National FFA Week

Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Each year, Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapters around the country celebrate National FFA Week. It’s a time to share what FFA is and the impact it has on members every day.
The FFA chapter at Jefferson Somerset had many special activities during National FFA Week this year, which they extended from Feb. 19 through Mar. 11.
The FFA program at Jefferson Somerset had been disbanded about six years ago but was revived last year. Stefanie Prevatt, the agriculture teacher at Jefferson Somerset and the FFA advisor, has continued to build the program during the 2021-22 school year. The club has 14 members, including Susie Reams (President), Dezaray Kennedy (Vice President), David Davis (Secretary), Alondra Jimenez (Treasurer), Crishonda Fain, Roxanne Jaimes, Alexis Tucker, Serenity Murray, Saanti Roseberry, Alijah Wright, Hailea Fender, Zaniya Parrish, Christina Walker and Johnathan Youngblood. As a result of recent FFA Week activities, four more students have decided to join FFA and will soon be inducted into the club.
To be an FFA member, a student must be enrolled in an Ag class because FFA is intended to extend the classroom learning. The club focuses on three areas: community service, leadership and career development events (CDEs).
CDE topics are chosen to align with industries in a club's community as well as classes the students are taking, says Prevatt. During FFA Week on Feb. 24, members who take her Florida Horticulture Class and her Basic Agriculture Foundations class competed in the Floriculture CDE and the Nursery & Landscape CDE. The CDE competitions take place online and last two hours. Depending on the topic, students may have been challenged to identify plants, pests and fungal damage as shown in photographs; evaluate the aesthetic appeal of floral centerpieces and bouquets; show their understanding of how to make a boutonniere, and so on. Prevatt was proud to see the Jefferson Somerset FFA members perform strongly both individually and as a team and achieve higher rankings this year than last.
The school's top CDE performers this year were Hailea Fender in Nursery & Landscape and Susie Reams in Floriculture. Through participation in CDEs, students develop leadership skills and focus on different careers that they could go into. Prevatt makes connections with the local agriculture enterprises so that students can see people working in the industry. She wants them to know that Ag not just farming and communication is a key element of success.
Another activity during National FFA Week included beautifying the school through weeding the landscaped beds around campus. FFA members also baked cupcakes and practiced their public speaking skills as they delivered them to students and teachers as a big “Thank You” for their help in growing FFA members into future leaders.
National FFA Week events were to wrap up on Mar. 10 with a literacy activity. FFA members made plans to visit second grade students and read a book about George Washington Carver, an agricultural scientist and inventor who developed hundreds of products using peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans. A hands-on project to combine a pine cone, peanut butter and bird seed into a wild bird feeder would follow the reading.
Of course, FFA and Ag class projects happen all year long! This school year, Prevatt's students have planted eight scuppernong and muscadine grapevines around their six existing raised garden beds, where they have been growing broccoli, cabbage, collards, lettuce, cilantro and Italian parsley. Harvested items go to school staff, or students take them home for their family to enjoy. This week they were planning to plant Meyer lemon trees, kumquats and satsumas around the garden as well.
Another exciting project involves chickens. FFA members are working with the UF/IFAS Extension Office to provide eggs that they can hatch in incubators at school. Meanwhile, students are developing design ideas for a coop and exploring possible locations for it.
Last year's plan to purchase a greenhouse has undergone an interesting development. Thomas Burgess, head of school maintenance, has been able to refurbish the old school greenhouse on Water Street, and Prevatt reports that, due to Burgess' hard work, this 31' by 32' growing space is ready to go! The next step for Prevatt is working out a way to transport students over there to get things growing.
Jefferson Somerset's FFA chapter received a significant donation in February from the Police Athletic League (PAL) that helped them purchase award pins and complete the students' FFA uniforms with white shirt, pants and tie to go with their FFA jackets. Full, official indoor dress, which costs around $200 per student, is required for many FFA functions. This purchase will make a big difference in the chapter's ability to participate more fully in all that FFA has to offer. Prevatt extends deep appreciation to PAL, which had to disband earlier this year and decided to give their residual fund balance of $1,920 to support students in the FFA program.
Prevatt believes strongly that “FFA is a place where anyone can fit in.” The FFA chapter she is building at Jefferson Somerset is one to watch, as the students who are involved continue to grow and make connections in the community, build their leadership skills, participate in service activities and become inspired to pursue interesting careers in the broad field of agriculture.