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You all know that I love celebrating these two phenomenal youth organizations. Last week I gave you lots of fun facts about the history of FFA. The month has flown by and I have not given 4-H the attention it is due during National 4-H month, so I promise I will have more to come this week about 4-H. 

If you have an FFA and ag program in your school, fight for it, support it and don’t take it for granted! The technical and leadership skills that are taught in FFA are exactly what the world needs right now. 

It requires 1.6 yards of corduroy to create one FFA jacket. When you lay eyes on that sea of blue corduroy jackets, there is no doubt if you have ever worn one, that you among some of the most motivated, engaged youth in America.  

In 1905, Henry Wallace wrote, “We need to abandon the cut and dried formula of a period when a man was ‘educated’ only when he knew Greek and Latin.”

The agriculture industry is hungry to bring our youth alongside and to help develop their skills in hopes of them having a long-term future adding value to our industry. Their minds are young and bright.  If you have an interest in working alongside our ag youth, reach out to your local FFA chapter and create a relationship! 

So let’s just sign off today saying stay safe, stay healthy, drink your water, wash your hands, and cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze. Okay, that should cover it! 

So thank you to all those medical personnel who are waging the cold, influenza and strep battles, on top of the other emergencies and medical situations, in your communities! 

So let’s just sign off today saying stay safe, stay healthy, drink your water, wash your hands, and cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze. Okay, that should cover it! 

I know we are all doing the best we can to keep our families and communities healthy. Thank you to the medical personnel who are walking alongside their communities during cold and flu season.  

So let’s just sign off today saying stay safe, stay healthy, drink your water, wash your hands, and cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze. Okay, that should cover it! 

Please reach out to a local farmer or rancher and ask them who to call and what to say. If you value food security, consumers will have to band together with farmers and ranchers to protect it.   

So the adage goes, “when the cattle leave the land, the people leave the land.” I think that can be seen driving down any country road in the Midwest. Homesteads that have been abandoned mark legacies gone. Continued complete dispersions of cowherds are the hallmark of producers retiring or operations choosing to cash in while the market can return some favors. 

Because although you may not walk in my boots raising cattle and I may not walk in your shoes buying beef in a grocery store, believe it or not, we are both affected by the shrinking US cattle inventory in more ways than maybe you’ve ever considered.