S.O.F.T.

Post made by Paryce Bradlly, State FFA Reporter

Last weekend the Virginia FFA officer team came together at Virginia Tech for what is called SOFT (State Officer Facilitation Training). SOFT is where we learn how to facilitate a workshop effectively and in the best way possible to get our message across to the members. I’m not going to lie, going into this conference I was so scared about having to present my workshop in front of my fellow officers because almost everyone had already presented a workshop the week before SOFT so they had some practice, but those thoughts quickly left my mind as the first day began.

My day began rather early… 3 AM early, since it is a super long drive for me to Virginia Tech I was up and out of the door by 4 AM. Making many coffee stops along the way, I managed to make it on time and was ready to begin learning how to give the best workshop I can. This conference is probably one of the most important ones throughout this year because it helps us as officers set the basis for all of our workshops that we will be giving all year.

Here we are working as a team to unscramble a facilitation puzzle!

 

The day began very simple: instead of jumping into presenting our workshops, we broke up our workshops that we developed in the past few weeks into chunks. We learned the best techniques to giving great directions, which is a great tool to have not only for giving workshops but for the future jobs and careers we each will take after our year as a state officer.

We were ready to take notes and apply what we learned to our own workshops we designed.

 

After a day filled with dissecting many parts of our workshops and analyzing those parts to realize where we could improve, we put them to the test the very next morning to see how well we deliver the new tips and tricks we learned. My perspective surely changed from how I felt coming into the conference to how I felt going home from it. I have gained more than I thought was possible. There so many skills that I learned that  I will never forget all thanks to the wonderful facilitators we were given the chance to work with.

NLCSO 2012

Post by Emily Hill, State FFA Treasurer

This past week, your Virginia FFA State Officer team traveled to New Jersey. At the National Leadership Conference for State Officers, we learned about developing ourselves as a team, applying our strengths, and creating some awesome material to use this year! We had the opportunity to meet state officers from Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and West Virginia and learn a little about their association, as well as the role agriculture plays in each state. We were able to spend the week with Alicia Hodnik, National FFA Central Region Vice President, as she offered everyone advice, as well as some great ideas for the year! We got to see the beautiful Rutgers College Gardens, as we competed to be the first to finish a scavenger hunt which included tasks such as recreating the Beetles famous crosswalk scene. Our last night was spent on a dinner boat cruise of the New York City Harbor. Seeing the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Ground Zero were such incredible experiences that truly made us appreciate where we are today.  I really enjoyed my time at NLCSO and am looking forward to using what I learned this past week, as my team and I serve the Virginia FFA Association this year!

National Leadership Conference for State Officers: A Week to Remember

Post made by Paryce Bradlly, State FFA Reporter

On July 29th, following the Young Farmer’s Summer Expo, our team reunited with Dustin and Addie (who were on their way back from the State President’s Conference) and departed from Lynchburg to New Jersey for NLCSO (National Leadership Conference for State Officers).

Going into this leadership conference I wanted to be excited, but I was also sad for being away from my home for such a long time. Then I found myself almost in tears (don’t worry, good ones) when it was all over on August 2^nd , as we all stuffed ourselves back into the van to head home. We were all told by past officers that NLCSO is when your team really develops.  I could not grasp the concept of things changing all that much in only a week, but boy was I wrong.

On the ride to New Jersey for NLCSO we turned a boring six hour drive into one to remember, as we would sneak pictures of the ones who fell asleep or taking goofy pictures when we were awake. We were never bored, and it seemed as though that six hour drive turned into three. The bonding began and reached a higher magnitude as the week went on, from being reunited with other state’s officers that we had met at other conferences to meeting new people for the first time. We were provided with the amazing opportunity to share this conference with the state officers from West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Puerto Rico. As the bonds built in good ways, we also realized the values of communication and that the process of reaching decisions was not always going to be rainbows and unicorns. But from learning that lesson, we only grew closer as a team and shared many heartfelt stories as to what our FFA jacket means to us during National Eastern Region Vice President Alicia Hodnik’s reflection on the first night.

The rest of the week was a week full of long nights and not much sleep, but all officers managed to be filled with excitement, each eager and ready to learn, because no matter how tired we were, we all knew we didn’t want to miss a second of this conference. The long lasting relationships built that week were more than I was expecting, and one of the things I am most thankful for. The number one thing I am most thankful for during that week would have to be the things we learned from our two most amazing facilitators; they really know how to have fun while teaching things you will never forget.

On the last night there, we experienced something completely new to me: a dinner cruise. We drove from the hotel we were staying at in New Jersey to New York City on a very event filled bus ride. Many of us saw buildings that stood so tall we wondered if the people inside them  were afraid of heights, while others of us thought we knew what  “city traffic” was until an hour bus ride turned into much longer. Experiencing those things made me realize how different life in other places can be, even if they are just a few states away. On the dinner cruise, we saw so many beautiful and some sad landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the exact spot where the twin towers used to stand. What really reached my heart that night was learning that the church directly across from the world trade center was the only building that went untouched that day the world stood still.

My year as a state officer has barely begun and I have already learned more than I could have thought up in my most awesome FFA dreams. Knowing that makes me all the more eager to see what the rest of the year has to offer for me to better serve this amazing association.

Young Farmers Gather For Summer Expo

Post by Michael Arthur, State Vice President

Thursday morning, after finishing the many items I had on my to-do list, I arrived at the final thing on my list: pack for the Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers Young Farmers Summer Expo. I pull up the emailed list of items to pack and begin stuffing everything into my suitcase.  After lunch I headed to work, where I worked 8 hours, ending my shift at 9:00pm. After work, I drove to Emily’s house and then we headed to Paryce’s house, finally arriving at about 11:30pm.  We set our alarms for 3:45am, which would give us a plethora of time to arrive in Chatham.

The next morning, early I must say, we set out for our destination. We arrive at the Olde Dominion Agriculture Complex to begin the Expo. Where our experience begins. We receive a tour of the facility and learn about all the functions that can be and has been held at the facility. After the tour of the complex the state officers pile into the van and travel to our first farm tour, Briar View Farm. There we learned about how Robert Mills, the owner, had started his operation, raising it from the ground up. He told us that as long as we are truly passionate about something there is nothing that can stop us. We learned about his Heritage Perdue Chicken Farm. His one chicken operation produced 1/17^th of the entire Perdue chicken operation. After learning about his poultry we were given a tour of his tobacco fields. There he grows the three types of tobacco that is produced in Virginia: Dark, Burley, and flue-cured. Although this product is very labor intensive and  also very costly, Mr.  Mills proceeded to tell us why he actually grew the tobacco. It was because his 11 year-old-son wanted to grow tobacco. He grows this product not because of the money but the time he gets to spend with his kids maintaining and harvesting the product. It was truly inspirational to hear his success story, about his passion, his drive, and his family. It was also great to hear that he had a connection to the Virginia FFA Association, as he served as State President.

The second farm tour of the day, Van Der Hyde Dairy Farm. Here we were able to observe an auto-rotator milking parlor for their Holstein Dairy Cows. We also learned about the farm’s bio-digester, a system that takes the manure from the cattle and breaks it down, just as a normal stomach works. A by-product of the process is methane; the gas is used to power a generator to power the farm. It was cool to see the amazing amount of technology that is open to today’s agriculturalists.

The final stop of the day was at the James River Conference Center in Lynchburg. Here we were able to watch and interact with the Virginia Senate Candidates in an Ag Forum. The candidates gave a small introduction and were asked questions from the audience. Some questions discussed the farm transition process, how the candidate would support Virginia’s Agriculture as a senator, and how the candidates will continue to support Virginia’s small business owners. All the questions were interesting, but the question that caught my attention the most was the question pertaining to Career and Technical Education, specifically agriculture, and the funding from the government, or Perkins Money. As the question was asked, you could feel the eagerness of the five members of my team awaited to hear the answer, an answer that directly pertained to the organization we so proudly represented. It was great to hear how both of the candidates answered the question.

The next morning, we went to Central Virginia Community College to watch and be a part of the many contests and workshops offered for the day. Emily participated in the Outstanding Young Agriculturalist competetion, while Josh and I judged the Discussion Forum. Rebekah and Paryce watched the other contests that were being held. After all the contests and workshops were over we began the farm tours. Our first stop was Gardners Heifers, a farm that raises dairy heifers for other farmers. The business began in 1973, and the combined experience of the farm operators was over 100 years. The heifers would arrive on site weighing about 350lbs and about 4.5 months old. The farm was laid out so that the cows would move around the farm by age. The younger cows would consume high quality feed and hay, while the older cows would consume lesser quality feed and hay. The heifers would be bred and would leave the farm 2 months prior to calving. The farm currently had 500 head of cattle. It was great to hear of an industry that I had never heard of, to raise heifers for another farm. It was a great experience.

The second stop of the day was Royal Oak Farms, a composting farm. The farm recieves materials from many different companies and would compost them into different soils. The farm is certified to break down solids, liquids, and semi-solids. It was the largest compost farm in Virginia with 12 acres of asphalt. After the materials were composted they would be sifted and placed into bins so that they could be shipped to companies that have a purchased the soil. The farm produced roughly 40 million cubic yards of compost each year. It was really cool and unique to learn about the process that the famers had to go through and the time it took from beginning to end of the compost business.

Our third stop took us to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Veterinary Lab. The lab is 1 of 5 labs in Virignia, each being dispersed throughout the state for each region to use. Each lab does the same basic functions: animal testing, food testing, sinology testing, blood and fecal testing.  This particular lab tested food safety as well. The lab would receive roughly 175 samples of dairy products weekly that would be tested, and would receive roughly 40 samples of cheeses quarterly each year, along with many other samples to test. It was great to tour the facility and learn about the many process that each test would go through along with seeing the many advanced technology the lab possessed.

The final stop of the day was Knoll Crest Farm, a farm that primarily raises bulls. It was a 3^rd generation farm located in Charlotte County. The farm has a legacy of all pure-bred cattle. It began with Herford bulls, Gelbvieh in the ’80s, Angus in the early ’90s, and more recently Balancers, which is an Angus/Gelbvieh cross.   The farm had an unconditional 12 month guarantee on their bulls that are sold, one that ensures that if the bull had been hurt in any way (i.e. struck by lightning, broken leg, hit by a train, etc.), the farm would reimburse for the animal. The bulls that are sold normally  live within a 100 mile radius of Knoll Crest. After learning about the farm, we had a banquet and the results of the day’s contests would be announced.

It was so great to meet so many people that were passionate about agriculture and were so eager to learn about other kinds of farming. I learned so many different things about agriculture, it is such a vast field of study, and it has such an impact on society today, without agriculture,  we would be hopeless. With agriculture being the number one contributor to Virginia’s economy, it was great to learn about such a large part of our states commodities.

Outstanding Young Agriculturalists at Young Farmers Expo

Post made by Emily Hill, State FFA Treasurer

Recently, my team and I had the chance to participate in the Farm Bureau Young Farmer Expo. At this event, I had the opportunity to compete in the Outstanding Young Agriculturalist contest, which gave me an awesome opportunity to meet some incredible young people with the same passion for the agriculture industry, which we as FFA members have. We also were able to sit in on a forum for the current Virginia Senator Candidates, George Allen and Tim Kaine. This allowed us to ask questions that we felt are important to our industry as we prepare to elect an official to represent Virginia in the upcoming years. Another one of my favorite parts of this weekend’s event was the local farm tours. This year, the event was held in Lynchburg, however we also toured some of the surrounding area. Stops included Royal Oak Farm & composting facility, the Department of Agriculture Research & Veterinary Laboratory, Knoll Crest Farm, Gardner Replacement Heifers, Briar View Farm, and Van Der Hyde Dairy. Each of these sites offered a diversified insight into the vast field of agriculture and offered an inside look at how each facility operates. We were able to see the three types of tobacco that is native to Virginia, be exposed to the use of bio-digestion in the dairy industry, and see an Autorotator Carousel milking parlor in action. This was such a wonderful opportunity and I would encourage others to consider attending this event in the future!

I had the opportunity to compete with other young people for the title of Outstanding Young Agriculturalist.

Foundation Golf Tournament

Post by Emily Hill, State FFA Treasurer

Our team with the winners!

 

My team and I had the opportunity to give back to our incredible sponsors who provide so much to our organization, as we helped in hosting the annual Foundation Golf Tournament. We were able to meet with several industry leaders, advisors, and individuals who spent the day with us at Sleepy Hole Golf Course. This was a really exciting event for me, as I had the opportunity to learn how to drive a golf cart from Dustin, our Virginia FFA State President, expanded my knowledge of the sport, and met some wonderful individuals who’s support helps make our association a success. I absolutely loved the experience, and I now know that if you  drive the golf cart in a golfer’s “line of fire,” you run the risk of a golf ball to the head. Congratulations to the day’s winners, and Virginia FFA looks forward to hosting the event again next year.

FFA Camp 2012

Post by Emily Hill, State FFA Treasurer

What an incredible week to kick off our year as the new Virginia FFA State Officer Team! It was great to meet so many amazing members and spend time learning many new things, from Snipe Hunting and Star-tipping, to informational and exciting tours of the beautiful property at Grave Mountain Lodge, I can confidently say that we have all made so many awesome memories! My favorite experiences were learning to swing dance and trying to avoid getting water-ballooned, although my goal next year is to come prepared to soak my teammates and some members! A great week came to an end as the camp officers conducted the banquet. After so much fun here, I know am looking forward to such an amazing year with the Virginia FFA Association.

Founding our Future: SPC 2012 – Washington D.C.

Post made by Addie Guthrie, 2012-2013 State FFA Secretary

Monday

On the morning of Monday, July 23, I woke up ready and excited to head to Washington DC with Dustin for the State Presidents Conference. Living only an hour and half from our nation’s capitol, I had traveled to DC several times before, but this adventure was going to be different. I was going to drive into the city (which was a tad bit frightening in itself) and meet other State FFA Officers from across the country, while participating in workshops and trainings for the delegate process.
We left my house around noon and got to our hotel in DC just before two in the afternoon. After checking into our rooms and taking pictures with the National Officers, we ate an awesome lasagna dinner and listened to several delegation proposals which we would have to rank in importance in the days to come.
For reflections we went to the roof of the Farm Bureau Building where we looked out across the DC skyline at sunset. Later on that night, when it was time for everyone to head back to their rooms, I got to scratch one very cool thing off my bucket list….getting stuck in an elevator…a crowded one! I wasn’t just stuck with random strangers either, I was stuck with 8 other officers and 4 national officers! We made the best of our hot, cramped, 20 minutes together by playing games and telling stories until a mechanic came to our rescue.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning after breakfast the conference toured Arlington National Cemetery. We got to witness the Changing of the Guards Ceremony in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After our tour and an eventful metro ride back to the hotel, we had a session on how to “tell our story” and prepare for Congressional visits the next day. After dinner in the evening we took a tour of the monuments. We saw several different monuments including WWII, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Monument, FDR Monument, and so many others. I am always overcome with such great pride for our country when thinking about the contributions and sacrifices made by those individuals honored by the DC memorials. Our reflections that night were on the steps of the Jefferson Monument. We focused on if those individuals had not stood for what they believed in and had lived their lives without action, we would not be able to lead the lives we currently do.

 Wednesday

On Wednesday Dustin and I had the opportunity to meet with some of our government representatives. We met with Congressman Griffith and Goodlatte, and also Senator Webb’s agriculture assistant. We both shared our stories and passion for the FFA and agriculture, and also thanked them for their support. It really is so important that we build relationships with our representatives. They are the ones who hold the decision making abilities for our country, and we learned this week that, “if they aren’t hearing from us, they are hearing from someone else.” Even when it’s just to talk about how much agriculture means to you, or how excited you are about a good crop yield, our representatives need to hear about it so we can ensure a bright political future for the agriculture industry!
Later on in the evening, everyone attended an Alumni banquet where we mingled with other officers and several Alumni. The keynote speaker for the banquet was a true FFA celebrity… the first female National President, Jan Eberly!! She brought a great message about sharing our story with everyone, to shed a positive light on every situation, and to always serve. Dr. Larry Case and my group leader from WLC 2010 were among some of the other alumni present that I had the opportunity to mingle with. Before going to bed that night, a large group of officers crowded around a piano in the lobby while some played songs and others sang and swing danced. It was only the third day in DC and I had already made so many close friendships!

Thursday

On Thursday we started our day with breakfast and revealing the 6 selected delegate proposals which will be voted on at National Convention. We then travelled to the Newseum (Like “museum” ..but..with news). This was a really cool museum because they had newspapers and documents that predated the 1700’s! They also had that day’s newspaper from every state and several different countries on display as well. They had several levels dedicated to important events which marked news history, including 9/11 where they had the 340 antennae which was on top of one of the destroyed buildings on display.
After leaving the Newseum we all went to eat lunch at Union Station. We then went to the USDA building where we got to hear from several ag industry leaders and White House representatives, and then participate in a question/answer session. We also got to witness RFD-TV present the National FFA Organization with a check with a generous donation of 1 million dollars! This is the largest, unrestricted donation the FFA has ever received. Thank goodness for those sponsors that believe so much in our organization and our future! Later on in the evening, we ate dinner at Clyde’s in Chinatown.
Reflections on this night were especially touching. We evaluated how state officers were relevant to the success of FFA and wrote our relevance on a huge poster across one of the walls of the conference room.

 Friday

Friday, we spent the majority of our morning in our proposal group meetings, discussing and planning the delegate process at National Convention. I was in the group to develop an Agricultural Summit. Our group came up with a lot of really good plans and is very excited to facilitate the voting process at National Convention! It’s crazy to think that the decisions we are helping to make, and will make at Convention will affect so many members in years, and maybe even generations to come!
After our group meetings, everyone broke up and had time to explore DC. I grouped up with other officers and friends from Wyoming, New Jersey, and Montana and we toured the Air and Space Museum and the Library of Congress. Before going to the Library of Congress we saw a sea of blue jackets covering one of the fields in front of the Capitol, which turned out to be Week 7 of WLC students. We went up to visit them and I got to see and visit with the one and only, Zach Wakeman, current WLC facilitator, past VA State Officer, and past Strasburg FFA Officer! After mingling with members for a while, our group went to a metro station and made our way to Georgetown Cupcakes. We never actually made it there…it was a long walk, so we settled with getting milkshakes at a groovy burger joint in Georgetown.
Once back at the hotel, we ate dinner and had a session on first impressions. DID YOU KNOW, if you make a not-so-good first impression, it takes 16 more positive interactions with that person just to make up for it? It is much easier to always make a good first impression, rather than having to work so hard, so many times over, in order to do things right. After that eye opening session, we walked through the lit up streets of DC towards the Washington Monument. It was a fun walk; the whole conference sang through the streets and cherished the last few hours we had together with our new friends. We sat in the grass at the base of the Washington Monument and the National Officers left us with a powerful message about our purpose and inspired us to capture that passion in our hearts. After several minutes of silence and thinking, we all stood up and made our way back to the hotel. We spent our final hours of the night and early morning taking pictures, exchanging information, and vowing to keep in touch until we would all meet again at Convention in October.

All in all, this week truly taught us to tell our story and share our passion in every outlet possible. There are countless ways for us to express our love for our organization and the agriculture industry. We are Founding our Future in the best way possible, through the best organization possible!