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FFA Leaders Attend State President's Conference In Washington D.C.

Making friends and seeing the nation's capital were just a part of the busy week for FFA leaders from all over America.
photo by Photo Provided
Making friends and seeing the nation's capital were just a part of the busy week for FFA leaders from all over America.

Tuesday August 4, 2015

By Cookie Steponaitis

State Presidents and officers of the Future Farmers of America arriving from all over the country spent a week focused not only on the issues facing farmers in America but on formulating solutions and change. Vermont's attendees were FFA State President Shawnna VanderWey and FFA State Secretary Nick Jackson with adviser and Executive Director of Vermont FFA, Suzanne Buck. The week focused on the theme Surge developing leadership within the group emphasizing the power and thoughts of the next generation of farmers and business owners on the issues facing all involved with agriculture. Each state is allowed to send two officers to the conference and the delegation becomes almost five hundred strong by the time they arrive at the National Convention later this fall.
    “The conference is a huge step in leadership abilities for many of those that participated,” remarked Suzanne Buck. “Not only must they learn about the delegate issues that are put forward for initial consideration by the individual state organizations but also from National FFA as well.  They then whittle these down to a group of six and then move forwards, electing chairs, vice chairs, secretaries and sentinels.  After this they discuss the merits of each issue and how they wish to move forward with their research over the summer months.  In late October all of the delegates arrive in Louisville and provide either written or oral testimony on the issues.  Finally
each issue is brought forwards to a vote by the delegate body an affirmative vote means that changes in FFA will be made and of course the negative vote means the issue is dead for at least that year.”
    Training included workshops with Jana McGuire and Donna Moenning from the Center for Food Integrity which was established in 2007 to build consumer trust and confidence in today's food system. The Center for Food Integrity offers an “Engage Young Leaders” training to explore the concept of values-based communication while providing advocacy, media and social media training. The young leaders also spent valuable time on Capitol Hill where 105 different Congressional visits took place and both Shawnna and Nick talked with Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Patrick Leahy and an aide from Peter Welch's office. When not thinking, speaking and working with issues related to agriculture, the group went to Arlington National Cemetery and toured other sites in the nation's capitol. FFA State Secretary Nick Jackson shared, “While meeting with our representatives, we discussed the GMO labeling bill, Perkins Funding Act and water quality particularly in regards to farming and Lake Champlain.” Not only do the teens learn in immense amount from their elected officials, but they provide to the Washington leaders hands on and current knowledge about the working farms in their home state.
    “National FFA does a lot with speaking about agriculture,” explained FFA State President Shawnna VanderWey. “We focus on how to share with people what is going on with agriculture and a big thing we talk about is how to share with people the process of where their food comes from and the understanding of the role of farmers in the world. This conference includes all fifty states plus the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. They all send their president and one other state officer. We all get to know each other and work together on our delegate issue we choose to work on.”
    As Addison County Fair & Field Days again brings home the importance of agriculture in the Champlain Valley and America, it is exciting to see the next generation who are linked to the land step forward and take their place as the future leaders and problem solvers. Each generation learns from the next and through organizations like Future Farmers of America has a vision of farming and is helping the newest generation to learn about it from the grass roots of the Vermont farms to the halls of Congress where decisions impact farming in all states. The Valley Voice salutes all involved with agricultural sciences and the businesses that support them. They are  a part of the unique heritage that is Vermont and a focal point for how the world gets its food now and in the future.


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