FFA provides excellent opportunities to learn leadership and public speaking, not to mention hands-on agriculture education. Students may enter competitions in 16 different areas, such as learning how to judge cows, forestry, and fish and wildlife. Several of the students are going to this year's national convention in Kentucky. The FFA is responsible for its own funding, which is done through a big fruit sale each fall as well as concession stands at the high school games. The third part of the program is SAE, which stands for Supervised Agricultural Experience.
Students do hands-on work in caring for animals, as well as a number of other projects.
They may earn a proficiency license in 30 different areas and compete for awards. It's a great chance to check out a potential career. This three-pronged approach to agriculture education is unique, and administrators want to make sure they can maintain it. Unfortunately, after years of creative budgeting, this is the first year the district has to look at cutting programs. Declining enrollment is costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding.