(Photo: Iowa Soybean Association / Joclyn Bushman)
“I believe in the future of agriculture…”
That’s the first line to the National FFA Organization’s creed. It’s a line I learned when I was 12.
I experienced FFA first as a spectator. My brother, who served as a chapter officer, took the stage to present his retiring address and conclude his year of service as the chapter’s sentinel. “Busy Man,” a song made popular by Billy Ray Cyrus, was his entrance song. I recall being in awe of my brother, six years older than me, being brave and speaking on stage. Who was this guy who was largely quiet at home speaking in front of a crowded high school auditorium?
I won’t ever forget the feeling of zipping up my very own FFA jacket years later. National blue corduroy, the jacket was stiff just coming out of the package. My name stitched in corn gold, I was the fifth (and last) child in my family to have a jacket of their own. Donning my own FFA jacket, I felt like a superhero, ready to take on the world.
Soon, early morning contest preparation became a part of my high school routine. Robert’s Rules of Order became a study guide as I participated in the conduct of chapter meetings and parliamentary procedure contests, among others. It was especially memorable combining my agricultural and instrumental interests. I bounced between the high school gym and the ag classroom during basketball games, making progress on supervised agricultural experience records between pep band performances. Playing a trumpet solo in the National FFA Band in front of 47,000 others in Louisville, Ky, was an unforgettable experience.
In this issue, you’ll meet generations of agriculturalists who, in their own ways, work to improve the future of our industry. They serve as a reminder of the words E.M. Tiffany wrote, which the National FFA Organization adopted as its official creed 95 years ago.
“I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words but of deeds — achievements won by the present and past generations of agriculturists; in the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles of former years.”
There’s no doubt that the present and future generations of agriculturalists will face their own challenges. If farming were easy, everyone would do it. But I believe in the future of agriculture and those determined to participate.
Farmers I’ve met and those featured in this issue understand that there are 12-year-olds, as I once was, watching from their windows or their auditorium seats as spectators, hearing the words of the FFA creed for the first time.
It is because of these farmers — and so many of you, that I believe in the future of agriculture, even as my own FFA jacket hangs in the closet.
All the best to you in 2025.