Future Farmers, future leaders

Since the creation of Green Mountain High School’s agriculture program this school year, Future Farmers of America work has been an integral part.

Now, students are taking that Future Farmers work outside the classroom, with the start of monthly meetings on the last Wednesday of the month.

“You can’t have an agriculture program without doing Future Farmers work,” said Courtney Mayo, Green Mountain’s agricultural instructor and Future Farmers adviser. “The students participate in all kinds of activities to practice teamwork skills and learn about leadership.”

The class’ second meeting was on Feb. 24, coinciding with National Future Farmers of America week. Every day of the week students in the group hosted a different activity during lunch –; line dancing one day, steer roping another and even stick horse barrel racing.

That kind of activity-driven approach extended to the Future Farmers meeting, which had the students complete a schoolwide scavenger hunt that highlighted the organization’s history, creed and other facets. More than 35 students participated.

Before starting on the hunt, the student officers asked a simple question –; why participate in Future Farmers? Students talked about how the organization is in everything they do –; learning about agriculture, becoming an example for their peers and the community.

“You need to understand you’re not just high school students anymore,” Mayo said. “You’re part of something bigger now, and you need to conduct yourself as such. How you act around other students and the community reflects on you and all of us.”

Learning about leadership is the main purpose of student involvement, and it will help them in the future, Mayo added. She said students with Future Farmer experience are more often chosen for internships and jobs, because of the skills they get from the organization.

“The qualities we’re learning provide us with such a great sense of pride,” said Sydney Hensley, a senior and vice president of the chapter. “It keeps us well-rounded and motivated, and we all benefit from the responsibility we learn.”

The group is working on all kinds of plans moving forward, Hensley and Mayo said, including reaching out to local elementary schools to have Future Farmer members go into classrooms and teach a farm-to-table lesson. They also want a petting zoo, and possibly some kind of barn dance in the autumn. Of course, to do all this the students need to raise money. They have a variety of fundraising plans, including selling boxes of meat (chicken, beef, pork and seafood).

This is all to get students as ready for the future as possible, Mayo explained.

“I like that Future Farmers is really focused on improving our lives along with giving us agricultural education,” said senior Sarah Farris. “We’re continuously looking at ways to improve ourselves.”

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