Wisdom From the Farm

FFA Programs Produce Well-Rounded Students

Story by Jen Calhoun

Layla Howton, a sophomore at Shepherd High School, competes at the San Jacinto County Fair with her FFA cattle project.

One of the best parts about being a teacher is when former students come for a quick visit, says Caitlin Anderson, an agricultural sciences teacher at Shepherd High School in San Jacinto County.

“When they ask, ‘Guess what I’m doing now?’ that’s when I figure I did something right,” Caitlin says. “When they’re excited enough to stop by and thank me for helping them get a scholarship or teaching them something, that’s when I feel like I might have played a small part in those successes.”

Leading the Way

Caitlin gets to hear plenty of those expressions of gratitude as an adviser for the school’s chapter of FFA, the popular youth organization that focuses on agricultural education and leadership through hands-on projects and competitions. FFA boasts more than 945,000 members in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than 170,000 of those members are in Texas.

FFA stands for Future Farmers of America, but its membership includes everyone from aspiring chemists and engineers to students planning careers as entrepreneurs and veterinarians. “There are so many things FFA can help students achieve that people don’t realize,” Caitlin says. “Yes, we work with future farmers and ranchers, but there are so many jobs in agriculture, and there are so many ways you can achieve goals through FFA.”

Layla Howton, a 15-year-old sophomore at Shepherd, has done some livestock judging and other FFA projects, but she also serves on a Chapter Conducting team. The Conduct of Chapter Meetings Leadership Development events test students’ knowledge of parliamentary procedure while strengthening their communication and decision-making skills. “If you join FFA, you don’t have to know everything about animals,” Layla says.

“There are many other programs outside of the farm-related ones.”

Life Lessons

Summer Owens shows off her FFA cattle project at the Houston Livestock Show. FFA programs also allow students to achieve industry certifications in a variety of fields

Animal projects are a longtime favorite of FFA programs, including the one at Shepherd High, Caitlin says. The hands-on activities are part of the club’s Supervised Agricultural Experience projects that give students the opportunity to raise an animal to sell to market.

With the help of parents and ag teachers, students are responsible for making sure the animal is healthy. “They’re learning nutrition and how to take care of an animal,” Caitlin says. “But students are also learning skills that will help them their entire lives — money management, time management, commitment, and responsibility. They have to keep record books, and they have to keep up daily feeding and cleaning routines.”

Students can choose to raise dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, rabbits and poultry. They can choose to show them at a county fair or a major livestock show, but their primary goal is to sell them. “We’ve had animals that sold for $800 and some that sold for $10,000,” Caitlin says. “It depends on many factors, including the type of animal.”

Community Commitment

Local businesses might choose to buy the animal. Eastex is 1 of the local companies that often contributes “add-on” funds to animal projects. It’s another way Eastex gives back to its communities.

In the end, the animal is sold, and the students can use the funds for college or to buy their next animal.

Caitlin is proud of her students, and she’s always happy to brag about them. But what she really loves is watching them mature during the process. “The best part of it is that I grew up doing this, my own kids are doing it, and I teach my students how to do it, so it really is near and dear to my heart,” she says.

Pictured here are a group of Shepherd FFA students who recently received their Occupational Safety and Health Administration certifications.

“With these projects, sometimes they do really well, and sometimes they don’t. So, they have to take those falls. But that’s when you say, ‘OK, I’m going to learn from this and do better next time.’ They also learn to congratulate people who might have done better than them.”

Want to Know More?

For more information, visit the National FFA Organization at ffa.org. The website offers the latest news on the organization, as well as information on the various programs and conferences. For more information, visit the Texas FFA Association website. Those interested in supporting local FFA students and projects can contact their nearest high school’s FFA chapter for more information.