Walnut Grove FFA Prepares for National FFA Week

photo courtesy of Mrs. Kelly Shaw

With National FFA week coming up on the 12th of February, Walnut Grove is ever-so proud to be a participant in the national organization.
by Natonya Clinger and Brayden Downey

With National FFA week coming up on the 12th of February, Walnut Grove is ever-so proud to be a participant in the national organization.
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In preparation for the week, the Walnut Grove chapter begins getting ready for competition by having weekly practices for at least 6 weeks before the competition. “In preparation for National FFA week, officers are having weekly meetings, ordering supplies, making posters and even posting on social media,” stated Mrs. Kelly Shaw, the chapter leader and agriculture teacher at Walnut Grove.

Ethan Kennedy, a previous member of the Walnut Grove FFA chapter went to the National Convention for Agricultural Science and placed 4th last year. His project was based on bacteria growth on cooked pork; he found that it's “safe to eat up until a few days.” Kennedy found that “After a week, you're going to get sick and feel unwell for a few days.”

Caileigh Goldstein is the FFA vice president. Goldstein says “I knows it's called future farmers, but most of us don't want to be farmers. Like me, I want to be a teacher, but it's fun because we just hangout and have a good time. And, it's a whole bunch of people that want to be leaders and not followers.”

While FFA does stand for Future Farmers of America, Mrs. Shaw expanded on how it’s not just for farmers. “FFA goes far beyond just farming. It includes everything from technology, communications, agricultural production, shipping, [and] manufacturing,” she explained further.

Mrs. Shaw then went on to iterate that FFA is a student-run organization that promotes leadership and success through agricultural education in creative and innovative ways. It is organized through leadership and community service based events.
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While doing so, FFA is very uniform and has guidelines to how things are done‒‒ whether it is at a competition or in meetings. Caileigh Goldstein explains that when she goes on trips, which happens to be her favorite part of FFA, she always laughs. “Everyone is dressed the same... but it's okay.”