NATIONAL FFA CONVENTION

Published in Uncaged, November 2024

Sharing ideas for the better

by Daniel Villegas, Uncaged Reporter

This article is being reprinted, with minimal edits, from the Uncaged Student News November 2024 edition.

The FFA National Convention is where FFA members from across the country come together co celebrate accomplishments and learn from each other. The 97th National FFA Convention happened in Indianapolis, Indiana through October 23rd-26th.

“It’s a place where all FFA members come together to participate and make friends to learn from each other,” said sophomore FFA member, Drew Hayes.

The Stockbridge FFA team has met lots of fellow members from different places across the country. FFA is the largest organization within the country, with over a million members and 70,000 attendees at the national convention. The attendees at the event participate in team building activities co get to know each other personally. Many ideas are shared between the members too.

“I spent time talking with the folks from Microsoft with a program called Farmbeats, we’re looking to introduce Al into the agriculture classroom,” said Stockbridge FFA and agricultural teacher, Bob Richards.

Richards and his class has been asked by the staff at MSU and West Michigan to make an automated asparagus harvester for the asparagus farmers in West Michigan. The harvester will be a huge help to the farmers as there is an extreme labor problem to harvest asparagus. Richards plans on using the Al to do the decisive work for the asparagus farmers in West Michigan, deciding which spear is ready to harvest and which isn’t and then automatically cutting it.

All of this is possible because of the National FFA Convention. Where ideas can be shared to help agriculture as a whole in the US. The team building activities help all of FFA share with each other and make leaders with the community. The Stockbridge team also went out to the pumpkin patches and rodeos afterward to end the day off with a fun afternoon.

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Uncaged articles are sponsored by The Stockbridge Area Educational Foundation. For more information on SAEF, visit www.panthernet.net/our district.