Has anyone been to the North Carolina State FFA convention? Whats it like, how many people, worth going to?

1/6/2010 1:02:09 PM

yes, every year. not sure of the exact numbers but its standing room only in Talley When they have it.

The speeches are really pretty good. There are numerous nights so pick one or pick all.

1/6/2010 3:07:52 PM

Its alright, but I prefer TDM

1/6/2010 3:13:01 PM

why are you interested in going?

<-- FFA advisor

1/6/2010 8:20:32 PM

Also curious to why you would want to go without a specific reason.

<---FFA advisor too

1/7/2010 6:40:02 PM

I used to go with my FFA chapter when I was high school, I used to have fun then just because of the people I went with. I don't really know why else you would go...

1/7/2010 6:50:15 PM

what is FFA?

1/7/2010 6:53:26 PM

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=FFA

1/7/2010 7:00:40 PM

^haha, damn I laughed

1/7/2010 7:05:40 PM

^^^FFA isn't anything anymore...used to be Future Farmers of America but apparently that was too exclusive (nevermind the importance of agriculture). The acronym means nothing now, nor does the organization, its just a bunch of students that (depending on the area) care nothing about sustainable ag and advisers that know nothing about practical ag.

1/8/2010 12:26:20 AM

This thread reminds me I should go in my parents attic and find my CDE trophies to bring to my house

1/8/2010 12:40:32 AM

hmm lots of NFFAO ppl in here

I wonder if I know any of these current advisors.

1/8/2010 3:08:10 AM

< Also FFA Advisor, petejames, if you think that FFA doesn’t stand for something you are seriously mistaken. They changed the name which I don’t necessarily agree with because of the word Farmer not Agriculture. The Agriculture industry is so much more than production agriculture these days so Future Farmers didn’t do it justice. And as far as sustainable agriculture I would bet that you’re thought on that includes little to no inputs in effort to produce a product that you would consider more natural or even organic. I have news for you; any farmer that is attempting to make a profit is doing it in a sustainable way. In order to be successful in farming you have to MINIMIZE not eliminate inputs in an effort to maximize yield. You know that low costs high receipts is a pretty good business model even for agriculture.

1/8/2010 5:57:05 AM

I realize and am willing to admit that most of my negative experiences could be limited to my (former) chapter. However, I participated in almost all of the CDEs and won state several times in a lot of them and none of them taught me any practical knowledge. Creed speaking, really? Parliamentary procedure? I can see how it might be useful for some careers, but is that really something necessary for students looking for a future in agriculture? Poultry judging was a joke, day one training for anybody working in any aspect of the poultry industry (although I will admit I had quite a bit of fun). It just seemed to me that the ideals of the club had shifted to purely leadership while the agricultural side had been downplayed. As for the advisers (I apologize in advance if this isn't the case for the advisers in this thread or if this is offensive); most of them don't have a strong background in agriculture at all, simply a degree in something that may or may not be related. The ones who need to be teaching ag are the 5th generation farmers, not the Masters graduates who know everything in theory. One last example (with the names removed because I know how tightly knit the advisers can be) - the new adviser at my former high school. I went to school with her, she was the chapter president my senior year (after I declined), she knew nothing about ag. She got a degree from State, I'm sure she got really good grades and she may even be a good teacher but the program here at State taught her that she knows everything about ag and I guarantee she couldn't grow a crop to save her life. Its that misplaced arrogance that aggravates me more than anything.

1/8/2010 2:44:56 PM

I'm partial to HCTDM myself.

1/8/2010 4:46:32 PM

I remember googling this and wasn't able to figure out what FFA was in 5 seconds, so I gave up.

1/8/2010 4:57:43 PM

pete, i think your right on some accounts but you also have to realize the ability of the average high school student as well as the changing scope of agriculture as to why the FFA is set up the way it is. Most intelligent people could compete in a CDE in any area and do fairly well with very little training but if they were challenging to intelligent students then it would be near impossible to the majority of high school students. As far as the shift away from what you percieve is agriculture I think that can be explained by the steep decline in jobs in production agriculture. I think that most Agriculture companies would rather have an applicant strong in leadership and communication with a solid foundation in science, math, and problem solving and a basic knowledge of agriculture as opposed to a 5th generation farmer who had limited communication skills and nothing more than a common sense knowledge of math and science. I like to think that my students that are interested in careers in agriculture leave with the foundation and the learning skills that will allow them to be succesful in any area. They may not be well versed in growing a field crop but they know enough to quickly learn how if needed.

1/8/2010 5:27:23 PM