The average age of a U.S. farmer today is 57 years old. The importance of continuing to support young, beginning and small producers as they grow and learn the complex and dynamic business of agriculture is a value that companies like American AgCredit embrace.
There’s something about helping to support an organization that’s developing and building the future workforce — something that any business needs to succeed. So, with American AgCredit’s mission, including supporting the next generation in agriculture, FFA was a natural choice.
“Over 70 of our employees are proud FFA alumni. Supporting ag youth organizations like FFA is deeply engrained into the fabric of who we are at American AgCredit,” states Chris Carter. “As we were exploring ways to maximize our support — and going through a brand refresh — it became apparent that we had a valuable resource parked right in our garage — so to speak,”
“Dubbed ‘Aggies’, the vintage Chevy pickups have long been an icon to AgCredit over the years, used in our marketing materials, and a staple with customers at any agriculture and industry event. Our Aggies sure have logged a lot of miles!” said Carter.
The company’s beloved Aggies are 1951, 1952, and 1953 Chevrolet pickups. Each pickup was donated to support the FFA Foundations in California, Colorado, and Kansas.
One can imagine that these ’50s-era pickups may have been some FFA member’s prized possession “back in the day.”
Through ticketed raffles and online tickets, 750 tickets alone were purchased for just the California raffle. California raised $90,000 from the 1952 “Aggie” pickup raffle. When winners were drawn for the rest of the Aggies, the auctions and raffles raised over $181,000 to support FFA in all three states.
The dollars earned from each sale went to the FFA Foundation’s general funds to support initiatives, including agricultural education, youth leadership activities, and other special community events and programs.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
Many CAD members may already be FFA supporters – if so, congratulations and thank you. Your CAD team is highly supportive of FFA as well. Our own Founder and CEO, Pat Driscoll, was a state FFA officer in Michigan. Several of us have earned State and American Farmer Honors from the organization. We found this approach by American AgCredit to be noteworthy simply due to the prizes and the amount of money raised. If you’re not already a supporter of FFA, perhaps this article will encourage you to see how you might be involved at the local or state level for starters. After all, not only are FFA members great young Americans, they are potential future customers as well.
