Celebrating National FFA Week

Dear Friend,

Founded in 1928, the National FFA Organization has striven to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education—and they’ve done just that.

There are nearly 9,000 FFA chapters in every corner of this country and more than 850,000 young men and women wear the iconic blue corduroy jacket today. They are just a small slice of the untold millions of young Americans whose lives have been changed for the better FFA, myself included.

Not only does FFA offer incredible opportunities for students participating in the program, they also provide a bedrock for quality agricultural and career and technical education in many schools across America—something we sorely need right now. There’s a large skills gap in this country and millions of good-paying jobs out there for qualified welders, mechanics, carpenters, and more.

While Future Farmers of America was founded to train the next generation of farmers, the name was changed to the National FFA Organization to recognize just how much the efforts of the organization had expanded. They still teach plenty of valuable farm management skills, but they also give students the opportunity to explore careers in agriculture research and countless skilled trades.

I’m deeply proud of the time I spent as a member of FFA and I’m glad so many millions of students have had the opportunity to become a member of this incredible organization as well. I’m glad to celebrate another National FFA Week and I offer my heartfelt thanks to the thousands of agricultural education teachers who make FFA possible.

I look forward to seeing the National FFA Organization flourish for another 90 years and beyond, helping shape a new generation of leaders through Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.

Sincerely,

Sam Graves