National FFA Membership Reaches More Than 1 Million Members

The National FFA Southern Region Vice President says continued membership growth is helping expand opportunities for students across the country.

T. Wayne Williams says chapters in all 50 states saw a steady rise in the past year, with the largest jumps in New York, Puerto Rico, and Maine.

“Our FFA advisors and agricultural educators are the backbone of this organization,” he says. “We’re living out our vision statement to grow the next generation of leaders. Members from fifth grade to all the way after high school truly believe in the power of the blue jacket.”

Willams says the organization is focused on developing new programs in non-traditional areas.

“The agriculture industry is evolving, and we want to continue to evolve with it,” he says. “We developed a turf grass management contest, we’re partnering with NASA, we’ve developed a new Spanish creed speaking contest, but we continue to also put an emphasis on production agriculture.”

The National FFA Organization is marking a new milestone this year with 1.05 million members across more than 9,500 chapters nationwide.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Many of you are already familiar with and perhaps support FFA at your local or state level. I can attest on a personal level that FFA helped shape my career and my life. Lessons learned have carried me and many others, including nearly everyone on the Certified Ag Group team, to heights we never thought possible. It is a wonderful program that develops next generation leaders. If you’re already supporting FFA that’s great. If not, please look into it as an investment in agricultural youth, as they will also become your future customers!