Indiana FFA launches agricultural education initiative
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The Indiana FFA and the National FFA Organization, based in Indianapolis, are partnering to launch a new initiative aimed at growing agricultural education for Hoosier students.
The Grow With Us initiative is designed to help Indiana schools provide not only classroom instruction, but also work-based learning experiences and leadership development through the FFA.
“[We want] more and more students, teachers, parents, guardians, administrators, and people in the community to know the benefits of what agricultural education has to offer,” said Ambra Tennery, associate director of educational programs at National FFA.
Tennery told Inside INdiana Business that the ag industry has grown to be about more than just farmers.
“We’re needing more and more individuals to fill the spots in the industry of agriculture, and those could be individuals who are scientists. They are researchers. They’re in biotech,” she said. “So not only coupling [the curriculum] with traditional production agriculture items, but also really opening the doors and understanding that agriculture is much more than what people might think of that they learned from the time that they were young.”
The initiative focuses on what the FFA calls a comprehensive three component model of classroom learning, work-based learning, and leadership development. The organization said the model gives students hands-on experience beyond the classroom while also placing an emphasis on classroom participation
“All three of those things combined make the perfect match for developing individuals, whether they go into the workforce in agriculture or just to become informed consumers as more and more students graduate and understand where their food comes from, where their products come from, and how they can be an advocate for the industry of agriculture as well,” Tennery said.
The FFA has chapters in all but two of Indiana’s 92 counties, and the organization says agricultural education includes coursework in eight pathways that can lead to more than 350 careers in STEM, business, education, communications and other areas.
“A preconceived notion might suggest agricultural education is only for students from rural communities interested in pursuing careers in production agriculture, but nothing could be further from the truth,” says Tennery. “Students from all backgrounds can gain a wide variety of skills and experiences to prepare them for success after high school regardless of where their path takes them.”
Tennery said the demand for skilled talent is very high in the agriculture industry, especially as it continues to grow and expand into areas that require new skills beyond just traditional farming.
She said the initiative will provide marketing materials for school administrators and teachers to share with parents and guardians to expand their understanding of the value of agricultural education.
“I know I wouldn’t be the person that I am today and have had the opportunities that I have today if it hadn’t been for entering into an agricultural education class my junior year of high school,” Tennery said. “So I just encourage everyone to ask someone who’s been a part of agricultural education and FFA, ask them about their story, ask about the impact that it’s had, because it really is a hidden gem with people who don’t know about it already.”
The initiative is being supported by a grant from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc.