National FFA Week Conjures-up Pride in Agriculture

Feb 19, 2013

National FFA Week Seeks to Bring Awareness about the Importance of Agriculture Education

Feeding a growing population is an exciting, yet daunting challenge for those involved in agriculture. The United States is fortunate enough to have an organization dedicated to preparing future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing nation and the world; and that organization is called National FFA - formally known as Future Farmers of America.

Saturday Feb. 16th, marked the first day of National FFA Week that runs from Feb 16th to the 23rd. It’s an annual event that’s designed to bring greater awareness about the organization, while participating in initiatives designed to bring awareness about the importance of agriculture education.

The celebration also conjures-up a source of pride for FFA members and alumni who wear their “official dress” – the uniform of a FFA member, a corduroy jacket displaying blue and gold with the official FFA logo. FFA has nearly 560,000 members that act as ambassadors for agriculture in America.

Farms.com would like to wish FFA members a happy National FFA Week and encourage those interested in following the activities of National FFA week to look for the #ffaweek13 hash tag on Twitter.

Check out this fun video of the 2012-13 National FFA Officers showing off their version of the popular Harlem Shake:

Video: Season 6, Episode 12: Veterinarians’ Perspectives on Managing Swine Herd Health Across All Phases

Identifying challenges in swine production and turning them into solutions through research and team development is the focus of this episode. Dr. Christine Mainquist-Whigham of Pillen Family Farms and DNA Genetics shares insights on herd health, biosecurity and trial work to improve pig performance. She also discusses her team’s research philosophy, how they evaluate rate of investment and how they gather feedback from employees to address challenges and maintain herd health across all phases of production. Dr. Carlos Roudergue of Country View Family Farms discusses the growing complexity of swine production, especially as technology increases and employee interaction decreases. He also shares how their workforce is shifting toward more specialized roles to support herd health and efficiency.