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FFA, Agriculture, and the Next Generation of Leaders · Conservation Stories

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Foreign. Sims here with you again for another episode of Conservation Stories. Conservation Stories is a podcast that's sponsored by the Sand Hill Area Research association, or SARAH, as we love to call it, because it's a lot easier to say. So I have with me today two lovely ladies that are joining us to talk about ffa, Future Farmers of America. Would you ladies please enter your do yourself? Madison, we'll start with you.
• 0:35
  Speaker B: Yeah, I'm Madison Dze. I'm currently serving as the Texas FFA Area 11 state vice president. So the way it's broken up is Texas has 12 areas, kind of like regions, and each region gets a state officer, and from there we have a president and a first vice president and then 10 other vice presidents from the area.
• 1:00
  Speaker A: Okay. Okay. So what, what is the, what's the area that you're in? Where does it encompass?
• 1:08
  Speaker B: So Area 11 is. It kind of wraps around the Houston area. So you know how I like to show everyone. So we have Houston, which is Area 3, and then kind of up here at Conroe and. And then all the way down to, you know, we encompass Brenham, Texas. Lots of smaller, smaller towns. You know, all the way to Yoakum, Hallettsville. Kind of a little more south.
• 1:33
  Speaker A: That's a long ways from here.
• 1:35
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'. Am.
• 1:35
  Speaker A: Okay, well, thank you for coming all this way. Did you come all this way for an event, an FFA event that's happening here?
• 1:44
  Speaker B: No, ma'.
• 1:44
  Speaker C: Am.
• 1:44
  Speaker B: I am actually a freshman at Texas Tech this year, so I am majoring in ag and Applied Economics along with. I'm being a full time student along with being a Texas FFA State officer.
• 1:57
  Speaker A: Okay, so that's going to lead me to another question, but let us move on in introductions before I get too distracted.
• 2:03
  Speaker C: My name is Kenley Holscher. I'm currently serving as the Texas FFA Area 2 state officer. My area is. Covers all of west Texas. So from new home to around Junction and then El Paso to about. Sweet.
• 2:19
  Speaker B: Sweetwater.
• 2:19
  Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
• 2:20
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'.
• 2:21
  Speaker A: Am. And y' all probably have about the same amount of people in those. Yours is this big. And yours is this big. And there's probably about the same. That's a big area.
• 2:29
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 2:30
  Speaker A: Wow. So where'd you, where are you from?
• 2:31
  Speaker C: I'm from Roscoe, Texas, just outside of Roscoe.
• 2:34
  Speaker A: I know where that is. I sure do. In fact, there's a little school just outside of Roscoe. I'm trying to remember the name of it, but anyway, my. It was.
• 2:44
  Speaker C: That's where I graduated.
• 2:45
  Speaker A: Oh, My goodness. So this, this is what happens frequently here. My brother in law and sister in law, he was a coach there. Boynton. Yes was their name. So probably you were a small child when they were there. So I didn't know that you. I thought when you graduated, you were through with ffa.
• 3:07
  Speaker B: Normally, yes, that is how it works. You can maintain your membership past your high school experience. Because we have degrees.
• 3:15
  Speaker C: You.
• 3:15
  Speaker B: So we have a state degree, which you normally get between your junior and senior years of high school at our state convention. And then there's also an American degree, so that is at the national level. And you normally get that around sophomore year of college is when you will, like, apply.
• 3:33
  Speaker A: And what does that mean? Degree?
• 3:36
  Speaker B: So each degree has certain requirements. So for you have to have an sae, which is a supervised agricultural experience, and you have to put a certain amount of hours into that or make a certain profit. And then along with that is certain a number of community service hours that you have to have.
• 3:56
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 3:56
  Speaker B: Along with a few other requirements.
• 3:59
  Speaker A: Okay, so it's a little bit kind of like an Eagle Scout. Yeah.
• 4:02
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'.
• 4:03
  Speaker A: Am. Yeah, kind of like, it's kind of that thing. It's like, it's like a merit badge or you've earned this next degree certification. Cool. That's really cool. So how long have you have you, like, been in ffa? Because it starts when you're in high school. Correct? It's a high school, obviously.
• 4:19
  Speaker B: Now, college, most start in high school, especially in Texas. But, you know, some. Some chapters can start seventh grade.
• 4:28
  Speaker C: Most.
• 4:29
  Speaker B: Yeah, we see a lot of, you know, we've been with many other state officers from across the country and, you know, a lot of other states have a lot of middle school programs. We have a few in Texas. Not as much from where I'm from, I would say, but yes, it can start at seventh grade. But I became an FFA member as a freshman in high school. Yes.
• 4:54
  Speaker A: Okay. So did you both grow up in ag?
• 4:58
  Speaker C: Yes.
• 4:58
  Speaker A: You both grew up in ag?
• 4:59
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'. Am. So my family owns a Hereford cattle ranch. Seed stock, cow calf operation. And so along with that, I had two older siblings. So, you know, started showing heifers at a young age. You know, got into 4H before anything else at third grade. And, you know, been around it all my life. You know, the whole raised in a barn type thing, that's how I spent the weekend, so.
• 5:25
  Speaker A: Yes, ma', am, exactly. What about you?
• 5:27
  Speaker C: My family raises market lambs and goats, and so I grew up showing lambs and goats. I Actually joined as a junior FFA member my third grade year up until eighth grade. And I actually started like senior FFA when I was in the eighth grade. So like Maddie said, some chapters will start when you're in middle school. So that's what I did. That's what my chapter offered.
• 5:48
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 5:48
  Speaker C: Yes, ma'.
• 5:49
  Speaker A: Am. Did you just say third grade though? You started.
• 5:51
  Speaker C: That's when I started like showing.
• 5:54
  Speaker A: Okay. And so did you show? Because I know like you have to. When you show, you have to part 4H or you have to be part of FFA. So were you showing as part of FFA in a third grade? Okay. Didn't know you could do that. I thought you had to be 4H. So how. So let's back up a little bit. Just for people who do not. I mean, I shouldn't have presumed knowledge on the people. They're listening in. FFA is Future Farmers of America. How long has it been around since.
• 6:22
  Speaker B: Was it 19?
• 6:23
  Speaker C: 19, 20.
• 6:24
  Speaker A: Oh, so kind of came out of that.
• 6:27
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 6:27
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 6:28
  Speaker B: 1929 or 1928?
• 6:30
  Speaker C: I want to say 28.
• 6:31
  Speaker A: Just say the 20s. 1920s. Okay.
• 6:33
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 6:34
  Speaker A: Okay, we're ready. So I'll ask the question again. So how long has FFA been around?
• 6:40
  Speaker B: So since the late 1920s. Kind of around the time of the Great Depression is actually, you know, when this organization started.
• 6:48
  Speaker A: Interesting. And I think maybe that was like part of maybe seeing a need to like help people take care of themselves, like reintroduce people to like, what it means to be on the farm or. Yeah. And like, yes. Be self sufficient. Because so many people are going hungry.
• 7:04
  Speaker B: That that was absolutely a factor. You know, I don't think a lot of people think about that. You know, we talk about like, you know, the organization starting around that time, but truly. Yeah, that was a big factor in it was, you know, we need to get. This needs to be something that is taught in high school that, that people need to learn, they need to have these skills.
• 7:23
  Speaker A: That's interesting because probably around that same time you notice you saw the development of what 4H is part of which is that land grant, you know, universities building during that time and trying to kind of do the same thing. That's really interesting. So are y' all in any connection, is FFA connected in any way to a land grant system? Like, don't. Don't take this the wrong way, but agri life like a m. Are y' all connected in any way? Like, like 4H is connected.
• 7:54
  Speaker B: We don't have as strong of ties as as 4H does, you know, especially to Texas A&M AgriLife extension. You know, they are very heavily involved.
• 8:04
  Speaker A: They're just like part of that. Yes, yes.
• 8:06
  Speaker B: We don't have a tie like that. But we do work a lot with universities, colleges, especially those colleges that have those ag programs. We will do a lot of events. Most of our career development events, which are, you know, starting to pick up this spring, those will be hosted at those colleges. So we them hosted at A and M. We have them hosted at Sam Houston. We have some hosted up here at Texas Tech. So we do have a very strong relationship with those universities, but not quite the connection.
• 8:38
  Speaker A: That's okay. Interesting. So. So I just wanted to be careful since we're both. You're both here under the tech flag students being real cautious about what other universities we might bring up.
• 8:51
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'.
• 8:52
  Speaker A: Am.
• 8:52
  Speaker B: Well, we are very fond of A and M. We have five teammates there right now. Oh, wow.
• 8:57
  Speaker A: Yeah, five right now. Okay. Wow. My goodness. So you had to choose at some point. I'm going to participate in 4H. I'm going to participate in FFA because there is not enough daylight to do both would be my guess. So what, Kenley, want to start with you. What. What made you move in that direction of ffa?
• 9:20
  Speaker C: For me personally, it was just. It started out just being a lot easier just because in 4H I had to travel to another town. I lived out in the middle of nowhere. So going to town, we didn't really go to town a whole lot. So it just started out easier doing it through the school instead of doing it through the county. And then I sort of really just enjoyed how FFA was just based strictly on the agriculture industry. Whereas 4H is wonderful, but it encompasses a lot of different industries. And I really enjoyed how FFA was really focused on the agriculture industry.
• 9:52
  Speaker A: Okay. May I ask some more about you?
• 9:53
  Speaker B: For me, I think it was a big family thing. My dad, he's not a certified ag teacher, but he works kind of in our ag department. He's an auto tech teacher. So I always had a strong relationship with our ag teachers there. You know, they knew me since I was knee high to a grasshopper. So I always had a really strong connection there. And then both my siblings, we all did 4H and FFA. But I just saw the way that they just fully immersed themselves into FFA compared to 4H. And that may have had a little bit to do with where we were. We are in a rural area and living in a small town like that. There's not as many people that do it compared to FFA in high school, where you have a little bit of a bigger community, a little bit. Few more people to share that experience with. So I. I think that was a huge factor for me.
• 10:49
  Speaker A: That's really neat. I think that it kind of just shows like, what. What is part of the community is kind of the direction that you guys kind of went. Really? That's neat. That's neat. So you have in. In each one of your regions or areas, there's 11 or 12. 12.
• 11:08
  Speaker B: 12.
• 11:08
  Speaker A: Okay. So in each one of these 12, there are multiple chapters in. Inside that. Okay. So like, can somebody just start a chapter? Like, I could 4H. A lot of times feel like I'm going to start a 4H chapter over here because we don't have one or we want one just for these people that are doing this or whatever. Is it more complex than that?
• 11:33
  Speaker C: Yes, ma'.
• 11:33
  Speaker A: Am.
• 11:33
  Speaker C: I know that in order to start a chapter, there are many different stages, steps that you have to go through. You can't just say, like, my school wants a chapter. We're going to be an affiliated chapter. Now, I do know I had the opportunity to facilitate a jump start program. I do know that new chapters have to go through jumpstart in order to become an affiliated chapter. That's just something that Texas FFA puts on in order to help those new chapters. Yes. And then we have a state staff member has to conduct a site visit before they can become an affiliated chapter as well.
• 12:09
  Speaker A: Okay, so you have like. I mean, like, FFA is for people that don't know. It's huge. It's huge. Is it more than just us? Is it international or is it just United States?
• 12:23
  Speaker B: It's just in the U.S. yes, ma'.
• 12:25
  Speaker A: Am.
• 12:26
  Speaker B: There are, I know, national officers that we have. They get to travel to Japan and they kind of involve themselves because Japan is trying to upstart a program. Interesting kind FFJ is what they're calling it. So they are kind of taking that idea.
• 12:46
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 12:47
  Speaker B: And. And building.
• 12:48
  Speaker A: That's kind of what I was wondering if it was like, you're part of, like this global. This is the one for the United States, but there's one for Poland, there's one for Japan. So that idea really is just kind of starting.
• 12:58
  Speaker B: Yes, but it will remain two separate. Two separate organizations.
• 13:04
  Speaker A: That's really cool though. That's a great idea. Y. So are the chapters mostly located in schools? Like in the high school?
• 13:14
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'.
• 13:15
  Speaker A: Am.
• 13:15
  Speaker B: So it has to. FFA follows a Three circle model classroom instruction, SAE and ffa.
• 13:26
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 13:27
  Speaker B: That encompasses it. So the whole point of it is agricultural education. So it is going to be in.
• 13:34
  Speaker A: It's legit. Yes. Yeah.
• 13:36
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 13:36
  Speaker A: So you're gonna. You're gonna be taught by somebody who's like a professional. Trained professional. Yeah. Okay. So it's not like. Because I would think 4h, you kind of equate 4h with. With the Scouts or, you know, to mean something kind of along those lines. And so you're learning. It's great. It's just a completely different model. Yalls is more along the lines of professional development, would you say?
• 13:59
  Speaker B: I would say so. You know, I think compared to 4H, there is more of a centralized focus on agriculture. You know, with 4H, you do have those, like, homemaking aspects, things like that, but we are solely agriculture.
• 14:14
  Speaker A: Yeah. So. But they're also, you know, because really, the people. In my experience with. With 4H, it was, you know, a lot of people volunteering. You know, of course you had your extension agent, but a lot of people were volunteering to teach a lot of those things, too, you know. And, you know, you might be learning whatever your skill is. You might be learning from your, you know, aunt or your cousin's mother, you know what I'm saying? That would be your aunt. So anyway, so what do you feel like if someone was thinking, like, I'm thinking about what? I know I want to do something in agriculture because. But I've lived in the city all my life, and I don't really know much. Like, is it beneficial to them to be part of ffa?
• 15:05
  Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. Yes, ma'. Am. We have a teammate. He is currently serving as our first vice president, so. So he is on the road constantly. He's on our travel team, and he grew up in the suburbs of Houston, and he has, you know, gained so much from this experience and from this. And, you know, if you get to talk to him ever, you know, he'll tell you all about it. He's kind of our urban ag advocate, I think, just because he grew up in that environment and grew up in that situation. But I think there's so many kids, especially in those urban areas, that think about, like, oh, this isn't for me, this is about agriculture. But truly, you know, it isn't. We like to say it isn't just cow sows and plows. You know, we're creating leaders. We're creating people that can go into the workforce, that can find a job, that have people skills and communication. So even if you aren't looking to go into the agriculture industry, if you're, you know, looking to go into the medical fields or, you know, strictly like business and communications, this will 100% benefit you.
• 16:11
  Speaker A: It's, it's interesting to me. I, I, I have a friend, we were in a program together. She's brilliant, brilliant young woman and grew up, you know, in, in Dallas, you know, and now she, like, you know, she's, she's probably going to be, and she'll be an ag ambassador. She'll wind up somewhere, I think, you know what I mean? And it was fun to watch, you know, watch her, you know, see our experience of being, seeing these things in agriculture through her eyes and looking at her and thinking how exciting it was for me to like, see someone that didn't grow up. Because a lot of times it's kind of like just in your DNA, you know what I mean? You do it because, like, you don't know. It's not that you're saying you don't know what else to do, but it's just like, maybe you just, you haven't been exposed to all these things, you know what I mean? All the other things that are out there. But anyway, just see somebody be like, to choose to invest themselves in, in that industry that's so impactful all over the world. Really?
• 17:13
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'.
• 17:13
  Speaker A: Am.
• 17:14
  Speaker B: Absolutely. I know that that is such, like, a special thing that, you know, we as state officers get to see whenever we get to go on chapter visits, whenever we get to interact with members. It's those kids that, you know, they'll tell you, oh, I sat at the back of my ag class and my teacher forced me to do this. Like, you know, they may start off our conference or our workshop being like, I don't want to be here. But then by the end of it, it's like, wow, this was really fun. This was exciting. This is engaging, and it's, how do we get you more involved? You know, like, this has been so special to us. Like, we know it's so, it can be so special to you. And especially touching on, you know, people that don't grow up into the ag, grow up in the ag industry and choosing that anyways. I think that is so powerful, not only because, you know, our farmer and rancher numbers are shrinking, but just because of the viewpoint and innovation they can bring to this. You know, they grew up in those urban areas. They know how things work. Being able to think about that with how, how fast urban agriculture is growing in itself, I think Is. Is absolutely amazing. And, you know, we need those people more than ever now.
• 18:23
  Speaker A: Yeah, well, I. I was at the Amarillo Farm show this year and spoke to. On a panel to FFA students. And it was really interesting because I asked them, you know, like, show of hands, how many of you plan to go into agriculture? It was like four of, like, the 40 people that are in there. And I was like, that is really interesting, but also encouraging because that is, you know, all of these 40 students who will have been exposed to things that I'm surely glad they know they're going to know about, you know, and. And it was fun also to be like, well, you know, there's all these different jobs now in agriculture, you know, so how do you know you're not going to be an ag? Because you may find that you. You want to be, like, a bioengineer or you just never know.
• 19:14
  Speaker B: Absolutely. And, you know, even though even those kids that may not be involved in agriculture, I think it's so important that they just have the skills to be. Be an advocate, you know, that. That advocating for agriculture, you know, in order to. To grow it, how we need this industry to grow and. And support our growing population. I think that that advocacy can't just come from the industry. It has to come from the people outside of it as well.
• 19:38
  Speaker A: That is absolutely true. It is. So how many. Y' all have an idea? How many FFA students there are in Texas? Members?
• 19:45
  Speaker B: We have over 183,000 members.
• 19:50
  Speaker A: 183,000 members. Texas is a big place. That's a lot.
• 19:55
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'. Am.
• 19:57
  Speaker A: Wow. Yeah, that. That makes a big convention. Does everybody go when you have convention?
• 20:04
  Speaker B: I think we could, you know, shut down the city if 183,000 people were there. I believe at this. Our past convention, this last July, we had about 15 or 16,000.
• 20:17
  Speaker A: Okay. Wow. Oh, my goodness. So are there, like, levels that people are involved in? So, like, some people are more involved, some people are less involved. That kind of thing just depends on what their goals are.
• 20:30
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'. Am. So, you know, you'll come in contact with members who just show at, you know, their county fair, just show at the major livestock shows, or come into contact with kids that just do this one contest. But then you'll have kids that, you know, they show at majors. They do a leadership development event in the fall, they do a career development event in the spring. They'll go to convention over the summer, they'll do a speaking event. They'll get involved. We have different level of Office positions. Just like how we're state officers. We have chapter office, district office, area office. So the level of involvement definitely does vary, but I don't think that makes it any less impactful.
• 21:09
  Speaker A: Right, right. That's. So that's interesting. Almost 200,000 people. Girls. That's a lot of people. Wow, That's a lot. You're. Y' all are leading a lot of folks.
• 21:21
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'.
• 21:22
  Speaker A: Am. So there, I'm assuming, like, I mean, to have. Have an. An organization this big, you guys have like full time. There's full time staff people that kind of keep. Keep the wheels rolling.
• 21:36
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'. Am. We have eight state staff members. State staff members. And then, you know, we are in college, along with all of the Texas FFA vice presidents are in college. But our president and our first vice, they are the travel team. So we have a Texas FFA truck. And what they do is they spend their entire year of service, 12 weeks in the fall, 12 weeks in the the spring, visiting all 12 areas across the state.
• 22:05
  Speaker A: So, so are they. Is this like between high school and college? Or is this after college?
• 22:10
  Speaker B: Or is it like they are graduate. They are rh. They graduated okay. Last year.
• 22:15
  Speaker A: Okay. And so they take it basically a service year.
• 22:18
  Speaker B: Yes. They take a. They defer their first year of college to.
• 22:21
  Speaker A: Wow.
• 22:22
  Speaker B: Take on this responsibility.
• 22:24
  Speaker A: Wow. It's really neat. So they'll just go different places, just recruit, recruiting, and trying to maybe raise funds, that kind of stuff or so
• 22:33
  Speaker B: mainly they'll go to a chapter and give a workshop. So there's a process where your chapter can request a state officer visit. You know, forms go out at the beginning of the school year. The advisor will fill it out, say, hey, this kind of works best for us. And then our area leadership advisors or area travel coordinators, they will essentially take all that and, you know, put them into place and create a whole schedule. And then our state staff members will send that to us. And Riley and Cody are our travel team members. They get that, you know, on Google spreadsheets, and they're like, okay, this is our schedule.
• 23:10
  Speaker A: Wow.
• 23:11
  Speaker C: Yes.
• 23:12
  Speaker A: My goodness.
• 23:14
  Speaker B: Normally it is three schools a day, all five days a week.
• 23:18
  Speaker A: Three schools a day. Wow, that's amazing. That's a lot of traveling.
• 23:24
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 23:25
  Speaker A: Wow. That's not much of a. What they call that? The year Gap year. That's not much of a gap year. Another work year. Wow, that's really neat. That's a neat thing to put on your resume, though.
• 23:35
  Speaker B: Absolutely. Yes, ma'.
• 23:37
  Speaker A: Am. That's really cool. So you Guys have different workshops so you can learn different things. You can choose to go to. To those things. And then can you. Like, you might have one, like in Houston that you would go to if you lived in Lubbock or one in Abilene, or is that kind of how you travel as a student, as an FA student to go to those things? Or are you requesting them and they come to your chapter?
• 24:04
  Speaker C: They'll come to your chapter. So Riley and Cody, like Maddie said, will go around 12 weeks from each semester. They'll go to each area twice. And so as vice presidents, when they are traveling to our area, we go with them. So when they travel area two, I go with them. When they travel area 11, Maddie goes with them.
• 24:23
  Speaker A: Okay, I'm going to just say if you're traveling your area, it should take more than a week would be my guess.
• 24:30
  Speaker C: Yes, ma'.
• 24:30
  Speaker A: Am.
• 24:30
  Speaker C: We had a lot of driving. I haven't done my second week of travel yet. But the first week, the first semester, we had to do a lot of driving.
• 24:38
  Speaker A: Driving.
• 24:38
  Speaker C: Yes, ma'.
• 24:39
  Speaker B: Am.
• 24:39
  Speaker A: That is a big old part of the state.
• 24:40
  Speaker C: Yes, ma'.
• 24:41
  Speaker A: Am. It really is. But it's a lovely part too, though. I like Junction, and I love. I love the Sonora. It's probably in your area. It is.
• 24:50
  Speaker C: Yes, ma'. Am.
• 24:51
  Speaker A: It's one of my favorite places in Texas. I don't know why. The people are great. The people are great. So is there anything that you think people need to know about ffa? What would you tell somebody that's thinking. They're in high school. They're trying to decide what they're gonna do, how they're gonna spend their time, or maybe they're, you know, even younger than that. You know what I mean? Kind of just looking ahead, going, I'm gonna. I'm in seventh grade in two years. What am I gonna do? Am I gonna be in drama? Am I gonna be. Because there's a lot of pools. There's a lot of things that are pulling people's attention. So why ffa?
• 25:26
  Speaker B: I would say, you know, if they're thinking about joining ffa, you know, take the jump and go for it. If they're not sure what they want to do, I just kind of plant that. Plant that thought in their mind that, you know, FFA is always an option. There's a multitude of FFA members that aren't just FFA members. They're athletes. They're involved in band, theater, other extracurriculars. It's not solely, you know, FFA or nothing. It absolutely can be because we have things going on year round that you can. That can take off all your time, but just the experience that that creates. I truly don't think there's anything else like it. You know, whether that's you're just doing one contest and that's all you do in the FFA or if you are, you know, pursuing offices and you're doing events in the fall and the spring, I don't think that there's anything that compares to that. Not only, not only what you can learn about agriculture and being an advocate, but the way it just grows you as a person. You know, it grows your communication skills, it grows your professionalism skills. It just grows you in a way that I don't think any other organization does. And the people you meet in the ffa, that is. That is something that's never going to go away. The community that we have, like the home you kind of create for yourself when you're in this organization. I have friends who, you know, I met at a contest one time and, you know, still have them and still talk to them. Friends from different officer teams that I will stay in contact with that, that go to school with me here. So, you know, it is, it is a community like no other.
• 27:13
  Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And it is, it is fun that it's just kind of all rallied around that one. Something that is never going to go away. It's an industry that'll always be there and always needs. I know that we're sorely lacking in job. We have jobs, we're lacking in people to take those jobs in the ag world. So people. It's a good time for people to be thinking about getting ag degrees, I think.
• 27:40
  Speaker B: Absolutely.
• 27:41
  Speaker A: So you have anything you want to leave the audience with about FFA or we're going to take a go and, and maybe get more information.
• 27:49
  Speaker B: Yes. So if you're looking for any more information, there's both a national FFA website and a Texas FFA website. On the Texas FFA website, you can see upcoming events, you can see the state officer team Learn more about U.S. national officers, how to get more involved, things that you can do for your chapter scholarships. That is absolutely a huge, huge thing that the FFA offers if you are an existing member. Yes, ma'. Am. We have a Texas FFA scholarship that I am a recipient of that is $20,000 and it ranges. We have other options, but, you know, we, we give a lot of support to those that are going into the industry that have done a lot for our organization. So.
• 28:40
  Speaker A: Absolutely, that's nice. That's great. So what about you? Any last words? We'll edit that out.
• 28:53
  Speaker C: My bad.
• 28:54
  Speaker A: Well, that's okay. Do you want to. Do you want to say anything? But you don't have to.
• 28:57
  Speaker B: I don't know.
• 28:58
  Speaker A: Okay. All right. Okay. All right. Okay. Well, I'll wrap it up. Okay. You ready?
• 29:04
  Speaker C: Yes.
• 29:05
  Speaker A: Well, this has been really interesting. I have definitely learned a lot. I. I just realized sitting here talking to y', all, and I know. I guess I'm experienced with 4H, but as I've mentioned that a million times, but this is new. FFA is like, a totally new thing for me, so I've learned a lot. I really appreciate y' all coming and giving me your time and taking off time from the campus to come over here, and I'm glad you're here. Shred Raiders. And you never know. A lot of Red Raiders wind up staying in Lubbock. It happens. It happens. So. Well, friends, if you want to check out more information about ffa, we will link all of the information that you've given and everything so that people can find all those things out and learn and see if it might be for you. Thanks for what y' all do, and I'm excited for your futures.
• 29:54
  Speaker C: Absolutely.
• 29:54
  Speaker B: Thank you for having us,
• 29:57
  Speaker A: Sam.