S-N Editorial

Rural Iowa has many rich traditions, but very few have an impact quite like our local FFA chapters.

This week more than 600,000 FFA members across the country are observing National FFA Week. The annual celebration allows communities to laud their local chapters and reflect on their influence, which is indeed huge in areas like ours. After all, you’d be hard-pressed to find an organization with as much youthful enthusiasm as this one. Whether it’s building a shelter house or hosting a food drive, our local Blue Jackets are always willing to lend a helping hand in the communities they serve.

That spirit of volunteerism is one of the many key factors that make FFA great. However, we’d be remiss to ignore the organization’s wide-ranging influence on agriculture. By bringing ag into the classroom, FFA has introduced generations of students to a variety of topics not typically broached in traditional curriculum. Whether it’s a lesson about pigs, corn or something in between, FFA members are cognizant of their food sources and the impact farmers have on the world around them. That’s easy to forget in this day and age, which makes FFA all the more important.

Agriculture has changed drastically since the first FFA chapter was founded in 1928. Thankfully, the organization has continued to thrive and pump out America’s future farmers, biologists, chemists, veterinarians, engineers and entrepreneurs. It has never waivered in its mission, and school districts like Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn can be thankful to have thriving chapters that continually serve their communities to the highest degree. Without them, our area would be severely lacking.