Agriculture educators and FFA advisors play a crucial role in mentoring students and fostering their passion for agriculture. They are vital to a healthy, successful FFA chapter.
As the 98th National FFA Convention & Expo kicks off in Indianapolis, FFA members from across the country show their gratitude for the educators that have helped shape them into agricultural leaders of today and tomorrow.
“I’ve always had a huge appreciation for teachers and the sacrifices that they make,” said former National FFA Vice President Tess Siebel (2019–20), who now works as a registered nurse. Her words reflect a deep gratitude that is echoed across the agricultural community, from FFA members to industry leaders — and the National FFA Organization itself.
Danielle Waterworth, who serves in North America dealer customer support and global connected services development for CNH, recalled, “Every time I go home, I go and I see my ag teacher and I thank him because he is a very large part of where I am today. He took a kid that just needed a little bit of confidence, and he grew me.”
“The leadership communication and the professional skills that FFA teaches” are important and long-lasting, added Vern Hawkins, president of Syngenta Crop Protection. These lessons, delivered by agriculture teachers, shape students into capable, community-minded professionals.
Today, more than 11,000 FFA advisors and agriculture teachers continue this legacy. Country music artist Trace Adkins reflected on his own mentor, Mr. Green. “He’s gone now…I hope that to his dying day he knew that there was a whole multitude of young men out there that he had had a positive influence on.”
The impact of agricultural educators endures. In classrooms, fields and boardrooms, their influence lives on in the students they believed in — students who now lead, teach and give back. Their legacy is not just in what they taught, but in who their students became.
