Members Put Ag Ed in Motion
Core to agricultural education and FFA, hands-on experiences help FFA, hands-on experiences help students develop their potential and discover their talent, which gives them the tools to achieve real-world success. Check out how chapters and members across the country are “Doing to Learn,” as reported on by Doing to Learn,” as reported on by the 2025-26 FFA in the USA reporters.
WESTERN REGION
2025-26 National FFA Vice President: Jael Cruikshank, Oregon – Bend FFA
Plant Sale Prep
By Khloe Grotting, Oregon
The Sutherlin greenhouse in bloom sits ready for the annual plant sale.
Every spring, a line of cars winds around the Sutherlin High School campus in Oregon toward the greenhouses. Community members and FFA supporters arrive to pick up their vegetables, flowers and hanging baskets from the annual Sutherlin FFA plant sale. For the next week, these Oregon FFA members show customers around the two greenhouses, help them find plants, check out and carry items to their vehicles.
While the annual plant sale only takes place for a short time, the preparation takes several months. In that time, students learn how to work together, run a website and build a successful business.
Success in Vet Science
By Lauren Anson, California
Through practice, team collaboration and real-world experiences, members of the Patterson FFA vet science team in California have built valuable veterinary skills while growing as students and leaders. Their dedication and preparation were on full display at the Modesto Junior College Field Day, where their hard work led to various competition successes and reflected months of hard work and growth. Every practice, every challenge and every new skill, led by ag educator and FFA advisor Isabel Contreras, helped prepare these members for success.
From Flowers to Frosting
By Emelyn Rose, Texas
Creativity can take many forms, from carefully arranging flowers to decorating a perfectly baked cake. For Cheyenne Steele, a senior in the West Hardin FFA Chapter in Texas, experiences through FFA have allowed her to explore both. Through floral design competitions as a member of Oiler Petals floral design group, baking events and her own small baking business, Steele is living out the FFA motto, “Doing to Learn.”
SOUTHERN REGION
2025-26 National FFA Vice President: T. Wayne Williams, Tennessee Woodbury FFA
Life Skills in the Show Ring
By Bristol Rives, Florida
McKinley Garret (pictured above) and Myla Rives are learning life skills through livestock.
For many FFA members, some of the most valuable lessons are learned outside the classroom. Through raising and showing hogs, Florida members McKinley Garret and Myla Rives have gained hands-on experience that has taught them responsibility, perseverance and dedication in ways that textbooks never could. Both members have shown livestock for four years, and through that time, they have learned success does not come easily. It takes early mornings, long days, patience and the willingness to keep working, even when things do not go as planned. Persistence is something both members have had to develop through firsthand experience. Unlike classroom work, showing livestock requires constant effort and direct care, with no shortcuts and no days off. “Showing pigs is different from what I learn in the classroom because everything is hands-on,” Garret says. “No matter what, the pigs have to be worked … there are no off or slow days.”
Planting Seeds Beyond the Classroom
By Kolby McPherson, North Carolina
In 2024, the Whiteville FFA Chapter received the North Carolina Career and Technical Education Agriculture Program Grant for $100,000 and used the funds to build a school greenhouse. The greenhouse has become an important learning space for members of the Whiteville FFA. Horticulture students spend time planting, watering, fertilizing and monitoring a variety of plants, which helps them learn what it takes to successfully grow healthy plants, as well as lessons in teamwork and responsibility.
Service That Sparked Smiles
By Sophey Errington, Mississippi
Members of the Forest-Scott FFA Chapter traveled to Philadelphia, Miss., in February to help at the annual Refuge Roundup, a community event designed for people with special needs. The event included horseback riding, soccer, bingo and other activities, and Forest-Scott FFA members ensured all participants had comfortable and enjoyable experiences.
CENTRAL REGION
2025-26 National FFA Vice President – Clair Woeppel, Nebraska Chambers FFA
Building Fish Habitats
By Beau Newport, Oklahoma
Edmond FFA members constructed artificial fish habitats using PVC pipe and other materials.
Members of the Edmond FFA Chapter in Oklahoma recently took part in a practical conservation project aimed at improving fish populations in local waters. Working alongside the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, students in the wildlife class constructed 31 artificial fish habitats that will be placed in area lakes to provide shelter, feeding areas and breeding spaces for fish. The project required teamwork, organization and careful construction as students assembled cube-shaped habitats using PVC pipe and other materials. Students also learned about the growing importance of protecting fish populations in Oklahoma lakes.
Mastering Auto Mechanics
By Sydney Bruce, Colorado
Valley High School FFA member Andrew Schmunk recognized that true mastery of auto mechanics comes from the active, unpredictable atmosphere of a live, functioning shop. As a result, he sought out a Career Academy program through Aims Community College in Colorado, designed to bridge the gap between high school academics and trade-focused careers. His ambition
led to an opportunity to work as an intern mechanic for the Weld County School District RE-1 Transportation Department.
The Agventures Podcast
By Beau Newport, Oklahoma
Chandler FFA members in Oklahoma are taking agricultural education beyond the classroom with their podcast, AGVENTURES. Created by its school’s agricultural communications class, the podcast informs listeners about FFA activities, highlights agricultural topics and encourages more students to get involved. “We want to inspire young children to partake in an ag class, inform members and non-members of all FFA-related activities and grow as individuals while working stronger as a group,” says sophomore FFA member Cambria Barbero. As the AGVENTURES podcast continues to grow, members hope it will leave a lasting impact on their chapter and community.
EASTERN REGION
2025-26 National FFA Vice President: Joey Nowotny, Delaware, Laurel FFA
Incorporating “Doing to Learn” in Our Schools
By Holly Savage, Virginia
Mallory Webb inspects honeycomb frames
as part of her beekeeping SAE.
During National Ag Literacy Week, observed each March, schools around the country educate the public about farm safety, consumer awareness and natural resources. This year, Eastern View FFA partnered with Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance to teach students from local elementary schools about appropriate agricultural practices. Six Eastern View FFA members were chosen to visit two local elementary schools, A.G. Richardson and Farmington Elementary, to discuss appropriate footwear for various agricultural settings, such as snow boots for icy conditions, work boots for agricultural construction, hip boots for harvesting fish and riding boots for horseback riding.
FFA Members Discover Their Future at the Northwest Ohio Ag Expo
By Cole Bauman, Ohio
For FFA members across Northwest Ohio, learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door. At the Northwest Ohio Ag Expo, members stepped into real-world agriculture by connecting with local businesses, exploring emerging technology and discovering how the lessons they learn everyday tie directly to careers and communities around them. The event was designed to bring together farmers, FFA members, young children and the broader non-agricultural community, but it featured two key experiences tailored specifically for FFA members. These included a hands-on leadership session and an expansive expo floor filled with exhibitors from local agricultural organizations and businesses.
Sweet Success
By Delaney Haddix, Kentucky
McNabb Middle School FFA member Mallory Webb’s journey to beekeeping didn’t start in a classroom or even in her own backyard; it started at the Kentucky state fair, where she found herself drawn to the apiary exhibits. While others moved on, she lingered to watch the bees, studying the queen and imagining what it might be like to one day produce her own honey. That early curiosity planted a seed that would later grow into something extraordinary.
Webb’s Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) centers around her growing business, Meter-Beez Apiary. Through her SAE, she’s not only building a business, she’s also becoming an advocate for a species that too often goes overlooked.
