The week-long tradition began in 1947 when the National FFA Board of Directors designated the week of George Washington's birthday as National FFA Week in recognition of his legacy as an agriculturist and farmer.
National FFA Week is an opportunity for FFA members, alumni and sponsors to advocate for agricultural education and FFA. It's a time to share with local, state and national audiences what FFA is and the impact it has on members every day.
There are a variety of events throughout the week that allow a chapter to communicate with others what FFA is all about and ignite a passion for agriculture! Some chapters host teacher appreciation breakfasts, others conduct "Ag Olympics" competitions, while still others reach out to the community through service projects. This is just a small sampling of how chapters promote FFA in their schools and communities.
Here's how you can participate during National FFA Week!
"From being my chapter's parliamentarian to earning my American FFA degree, FFA helped provide me with the skills and knowledge to pursue my dream of managing my own farm."
"When I first joined FFA, I had no intention of participating in all the opportunities available. I wanted to show sheep at the county fair, but that changed when my teacher, Mr. Cooley came to East Union. He had a very different idea of what my FFA career would look like. I remember one of the first days in class, Mr. Cooley told me I was going to do Soil Judging. At the time, I didn’t know much about soil and certainly had no intentions of judging it. Somehow, Mr. Cooley convinced me to participate, and I fell in love with the event. It became a way for me to continue my love of learning while having some individual and team success.
From there, I wanted to do everything in FFA, whether it was competing in another event, traveling to Washington D.C. to attend the Washington Leadership Conference, or even running for state office. I had my fair share of setbacks and failures, but my journey culminated in my election to serve as a national officer. I went through a grueling, week-long interview process against some of the top individuals in the nation. Statistically speaking, I was far less likely to hear my name called on stage that day, but thanks to some hard work and an intense amount of support from those closest to me, I ran up on the stage and was able to participate in a year of service. This leads me to one of my favorite memories thus far, searching for my mom in a crowd full of people, we are talking several thousand, to give her a hug after I got elected. It was one of the sweetest moments, standing up on a chair, shouting Mom, until finally we saw each other and ran in for the biggest hug with a few tears. At that time, I didn’t know what was in store for me. I didn’t know that I would find some of my best friends in a year away from school and home, travel to 23 states and 2 countries, or that I would grow so much as an individual.
You don’t have to have a story like mine to gain something from FFA. We have over a million students who are getting to learn more about agriculture and how to become a leader through various events and conferences. So this week, National FFA Week, make sure to support FFA at the local, state, and national levels because it is making a difference in the lives of so many students striving to be the next generation of leaders who will change the world."
"Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be involved in FFA. My dad was an advisor, and my older sister was involved in our local chapter. I witnessed them do some neat things in our community and I couldn’t wait to throw on my own corduroy jacket.
I learned about leadership, friendship, hard work and more. Being an FFA member jump started my career in agriculture and opened many doors for me. It also molded me into the personI am today. I look back on lessons and lean heavily on the network I built while growing and managing our cattle operation. I had the best time being an FFA member. From hanging out with our chapter members, traveling to national conventions, serving as a district officer, competing in contests to earning my American Degree- the opportunities were endless. While there are many bright spots in my FFA memories, I think my favorite has to be preparing for contests before and after school with my advisor, Marla Shifflett, or showing horses and cattle at the Iowa State Fair FFA Shows."
"Past generations of my family have been deeply rooted within agriculture; however, my little family was not. I joined FFA my sophomore year of high school and discovered possibilities and opportunities I didn't know existed! FFA has made a huge impact on my life. It has helped me pair my love of plants with a career in agriculture. This city kid is now majoring in Agronomy with minors in Horticulture, Precision Agriculture, and Agricultural Business at South Dakota State University. FFA is for EVERYONE!"
