Westwood and Sibley-Ocheyedan FFA chapters in Iowa embrace new agriculture

03/22/2010 |

From the Sioux City Journal, Iowa:

Dan Witten's FFA chapter at Westwood High School in Sloan has 54 members. Twenty-four are girls.

Mike Earll's FFA chapter at Sibley-Ocheyedan High School in Sibley has 127 members. Forty-percent are girls.

This isn't your father's old Future Farmers of America.

Heck, even the name changed several years ago. It's simply FFA. And no longer a "boys club" aimed at educating those interested solely in production agriculture. FFA focuses on a wealth of skill sets and activities, ranging from leadership to job training to marketing.

"FFA is not just for those with cows, plows or sows," said Randy Kroksh, FFA instructor at Akron-Westfield High School, where 13 girls and 19 boys comprise the current chapter. "FFA is for students interested in furthering their education and leadership skills."

"When I came back to Sibley, we had about 35 kids left in FFA," said Earll, a 1975 Sibley High graduate who began teaching at his Alma mater in 1980. "We had zero girls. We started building from there."

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