEs) are held throughout the school year. Students who would like to participate need to indicate their interest at the given deadline. Students will also be given a deadline to have their speech or presentation completed. If these deadlines are not met, students may not be able to participate in the contest. Only two students from each school are allowed to participate in each event and students cannot participate in more than one individual event. In the event that more than two students want to participate, students will compete against others in our chapter prior to the contest to earn their spot.
FFA District Career Development Events (CDEs) are held each year at the beginning of May in Manhattan in cooperation with Kansas State University’s College of Agriculture. Students must sign up prior to the given deadline and organize their own team practices. The advisor will be available to help and guide but will not lead or organize the practices. Teams are also encouraged to find community experts to help their team. If a student does not attend an ample amount of practices, he or she will not compete. Below is a list of contests.
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