Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is talking with the former national advisor of the FFA organization, Dr. Larry Case about the positive impact the national FFA organization has made on the lives of youth across the United States.
Case served as the national advisor of the FFA organization from 1984 until 2010.
When talking about the difference that the FFA organization has made in the life of countless youth, Case first gives credit to the teachers.
“They are master teachers of being able to bring the best out of kids,” Case said. “I think a lot of it is that we are in an aera where values are seen as being important, and those values seem to carry traditions with them.”
Looking back at the progression of the FFA, Case said the 1980s brought about a change in agriculture, which impacted the organization in a negative fashion.
“We had the broaden the base in order to attract more students, and so we developed about eight pathways that could be utilized by teachers across the country to broaden their curriculum and entice more students into it,” Case said.
Case emphasized the broad array of careers in agriculture, from the input side to the output side of production.
“No matter what they are pursuing, I think they get a fairly good dose of leadership preparation, and that certainly needed in the future of our country,” Case said. “I wish we had more of it now.”
