Did you know?
  • FFA LogoFFA was founded in 1928 when 33 young farm boys charted the course for the organization's future.
  • Its name changed in 1988 from Future Farmers of America to the National FFA Organization to reflect expanding career opportunities.
  • There are more than 507,000 members.
  • There are more than 7,400 middle and high school FFA chapters in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Scholarship Opportunity

The NWTF funds an annual $5,000 national scholarship for an outstanding FFA student who hunts and is heading into a natural resource-related field. FFA administers the scholarship. To date, the Federation has funded more than $70,000 in FFA scholarships. Read more about this year’s winner on the next page.

 





Christine Rolka
Christine Rolka
Director of Education

Future farmers, shooters, hunters and conservationists
of America

I sure missed out in high school. Luckily, I didn’t know it at the time. While I was busy singing in a choir at Music and Art High School in Manhattan, I didn’t realize what I was missing by not having a local FFA chapter or the opportunities that came with one.

I’d always thought FFA was for, well, like its name said, future farmers, not for a city girl, like me.

It wasn’t until I attended my first national FFA convention 11 years ago that I realized just what had passed me by.

NWTF and FFA — sowing the seeds of a great partnership

The NWTF came on board as a national sponsor of FFA in 1998 and has since supported the organization by participating in 10 FFA conventions as an exhibitor, judging the National FFA Wildlife Management Proficiency and sponsoring the National FFA Scholarship Program.

NWTF chapters have funded state FFA Foundations, as well as hosted and participated in local and state FFA wildlife management career development event. Chapters also have found outstanding NWTF scholarship applicants through local high school FFA advisors.

In turn, FFA chapters have helped coordinate and participated in JAKES events, and some FFA advisors have even helped start new NWTF chapters. And the NWTF has been a source of training and support for many FFA advisors who have attended our conservation education workshops or used NWTF-generated curriculum and resources.

As I explored the aisles and halls of the largest annual FFA event (the convention draws more than 50,000 agriculture education teachers and students from across the country each year), what I originally thought of as a farm-based organization quickly transformed into an extraordinary effort to prepare students for careers in agri science, biotechnology, agricultural mechanics, horticulture, animal science and natural resource management.

I’ve become more impressed with the scope of organization as the NWTF has formed a deeper partnership with FFA over the last dozen or so years. The teachers, advisors and students involved are intimately linked to the land and enable each other to make a positive and productive impact on the future of our country’s natural resources. Their drive, commitment and sense of community is only rivaled by that of the Federation’s own volunteers.

Check out the box below for how the NWTF and FFA have partnered on national, state and event local levels, and ways you can get involved. There are still plenty of opportunities for the NWTF to play an even bigger role in working with FFA to cultivate future volunteers and leaders in conservation. — Christine