FFA is a national organization that stretches from the state of Alaska to the Virgin Islands and from the state of Maine to Hawaii. Being in FFA positively influences many high school students as well as provides them opportunities to learn things they will use in their future.  Many people misinterpret FFA and think that it encourages animal abuse and neglect. This is because many students in FFA raise animals for several months and then show them at a fair to be sold and slaughtered or send them to slaughter and sell their meat afterwards. However, this is not at all the true side of it. Becoming an involved member in FFA has truly changed my outlook on life and the beauty in nature.

Agriculture is in every person’s everyday life even if they do not realize it. Food, clothing, fuel, and materials like paper, plastic, and rubber all come from agriculture. Farmers truly have one of the most important and demanding jobs out there. No matter the season, weather, sickness, and anything in between, farmers never get a break. It requires physical as well as mental labor, raising animals and gardens is challenging as well as rewarding, however, seeing the product that comes from both processes makes the winter nights nursing animals and the summer days doing hay worth it. Another positive that comes from being in FFA is stepping out of your comfort zone and gaining leadership experience. 

It takes hard work and dedication if you are an involved member of FFA from learning different contests, raising animals, and growing gardens, but it also comes with many rewarding aspects such as meeting new people, working with your hands, learning responsibility, and experiencing personal growth within yourself.

“FFA has been a rewarding outlet in my life from doing schoolwork in every class to going into the Ag room and learning about something with animals or going in the shop and doing hands-on projects.” -Emmalee Mossor