Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The return of agriculture classes to Moorhead High School via the Career Academy is reviving another staple of student life that has been absent for more than 40 years – an official Moorhead chapter of FFA.

Agriculture instructor John Schmidt this week submitted the application to the Minnesota FFA to charter a Moorhead chapter of the venerable organization once known as Future Farmers of America. That name is long gone. Instead, the modern incarnation of the nearly century-old organization focuses on leadership skills and career development in areas that may begin on the farm but extend far beyond it. Like the Career Academy’s “Farm to Table” pathway, it encompasses agriculture, food, and natural resources.

According to the Minnesota FFA’s website, the organization’s mission is to “help members develop their own unique talents and explore their interests in a broad range of agricultural, food and natural resources career pathways. So today, we are still Future Farmers, but, we are Future Scientists, Future Environmentalists, Future Veterinarians, Future Teachers, and Future Global Problems Solvers too.”

Schmidt, who joined the MHS faculty last fall, has been recruiting members for the revived chapter both here and at DGF High School. He hopes the first meetings will be conducted this spring.

“Some of the students who have talked to me are taking our classes. They’re not necessarily farm kids,” the instructor explains. “Others are just interested in the possibilities. I’m seeing some real enthusiasm.”

As Schmidt tells it, today’s FFA organization is, at its roots, about leadership development. “It’s not just directed at farmers,” he explains. “Students get a chance to run their organization and develop the directions it’s going to take based on their interests. It’s empowering. I’ll be a facilitator, not run it.”

State FFA events range from the livestock shows, displays and competitions of the Minnesota State Fair to the Roland Peterson Agricultural Education Science Fair and competitions, educational tours and leadership workshops of the annual state FFA convention. Local chapters pursue a wide range of activities that interest their members. Debate and leadership training are popular pursuits. So are diesel mechanics and natural resources programs, Schmidt notes, and adds, “The Detroit Lakes chapter even hosted a trap shooting competition.”

When he was attending high school in Stillwater, Minnesota, Schmidt missed the opportunity to join FFA. “I spent a lot of time at Grandpa’s farm milking cows and working the crops. I would have been interested. Yet it never occurred to me to join FFA. No one ever presented me with the opportunity. I wish now that I’d been a part of it.”

The University of Minnesota landscape architecture major describes his path to teaching agriculture as “a very winding road.” After graduating in 2008. he joined Minnesota Parks and Trails, focusing on land and resource management. His credentials in the natural resources field led to his present position at MHS.

At the same time, he has coached swimmers here in Moorhead. He taught springboard diving at Moorhead High School for five years, followed by three years at Concordia College and three more at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Schmidt teaches three classes this spring: Introduction to Agriculture, which includes career exploration in the entire range of farm-to-table careers; Agricultural Construction; and Animal and Plant Biotechnology.

“FFA is going to be an important supplement to our classes,” he says. “We want kids to get a whole range of experiences. Classes bring together lectures, labs, field trips and guests from all kinds of industries. This adds something extra – the chance to pursue their personal interests and a big opportunity to build their skills and capacity as future leaders.”

To find out more about the new Moorhead FFA chapter and its programs, contact him in person or via email: jschmidt@moorheadschools.org.