Lodi FFA: Making an Impact One Student at a Time
Lodi, Wis., is a small town just north of Madison. In communities like Lodi, many people may never realize the impact they have on those around them. Our FFA chapter helps change that through our Fall Day on the Farm, a tradition that celebrates and recognizes the difference local community members make every day.
Fall Day on the Farm is an event for elementary school kids that helps us bridge the gap between consumers and producers in agriculture. Planning for this event began in September. We estimated about 110 Lodi third graders would join us for a day.
We began by developing stations that would introduce students to agricultural education in an engaging and easy-to-understand way. We even invited our Wisconsin State FFA Section Six State Officer, Oscar Stonewell, to help teach students about bees and pollinators.
Next, we selected FFA members who we knew could make each station a success. After selecting 12 members, we assigned group leaders to guide students from station to station, keeping them engaged and organized. Once we had our team in place, we ordered the supplies needed to make the event a success. All that was left was to wait excitedly for the big day.
Oct. 8, 2026, finally arrived, and we were ready to make a difference in the way students viewed food, animals, and agriculture. The day started early for our FFA officers, who arrived at six a.m. to set out hay bales for seating and prepare the animal pens. We carefully checked every detail to make sure everything was ready for the students.
Once the third graders arrived, the fun began. Students rotated through 12 stations, spending 15 minutes at each one, with a 30-minute lunch break in the middle of the day. The stations covered topics such as beef cattle byproducts, sheep and cattle, and how animal nutrition compares to human nutrition. Each rotation gave students a new opportunity to learn about agriculture and the important role it plays in their everyday lives.
After a long day of teaching, our months of planning and hard work finally came to an end. However, the event’s real impact was not fully realized until a week later, when a large envelope arrived in the mail.
Was it a check for a thousand dollars? The keys to a brand-new car? An invitation to a big party? No. It was something even better: letters from the third graders thanking us for the experience and sharing the new knowledge they had gained during Fall Day on the Farm.
Those letters showed us that our efforts had made a real difference. We had not simply spent a day teaching students about agriculture; we had sparked curiosity and helped them better understand where their food comes from and how agriculture affects their everyday lives.
The impact does not stop there. We will see these same students again in fifth grade for our Spring Day on the Farm. There, we will continue building their understanding of agriculture through topics such as soil erosion, field fertilization by drone, and the impact of Compeer Financial.
Lodi may be a small Midwestern town, but our FFA chapter is proving that making a difference does not require a big community or a huge audience. Sometimes, all it takes is a group of dedicated members, months of planning and a willingness to teach the next generation. We are making an impact in our community one student at a time.
