THE CHAPTER - National Future Farmer

y^KiSeiWSE. FRcvvv

When

national

BOAC

winners,

Mon-

roeville,

OH,

returnedfrom KansasCity, theywere

welcomed

withaparty hosted by mothers and alumni members.

Fun

for fathersaswellas theirsonsat

Chief Washakie, WI,

FFA

steak fry is

buckingbarrel.

N-N-N

Toteach

members how

to tie atie for officialdress. West Marshall, lA,

mem-

bers

made

avideo tape of

how

todoit.

N-N-N

A

chicken plucking contestwasspon- soredby Coe-Brown Much-To-Do

FFA

Northwood,

NH.

N-IN-N

Over

500arrestswere

made

McKay FFA

OR

andthepeoplejailedduring the

homecoming

carnival.

The

second annual "officer round-up" for chapter officers in the OrangeSectionin

C A was

heldatFuller- ton. After meeting, FFA'ers ate pizza andplayed waterpolo.

N-N-^

Santa Claus

works

for Tempe,

AZ, FFA when

theyhave partyformentally andphysically retardedchildren.

Prizes in

FFA

turkey shoot for

Man-

dan,

ND, members

werereal turkeys

—

oneperclass.

^.N-ly

They

publish ayear-long schedule of

FFA

events forLoudonville,

OH, mem-

bers and send a copy to the parents for theircalendarathome.

Freshmen in Heath,

KY,

have final contests in creed speaking and tractor drivingatparent night.

^-lN.^

Every

member

ofColstrip,

MT,

Chap-

terownsan

FFA

jacket

—

even Greenhands.

?l-^-iN

Parents of

Glenn

Pollack, an Osh- kosh West, WI,

member

were

named

as outstandingfarm family atthestate fair

by thegovernor.

Greenhands forLebcnon. CT, picked

FFA

popcorn andputit in a crib todry.

Fright night

was

financiallyprofit- able forZillah,

WA,

earnings and sav- ings

committee who showed

horror movies. Butthecommitteetook gas for theirchoice ofmovies.

N-N.N

Imlay^City, MI,

FFA

hasbeengiven 1 1

acres toconvertinto awildernesstrail.

N-N-N

SanLuis Obispo,

CA, members

helped

wash

andfitdonated animalstothe local animal shelter for an auction to raise

money

forbuilding improvements.

N-IN-N

Bertha-Hewitt,

MN, FFA

willpickup andrechargefireextinguishersfor local citizensatnocharge.

N-N-N

A

pizzasaleraised the$1 permember,

totalof $180, soLuxemburg-Casco, WI, Chaptercouldsenditastheirsupportfor theHallofAchievement.

N-N-N

Advisor Pete

Edgecomb

in Lime- stone,

ME, was

electedtothe citycoun-

cilthere inNovember.

N-N-N

Parents

and members

played ping- pong,tennis,horseshoesand bingoprior to

hamburger

fry and degree ceremony night for WebbersFalls,

OK.

N-N-N

Springs Valley, IN, Chapter's float

won

theme awardforSingAmericaSing.

N-N-N

Guest speaker's topic for Platte, SD, Chapter

was

trapping fur-bearing animals. Speaker'stopicatHighland

Home, AL,

meeting

was gun

safety and

game

laws.

Liz

Kramer

sent

word

of Trenton,

MO, FFA

chickenfly atchaptersocial.

N-N-N

London,

OH, FFA

bedded

down

the school yard with straw as part ofa re- seedingproject.

N-N-N

Teachers got to try their hand at all-

school livestockjudging contesthosted by Verdigre,

NE.

N-N-N

At Sadie

Hawkins Dance

OR,

Chapter, couplesposed withMarryin'

Sam

forschoolyearbook.

Gross as it sounds, Andalusia,

AL, FFA members

took allthetop prizes in countyfairtobaccospitting contest.

N-N-N

FFA

at Scituate, RI,formedthe largest contingentinthetown's 250th anniver- saryparade withtractorsand afloat.

N-N-N

A

^snowmobile^{class will}betaughtby

Paw

Paw, _IL,

FFA

inordertoqualifyfor astateissuedlicense.

N-N-N

Tulare Union,

CA, FFA

hasanannual beefand beanfeed.

On

the Fowler,

CO,

four-dayandnight fishingtripupintothe

Rocky

Mountain wildernessarea,thegirls'sponsor,Elea- norBarr, caughtthebiggestfish.

N-N-N

Lamar,

CO,

sold9,100pounds ofcitrus. Great placetouseofficial

FFA

Cal- endars

—

one calendar in each box of

fruitto say

Thanks

from

FFA.

N-N-N

Winnings

ofDyersburg,

TN, mem-

bers for 1980 at fairs and shows totals

$8,300.

N-N-N

A new

physical fitness course for BrokenArrow,

OK,

isprojectofFFA.

N-N-N

Mark

Gutshall,

Cumberland

County, PA, boughta pair ofthe

new FFA

sus- penders^attheNationalConvention from the

FFA

Supply Service. Better get yourself apair.

N-N-N

Gift bags ofcandy and fruit are dis- tributed to nursing

home

residents by Victoria-Stroman,

TX,

FFA.

N-N-N

In order to save

money

for their school, Fort Hancock.

TX, FFA

builds school equipment like benchpress, sta-

dium

press box, a basketballcage anda concession stand.

N-N-N

Does

your chapter still have

Doug

Rinker'sposterupintheclassroomfora reminder to have a 10

PLUS

gain in chaptermembership?Houston,

MN,

de- cidedtoget the 10

new members

sothey could takeDoug'spicturedown!

TheXiiliomilFUTURE FARMER

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««'-»««S)i»,t-3ja!«lll«*«**!J^lt

College and

Your Career

Unsure of

life

after college? Join the crowd

—

then prepare for one of

^life's

great discoveries.

By

Russell

Fornwalt

MANY

^students^startcollege withno idea what they willdo

when

they graduate. Others begin with only vague vocational notions.

Some

have just a littleidea about lifeaftergraduation.

Let us say you have tentatively de- cidedon farm management, mining engineering, medicine or the missionary service. College will soon confirm the

wisdom

ofyourchoice, orconvince you

toexploreotherfieldsalong withtheone you've chosen.

One

purpose of college istohelp you

make

a realistic appraisalof yourselfin relationto today'sworldofwork. Inour constantly changing world of work, oc- cupations are

coming

and going all the time.

Of

course, the main purpose of college istohelp youprepareforthe ca- reerofyourchoice.

Let ussee,then,

how

collegecanhelp you

make

an intelligent vocational de- cision.

Beware

the

Stampede

First,awordofcaution isinorder.

Do

notbe pressured or stampededinto any occupation by talk of shortages, pres- tige, rapid promotions, easy

work

"that'swhere the big

money

is."

Do

not allow anyone

—

professors orcounselors (orevenparents)

—

^to "sell"you ona career. If you do, any regrets ten years from

now

will beyours, nottheirs.

The

onlyvalid criterion inchoosinga careeris:

What

have ⁱtogive?Toselect

onthebasisof"themostpayfortheleast

work andthelongestvacations"will not bein yourbestinterest; norwill itserve RussellJ. Fornwalt isa vocationalcounselor livingill

New

YorkCitn.Hehas aufhoivdsev-

eml career-oriented articles for The National

FUTURE FARMER,

including CollegeSuc- cessSecrets(April-May,1979).

society as a whole. It

may

only

amount

toawaste ofyourtime*andtalentandre- sult in failureandfrustration.

You

will haveawide varietyofelec- tives tochoose from in

making

up your course ofstudy. This^isespecially truein liberal arts colleges. Offbeat and un- usual courseswillarouseyourcuriosity.

Others

may

appeal toyouinstinctively.

However, do not choose an elective because itconvenes late inthemorning,

is on the first floor of

Cram

Hall or re- quires no

homework. When

chosen on the basisofgenuine interest, anelective canlead straight toameaningfulcareer.

Successin Specialties

The

worldof

work

with itscomputers and automation is vastly different from what it

was

a century ago.

Many

jobs havecompletely disappeared. Hundreds of

new

ones have

come

into existence.

and more the trend is towardspe- cialization whether it is in agriculture, law, medicine, teaching, social service, engineering, accounting or another

field. Butonethingiscertain.

A

college degree (ifnottwoormore) ^isvirtually a must ifyou want toclimb today'svoca- tional ladder with all its competitive rungs.

Most all colleges are adapting their curricula to meet the

demands

and the needs of

modern

society. Should you so desire, you could

become

a specialistin agricultural cooperatives, ecology, water pollution research, product pack- aging,oceanography,orbitalmechanics, digital computer systems or even con- figuration management. College will keep you abreast of the occupational changes andtrends.

College also gives you the opportu- nitytoputcertaincareersontrial.Ifyou

have agricultural journalism in mind, forexample, join the staffofyour college's magazine or newspaper. Experi- enceas areporter,

book

reviewer, movie

critic, advertising solicitor, art director or circulation

manager

can helpyoude- cidewhethertopursuethattype ofwork.

Membership

in the debating society can test your potential for a career in law. It can highlight your need for greater alertness, clarity of thought, concentration, better diction or

intensive research.

One

young

man

gave up the idea of

becoming

a lawyer after takingpartin aseriesofdebates.

He was

persuasiveenough but lackedtheneces- sary flair for ferreting out facts.

He

decided to go into sales

management

instead.

Set the

Books

Aside

You

can also give careers atest

now

bytakingadvantageofyourschool's ex- tracurricular activities. Try out for act- ing, band ororchestraleadership, music arranging, radio or television announc- ing,

movie

scenario writing, selling, photography, social work, cartooning or even politicsifthese areas are ofinter- est.

Many

successful musicians, ath- letes, coaches,artists,actorsandclergy-

men

haveactuallylaunchedtheircareers while in college.

They

did soby taking partin an extra-curricularprogram.

Many

educators regard suchprograms as a very practical form of vocational guidance. It will pay you tojoin clubs, societies, groups and teams as your schedule allows. But

remember

your

first order of business in college

—

studying.

Laboratory coursesalso provideprac- tical vocational guidance. Inthe

"chem

lab,"forexample,youwillbeachemist.

You

will search andresearch, do trials,

make

errorsandcalculate.

On

ageology

fieldtrip, youwillbeapracticinggeolo- (CoiuinuedonPage40)

eV6teXAA^/,

"So you've decidedto

become

a drop out . . .

welcome

totheclub!"

TheNationalFLTLRE FARMER

The sun glints on a grain-drying project at the

Ohio

Agricultural Research

and Development

Centerin

Wooster

whichuses

two

polyvinyl plastic solarheatcollectors. Below, three types of solar collection systems ore tested in grain-drying research at the U.S. Grain Marketing Research Center, Manhattan, Kansas.

A

flat-plated collector,centerforeground;thetriangle-shapeduniton theleft, containing 30tons ofrocktostore heat;

and

the100-foot-longairinflated plastictubecol- lector,upperleft.

USDA

Photos

Trapping the Sun's

Energy for Agriculture

FARMERS, ^more

^than ^most ^people,

have always hadtorelyonthesun, as well as theotherforcesofnature.

Nottoo

many

yearsago,crops stoodin thefield, werestackedorwindrowed, or put in a cribto be dried by the sun and wind. But with today's

efficient machinery,

acres can be harvested in lesstime, withlesslossestopestsand adverse weather.

By

doing this, grains areoften harvested with ahigh moisture content, sothey must beartificallydried beforestorage.

fossilfuelis

now

requiredtodry

com

thanisusedtoproducethe crop. In 1956, only 14percent ofthe

com

cropin Illinois,IndianaandIowa

was

artificially dried. Today, that figure is around 70 percent.

As

the supply offossil fuelcontinues to diminish, the cost for

many

agricultural uses

may become

prohibitive.

We

mustturn againtosuch altemateenergy sources asthesunforatleastpartofour agricultural energy. Researchprograms,

February-March,1981

financed by the Energy Research and Development Administration and coor- dinated by

USDA's

Agricultural Re- search Service

(ARS)

and Cooperative StateResearch Service, are doingthis.

Scientists in

ARS

and state agricultural experiment station laboratories are experimentallycollectingandusingsolar energy todry

com,

rice, grain sorghum, wheat, soybeans, peanuts and tobacco.

They

^are ^also exploring

efficient

ways

todryhayinthefieldandinbams.

Animals, too, will benefit from the solar energy research. Solar energy is

being tested to heat and cool milking parlors and to heat poultry and swine houses, along with drying poultry

man-

ureto faciltatehandling.

Other scientists are studying

how

to heat and cool greenhouses and rural

homes

with energyfromthe sun.

Soon, because of this research, solar collectors in

many

forms will trap the sun'senergytobenefitnotonlyfarmers

but allthe earth's inhabitants.

The solar pond, above, developed by

Ohio Ag

Research

and Development

Center heats the greenhouse

module

nearby. Researchers at theSouth Cen-

tral Poultry Research Lab, Mississippi State,hoveinstalledsolarcollectors

on

a poultry house. The collector in the foreground heats the ventilation air used in the house during the daylight.

A ^Farm

With One

Season

The year round growing season

south Texas

oflFers

members of FFA a continual classroom.

By

Jeffrey

Tennant

Photos bvAuthor

A

coloring process will replace the greeninthesoon-to-be-picked oranges.

WHILE ^December

^windsswirl frigid air around most of America's farmersandranchers, RolandDreibelbis peelshis shirtandgetsonwiththetomato harvest.

Around

him, bordering the sprawlingstretchesofTexasfields,palm

trees

sway

to the beatofpoundingtrac- tors andharvestingmachines.

This is Texas, farsouth

—

^an^{oasis for}

farmers

who

enjoythe region's multiple growing seasonsand abundanceofirri-

Machinery

must

be

maintained towithstandtheValley'slonggrowing season.

gation water

from

an unselfish

Rio

GrandeRiver.

Roland's tie to this productive farm- landgoesbeyondtheenergyhe'sburned

here.

The

20-year-old Pharr-San Juan-

Alamo FFA member

worksthe

same

soil

farmed by his grandfather, a

man who

saw a multitude of crops plantedon the family'sacreage.

"We've planted just about anything and everything," says Roland. "Canta- loupe, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers,

flax, millet, sweetcorn, oranges, grape- fruit

—

^even^bananas.

^Now,

though, with diesel and labor costs skyrocketing, we've gonetolesslabor intensive crops.

Vegetables

demand

a great deal of labor."

Roland, fatherJimmy,

mom

Marlene and older brother R.L. consider cotton andonionsas theirprimary crops.

Some

30 acres of tomatoes keep R.L. busy withMexicanpeddlers

who come

across theborder

when

suppliesexhaust.Sixty- fiveacresofearlyorangesandredgrape-

fruit, along withseveral acres ofcanta- loupe and cucumbers, round out the Dreibelbisplantingsforthe "wintersea- son"of1980-81.

"We're not an extremely large farm forthis area," shares Roland, speaking

ofHidalgo County withits64,200acres of citrus growers. "But," he declares,

"we're big enough to keep the family busy."

Two

permanent employeeshelpinthe family operation. Brother Jay, 22, pitches in

when

duties asvocationalag- riculture instructor at Pharr's high school don't prohibit. Jay'swidevariety ofskills are valuable onthe diversified farm.

"You

can

grow

anything you want

down

here," says Sidney Ford, a co- teacher with Jay and Pharr's

FFA

advisor for 15 years.

"Growing

itisnot the problem

—

^selling^it^is."

"Once," admits Roland, illustrating his advisor's

comment,

"R.L. took 400 boxes ofcucumbers, tomatoes andpep- pers to Houston and sold

them

off the truck.

We

foundoutthat'snot the

way

to doitunlessyou havelotsoftimeon your hands.

"Now we

deal mainly with packing sheds.

They

are our brokers.

They

har- vestand sell thecropforus, taking out theirexpenses andpassing what'sleftto us.

The

keyistoget theproducttopack- ingshedsandprocessed beforerotting."

Spoilagemustconstantlybereckoned with in this highly productive region.

TheNationalFUTURE FARMER

With farmers in the RioGrande Valley producing

two

cropsannuallyof vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers and,inagoodyear,anabundanceofcit- rus, market

demand

conditions often spellfinancial disasterorriches.

"For the last

two

years we've gone with onions as our big crop," says Jim,

"and we've lostmoney.

Two

yearsago, people

made

good

money

ononions. But

lately there's been an oversupply

—

everybody has had good crops. If we'd plantedeverythinginonionsto getrich,

we'd bebankrupt. That's

why

we're di- versifiedfarmers

—

^don't^put^all^{our eggs}

inonebasket."

Valley farmers must maintain acon- stantawarenessofthe nation'ssupply of fruitandvegetablesifthey desire a fore- cast of their

own

prices.

The

growers

"^AtfUg^KP

Aftertastingthese wild bananas,Roland

and

AdvisorFord

ponder

new

crop.

"keep aneye" on Florida, Arizona and California, three otherstates producing majorquantities ofcitrus

and

vegetables. Ifa freeze or other natural occur- rence

damages

a crop in one or

competing states, the national market price can shoot up overnight on theaf- fected crop. Conversely, overabundance in the national supply can suppress prices to apoint solow thatharvestbe-

comes

achoremerelytohelpoffsetpro- ductioncosts.

"Foryears,"says Jim, "Texas farmers couldn't

make money

on early oranges so

many

people

pushed

out their or- chards. People couldn't even afford to disc and irrigate. But today they're a gold

mine —

^Floridafroze out."

Because of potential disaster if a freeze or spoilage ruins produce, the harvestof

many

crops inthe Valley be- ginsseveralweeksbeforethe cropnatu- rally matures.

American

consumers are virtuallyassuredoffreshfruitandvege- tables year-round because of

warm-

climate farming, but the produce

may

February-March.1981

Jim Dreibelbis,left,SidneyFord

and

Rolandagree:

Good

cottonthisyear.

erly drives Valley farmers to maintain skills in the distribution chain of their

own

products. In the area's vocational agriculture programs, students are ex- posed and drilled early in principles of production andmarketing.

"I enjoy farming," says Roland, "but there are times

when

I feelI

know

noth- ing about it

—

^like ^I'm ⁱⁿ ^a

new

world.

One

day

may

^beabreezebut thenextday you don't

know

wheretoturn.

FFA

and vo-ag

showed me much

about finding properdirection in thosequestion

mark

turns."

Each dayisalearning process forRo- land. For him, it's farming year-round, with

many

business decisions inter- spersed.

Roland

admits he certainly doesn't

"know

it all"

—

a good attitude tohavein this regionoffarming.

"If all the

FFA members

and vo-ag studentsinour chapterwere comparable

tothese boys," saysAdvisor Fordofthe Dreibelbis brothers,

"and

the family support as strong, we'd have the best FFA/vo-ag programin the nation."

With that kind of reputation, plus a will to

work

and learn,

Roland

will likely straightenmostofhis

own

curves in hisroadtofarming success.

lack

some

in tastedue tothe marketing scheme.

"There's noway," says Ford, "a con- sumerwill get avine-ripenedfruitfrom

this area. Oranges aren't to their peak vine ripenessandflavoruntilaroundthe firstofNovember. Grapefruitishalfway decent in

December

and very good in mid-January. However, fruit is usually harvested, runthrough a color-addpro- cess, and shipped after it meets

USDA

standards of maturity

—

mainly a sugar requirementtest. Marketing usually be- ginsaroundthefirstofOctober andruns through February. There's usually a higher market price for early oranges;

they look good after the color-add but they're just not astasty."

"The fruit leaves here green," adds Roland. "LxDok^atTexas

grown

tomatoes

inthe stores

—

they're likely tobe apale red. They'd never

make

^ittothemarket

ifthey left hereripe. Consequently, lots of people don't

know

what a vine- ripenedtomatotastes like."

The

intensepressure to marketprop-

Jay Dreibelbis

and

Pharr

FFA member

Barry Risinger inspect the chapter's

orange

grove, akindofoutdoorlab.

Dalam dokumen National Future Farmer (Halaman 30-39)