State Departments Partner To Boost FFA Programs

A local ag educator excited that two state departments have teamed up to boost Tennessee’s agricultural education programs through FFA.

The State Department of Agriculture and the State Department of Education will work to increase FFA enrollment and opportunities for learning inside and outside the classroom. Van Buren FFA Instructor Lance Smith:

“On a local level, I’m hopeful it will help boost FFA membership, not just in my classroom but in schools all over the Upper Cumberland,” Smith said. “And help kind of drive home the importance of ag-related careers.”

Smith said at the state level, there will be six new positions focused strictly on FFA members and their activities. He said this includes the Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) programs and FFA competitions and events.

Smith said while it’s still early in the process, he said this is an exciting development. He said he looks forward to seeing how the announcement will help him in instruction down the road.

“Having instruction outside the classroom is absolutely vital to what we as Ag teachers do,” Smith said. “We learn to do in the classroom, but then we’re able to go out and apply and practice these real-world skills at the shop, at home, at a job. Because like I said, as Ag teachers, we teach valuable, real-world, real-life skills that are used on a daily basis.”