North Dakota wheat tour predicts strong 2024 crop

By Scout Nelson

Future Farmers of America (FFA) offers students various opportunities in the agriculture industry beyond traditional farming and ranching. Fields like food science, landscape management, and horticulture are just a few examples. At the North Dakota State Fair, FFA students competed in the FFA Beef Show. Many of these students plan to continue the family traditions of managing their family farms.

FFA student Molly Hansen emphasized the importance of farmers. “I think in the ag industry it is especially important to keep with your family traditions because the ag industry is only two percent of America's workforce and we feed the entire population. If everyone leaves the farms and they consolidate into big corporations it just doesn’t have the same value and meaning it does if it stays in the family,” Hansen said. She added that while more people are becoming removed from agriculture, farmers remain crucial.

Not all students plan to stay on their family farms. Some, like Lily Solemsaas, are exploring other agricultural areas, such as livestock judging. “A short summary of why you placed the class, you are kind of defending your placing basically trying to convince the judge of why you placed it that way and describe the animals accurately, so you are judged off of your content and presentation and that is probably the most difficult part of livestock judging but it also became my favorite over time,” Solemsaas explained. She is excited to travel and see livestock from around the world.

Agriculture technology is evolving rapidly, presenting new learning opportunities. Mitchell Becker, the livestock superintendent for FFA, said, “The agriculture industry you kind of have to be at that cutting edge of trying different changes. Even the livestock industry has changed, animals being raised to produce more to be able to feed the world the best we can.” Drones, for example, help producers determine the number of seeds or chemical needed, increasing efficiency.

Becker also noted that FFA membership is growing nationwide, with nearly 1 million members (about the population of Delaware) in the US.

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