HQMEUXE- JACDBSEN

Computers

inAgricultureaward winners:leftto right,Mr.Richard Weening, presidentAgriData Resources, Inc.;JeffNeed,Indiana;

MikeVincent, Colorado; Steve

Cameron,

Ohio; LarrySanders, California;

and Randy

Hall,Virginia,Dr.

LarryCase, National

FFA

Advisor.

FFA's High Tech Awards

Home computers

aren'tjustfor

games, anymore.

Thirty-seven

FFA members have

puttheir

micros

to

work

inthe fieldsofagriculture

and have earned

nationalrecognition while

doing

it.

It's ^1985.

Do you know

a bit

from

a byte yet?

Can you now

distinguish a floppy drive

from

a hard disk?

How

about

modems? When

wasthelast time you telecommunicated?

Beam me

up, Scotty.

If

you

can speakand understandthis lingo,

you would

have been right at

home

atthe National

FFA Computers

In Agriculture Seminar.

The

five-day, expense-paid conference, held August 13-17 outside

Washington,

D.C., broughttogether 37statewinnersinthe

FFA's computer

awards program.

"The

purpose of theseminar was to bring

FFA members

incontact with the cutting edge of

computer

technology and its applicationin agriculture," said

Dwight

Horkheimer,

FFA computer

specialist and conference coordinator.

"These

award

winners were exposedto thelatest inagriculturalsoftware systems and telecommunications, and metwith top

computer

leadersfromindustryand education."

The

seminaralsoprovidedthe setting for recognizing the nationalwinners in

the

Computers

In Agriculture

award

program. Thirty-seven studentprojects andactivitieswere ranked byapanel of sixjudges.

Richard Weening, president ofAgri- DataResources,sponsoroftheseminar,

made

the

award

presentations during the Friday afternoon banquet in the

Cannon House

OfficeBuildingonCapi- tol Hill.

Accepting their plaques and honors were: first-place winner, Stephen

M.

Cameron

fromDefiance, Ohio;second- place winner, LarrySandersfrom Santa Maria, California; third-place winner, Michael Vincentfrom Las Animas,Colo- rado; fourth-place winner.

Randy

Hall fromStaunton,Virginia;andfifth-place winner,JeffAllen

Need

fromFrankfort, Indiana.

National winner, Steve

Cameron,

had developedaseriesofsheep

management

programsforuseinhissupervised occu- pationalexperienceproject.

The

software covered

management,

decisionaidsand record keeping.

One

ofhis

more

interesting projects involved

work

^that Steve

was

doing in robotics.

He

had designed andbuiltan

artificial limb for a neighbor

who

had

lostaleg inacornpicker.Steve

was now

working to activate the limb through robotics.

The

second annual National

Com-

putersinAgricultureSeminarwasspon- soredby AgriData Resources, Inc.asa special project of the National

FFA

Foundation.

Computer

hardware and softwarewasprovided courtesy ofApple

Computer,

Control Data Corporation, Harris Technical Systems,Radio Shack Statecomputerwinners put

some

agricul- turalsoftwarethroughitspaces.

andtheAssociation ofAgricultural

Com-

putingCompanies.

If

you

arejust

coming

uptospeedin

computer

literacy, take heart. You're justintime.Currently, 65 percent ofthe nation's vo-agdepartments haveaccess tocomputers at school. This yearthat

number

is expected to

jump

to 85 percent.

Here's your chance to get in on a national trend. Pick up anapplication fornextyear's

Computers

InAgriculture

Program

from youradvisor.

Mr. Sulu, take us

up

^to

warp

5! •••

FFA ^Starts New

Computer Service

AtitsJuly meeting,the

FFA

Board of Directorsapprovedthecreationof a

new

Agriculture

Computer

Educa- tion Service. Debuting this fall, the servicewilloperatethroughthe

FFA

SupplyService.

The membership

service will be offered for an annual subscription fee.Although

nonmembers may

part- icipate,theywillnotreceiveallof the services available tomembers,includ- ing:software reviewsbyvo-ag teach- ers; options to preview selections

from

a large library of software;

receipt of a periodicnewsletter; and discounts of 10 to 50percentoffthe retailprice ofsoftware.

The

Agriculture

Computer

Educa- tion Service is geared toward the vocationalagriculture instructor.

One membership

will serve a single ag department.

For

more

information, contact

Dwight Horkheimer

^attheNational

FFA

Center.

42 TheSationalFtTIREFA

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"Carry the Banner!" ^By

^BillStagg

Thisyear'sState Presidents'

Conference brought

together the

newly

electedleadershipofthestateassociations for theirfirsttime. It

was an occassion

forlearning, forsharing,

and

for

accepting

aspecialchallenge.

"First

of

^all,they'regoal-oriented.

Most

decideda

number ofmonths

^ago

— some

evena

few

yearsago

—

thatthey

would

liketoservethisorganizationatthehighest levelthey possibly could.

"

Steve

^{Meredith, national}

FFA

president, chooses his

words carefully as he triesto capturethe essence ofthe

men

and

women who

weartheblueandgoldstateassociation jackets.

"They're dedicated

and

disciplined,otherwise they wouldn't have achieved what they have, because it does take

some

discipline to get to that point

of

^{being a state} officer."

During the

week

of July 22-26,

more

than a hundred officersfrom5¹state

FFA

associations

came

togetherinthe

Photoby Author Secretary Block willinglyfielded questions from state

FFA

officersduringtheirvisitat

USDA

inWashington.

nation's capital for a

week

of orientations, meetings with federalofficials,andachanceto learnfrom oneanother.

"CarrytheBanner"

was

the

theme

chosenbythe national

FFA

officers for the

week

in Washington, D.C. It

was

especiallyappropriate.

"The

theme was

presentedtothisofficerteam bySecretary of Agriculture Block," said Meredith.

"He

suggested

—

^or

challengedus tocarrythebannerforagricultureandforthe

FFA

organization. Ithinkit'sa very

good

challenge because

it reflectsthe factthat

we

are the futuregeneration ofthis 44

agriculture industry,

we

arethe future leadersofthiscountry at the rural, urban

and

national levels.

We

must carry the bannerforthis industry, for thisnation, andof course,for thisorganization."

Sponsored onceagainbyChevroletasaspecialprojectof theNational

FFA

Foundation,the State Presidents'Confer- ence offered the

new

leadersa rare opportunity.

Most

had onlyrecentlybeenelected to officeintheirstateassociations,

some

justdaysbefore.

A

tour ofthe

FFA

CenterinAlexandriaandquestion-and- answersessionswith nationalstaffallowedtheofficersto get close to theinnerworkings oftheirorganization. Presenta- tions by the national officers filled

them

in on

some

ofthe handier

ways

todeal withsuch

program and

servicedepart- mentsas Contestsand Awards, International, Information, Magazine and Supply Service.

Tuesdayeveningwasthetimetokick backand relax.

To

A Meeting With the Secretary

During

the State Presidents'

Conference

visitto

USDA,

Secretary of Agriculture

John Block spoke

candidly

about

agriculture.

Here

area

few

of his remarks.

WT'HE more government

gets into it, frankly, the

more

A

^problems

^we

^{arelikelyto create.}

^The

^bestthing

^we

^can

do

^isgraduallyback

away

fromtrying todominateagriculture^

andgive agricultureits

own

headsothatagriculturecango forward under a system where market pricing is the

way

pricesare determined."

"Now,

of course, there are those

who

willsaythat if

you

lowerthe supportsto

become

competitiveit'sgoingtoforce

more and more

farmersoffthe land.I'lljustsaythatthefarm

program

that'sbeing

worked on

provides forverygenerous farm support payments.

The

transition will be gentle, compassionate,

and

thefederalgovernmentwillbespending quite a large

amount

of

money on

agriculture in this transitionperiodanditwon'tbeanythinglikepullingtherug out."

"The

fact is we've got

some

real fundamental problems facingus.

The

deficitinthebudget, to

some

extent,impacts theinterestrates,

and

^I

would

sayprobablykeeps

them

high.

The

budgetdeficit,in

some

way, impactsthestrengthof the dollar

compared

to other currencies.

Washington

has not beenableto

come

to gripswithgettingcontrolofthisbudget

and

bringing

down

thespendingingovernment."

"But

you

can'tforcefeed,grain

and

farmproductsinto the hands of these other countries if

we

aren't competitive in price. They're just not going to

buy

it.

We

have to be competitive.

And

that's

why two

thingshavetohappen.

The

dollar-currency relationship has to change so that we're competitive,or,

we

havetolowerourpricing structureinthe

UnitedStates. That's just the

way

businessisdone."

"Iguess I'mjusttelling

you

thatthe forces that aredriving us are bigger thanthebothofus.It'sgoingtotakeaneffort

on

the partofthewholegovernment

—

the congress, theexecutive branch

— and

thepeopleof thecountry

demanding

that

we make some

realreforms."

The\alionol

FUTURE FARMER

the great delightofeveryone,the

Maryland

and

FFA

Center

Alumni

threw an outdoor cookoutwithsteaks,potatosalad andsoftdrinks.Casualattireprevailedonthe"backforty"of the

FFA

Centergroundsas thegroup

swapped

storiesand addresses.

Capitol HillBeckons

A

congressional luncheon hosted by

FFA

provided a chance tosharea meal with Representatives, Senatorsand congressional aides. Larry Combest,

Congressman

from Texas, addressed the group, as did

Tom

Stout, marketing

manager

for Chevrolet.

Followingtheluncheon,thestateofficerswenttovisitthe offices of their respective congressional representatives. In theone-on-one exchangesthattookplace,strongimpressions were

made

on the nation's lawmakers of

who

the Future Farmers areand what theyrepresent.

"The main

reason they went to see

Congressmen

and Senators

was

because so

many

of

them

upthereinCongress don't understand vocational agriculture and the

FFA,"

explained national Vice-President

Graham

Boyd.

"A

lot of

them

support it, butyou can alwaysincrease that support."

To

take theircase tothe

man who

speaks most authori- tativelyfor

American

agriculture,thestatepresidentsboarded thebusesearly

Thursday morning

forascheduled^visitwith Secretary of Agriculture

John

Block.

Seatedinthe sunlit atriumofthe

Department

of Agricul- ture, the group listened intently as the Secretary spoke candidly about thecurrentstateofaffairs inagriculture.

A

Presidential Send-Off

Followingthe receptionat

USD

A.the officersheadedfor the White

House

for a special ^"visit with Presidentand Mrs.

Reagan. Originallythe conferencegroupwasscheduled for the traditionalRose

Garden

reception withthe president,but thatwascancelled

w

henPresident Reagan's surgery prevented

him

from receiving thegroup.

What

tookitsplace, however, was possibly

more

exciting.

The

state officerswereinvited toaspecialsend-offforthe presidentasheandMrs.

Reagan

left byhelicopter for

Camp

David. Afterclearing securityat the gates, thegroup

was

led tothe Rose

Garden

toawait the president's appearance on the South Lawn.

In the hot July sun, they waited and watched as police helicopters circled the area and security tightened. Special equipmentwas broughtoutto the lawnfortheWhite

House

air trafficcontroller to direct thelanding ofthe presidential helicopter.Beforeitlanded, arush of

some

100

newsmen

and

camera

crews

swarmed

onto the South

Lawn

behind the cordoned-offpress area.

Suddenly,out steppedthecasuallydressed President and Mrs.

Reagan

from the White House, walking close by the state officer gallery, smiling and waving. In his hand, the president

was

carrying a blue corduroy

FFA

capthat had beenpresentedto

him

earlierinsidetheWhite

House

as agift

from the

FFA. He

carried thehat to the helicopter,turned,

waved

it in theair

and

then put it on.

Embroidered on

the front ofthe cap

was

the

FFA emblem

and the

words

"Mr.

President."

Another

smiletothenews cameras,a

wave

tothe state officers,andthehelicopterroaredoff.spiriting

away

the PresidentoftheUnitedStatessportinghisone-of-akind blue and gold

FFA

cap.

The

officers were pleased.

"They all have a great deal of ^{interest in} serving this organization. They'refuturistic thinkers;they thinkaboutthe future of agriculture rather than spending a lot of ^time dwelling

on

theproblems

we

have now. Tlieyrecognize those problems, but they're excited about the opportunities

we

have.

"They're agroup ofpeople

who

believeinwhat liesahead.

Tliey're preparing for the future

and

they're helping to prepareothers.

"

Steve Meredith chooseshis wordscarefullv. •••

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October-November,1985

The American Advantage

By

Dennis Reyerson

The

Soviet

Union farms more

land using

more

labor

and

yetthe

American

farmerconsistently

outproduces

his Soviet counterpart.

Is itluck,or

something more?

You

^{would think that a country the}

sizeofthe Soviet Union would be a netexporter ofagricultureproducts,but

it's not. Russia's agriculture production

is80 percentthatoftheU.S. eventhough theyfarm 45 percent

more

land with 50 percent

more

labor.Theirlabor-intensive farmingwould

compare

toU.S. agricul- ture25years ago. Sovietfarmers

do

not have the technology and improved

methods

ofthe U.S.,buttosaythoseare the only reasons for their lower yields

would

notbefairto the Russian farmer.

A

^{close look at their} geography reveals why.

The

SovietUnionisthelargestcountry in the world, but

much

of its land lies

north ofthe49thparallelandthis

means

a cooler,dryerclimate. Inthesouth the temperaturesare

warm

enoughforcrops, butit's too dry. Northern Russia istoo cold and heavily forested. Only about onepercentoftheSoviet Unionreceives an average annual precipitation of 29 inchesormore,

compared

to 60percent ofthe U.S. In the Ukraine,the Soviets' mostproductiveagriculture region,liesa longbeltofprairieand

chernozem

soil, the

same

as in the U.S. corn belt.

The

July temperatureinthesouthernUkrain- iancityof Kiev averages68degrees,but theiraverageannualprecipitationisonly 22inches. That'sverysimilarto Winne- peg, Canada. North

Dakota

and

Mon-

tanafarmers

know how

difficult it isto

grow

corninthistype ofclimate.

To

be considered arid, anarea must receiveanaverage ofless than 17inches of precipitation yearly. In the U.S., the semi-aridandaridregions arewest ofthe

100degree meridian,alinerunningfrom centralNorth

Dakota

tothesoutherntip of Texas. Here forced irrigation is a

common

^practicedueto infrequentand

insufficient rains.Approximately 11per- centofthearablelands oftheU.S.arein thisregion.

The

Soviet Union has about 40 per- cent of their arable lands in areas that receive 17 inchesor less ofprecipitation yearly. Over two thirds of their grain crops experience a severedroughtevery three years. Russianagriculturalofficials

•46

MapbyDennisReyerson

The

approximate global position ofthe U.S.

compared

tothe U.S.S.R..

The more

southernlatitudegivestheU.S. aclimateadvantageinagriculture.

estimate that, overall, only one out of every three or four years is considered favorableforcrops.

In addition to not

enough

moisture, their long winters and cool

summers

create a short growing season.

Of

all

Sovietlandssuitable forcropping,about 60 percent have an annual temperature lessthan 41 degrees. In the U.S.,it's 10 percent.

The

averageyearlytemperature in northern Illinoisisabout 49degrees.

and inLincoln,Nebraskait's51 degrees.

These few degrees

may

not seem like

much, but they

mean

the

summers

in Lincolnarelongerand warmer.

The

combination of sufficient mois- tureanda longer,

warmer

growingseason gives the U.S. farmer an advantagethe Soviet farmer has never had.

Many

agricultureexperts believe that the Soviet Unionwill never equalor passtheU.S.

(Continuedon Page63)

fci^^A

Where

the American farmerenjoys relativelyconsistentyields, over two-thirdsof Soviet graincropsexperience a severedroughteverythree years.

TheXationalFl TIRE

FARMER

I !

Ill rf 1

or

/

^

y ^{JB r}

W ^hen

^it

^comes

^to

baseball

. ..well,

my Dad and

I

don't exactly

see

eye

to eye.

But we do agree on some

things.

Like which seed corn

is

the best

for

our farm. And

that's

Pioneer® brand hybrids.

Over the

years,

we've found

that

Pioneer hybrids always seem

to

come out on

top.

And with

that

kind of record, we plan on sticking with Pioneer

for a

long time.

Yeah, my Dad sure knows

^i ^^his seed corn. Too bad

1

l^^x^B ^{he doesn't pick}

^his

^rbaseball teams the

-(

same way.

r.

- At least

we ^{agree on}

our seed corn.

vf

i

Living,

Learning & Planting