FFA New Horizons

FFJl ^{APRH^MAY, 1993}

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OFFICIAL^ASAZINE ^{OF THE NATIONAL FFA}

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SEE PAGE 20 FOR

BMESDME

AGRICULTURAL CAREERS.

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FFA

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL FFA ORGANIZATION

April-May,1993 Volume41 Number4

X ^-r^

Alaskan Adventure

FFA member

Sierra Stoneberg studied moose, mountainsheep,andavoidedbears inthe landofthe midnightsun.

17

The

Art

Of FFA

You

can win

money

and have your art publishedin

FFA New

Horizons'Design

Your Own

T-shirt Contest.

15 24

Writing

Winners Announced

Fourstudents

won

from $200to ^! withtheir IGO-

word

essays.

1,000

You Can Win Every FFA Contest

This article shows you

how

to v\in first

placeevery time youenteracontest.

COVER STORY

20

Ag

^Careers:

Join A Winning Team

If you're interested in agriculture, there are plenty of job opportunities in your

future. You're indemand!

Illustration by Rick Stromoski

FEATURES

16

Soar With Your Strengths

Withthisarticle,you'lllearn

how

tounder- standyourstrengthssoyoucansucceed.

22

The Water Watch

Patrol

FFA,

biology and elementary students

work

togethertomonitorwaterquality.

28

The Comeback

Kid

Afterrecoveringfroma seriousfarmac- cident,former

FFA member

John

Thomp-

son hasbigplansforhis life.

DEPARTMENTS

4

Front Line

5 News

ⁱⁿ Brief

14

LookingAhead

18

Mailbag

33 FFA

InAction

37

GetTo

Know

38

^JokePage

NewHoi^

Magazine

^Staff

Editor.Andrew Markwan AssociateEditor.LawinnaMcGary Conlnbuting^Editor,John M.PJizer

An&Production. LindaFlint Director of Advertising.GlennD.Luedke Publishing Assistant.Joyce Berryman Circulation FulfillmentManager.DottieM.Hinkle Assistants.SusanFernandas, HeatherM BoyJngton

National Officers

National President. Travis Park,RR3,Box112. Franklin, IN46131:National Secretary,KevinWhite,21941 Sunnyside Dnve, Anderson,CA96007.National Vice Presidents.Dennis Degner,Route1,Box355,Malone, TX76660:ToddHingson,Route2.Box1300, LiveOak, FL 32060: JohnKleiboeker.RR1,Box103, StottsCity.

MO65756:Rick Perkins.7215EastCountyRoad16, Bloomville.OH44818

Board

ofDirectors

Chairman.LarryCase:Membersofthe Board.Jamie Cano,EverettHarris,ManonFletcher,BobbyMuHer, TomMunter,DeweyStewart,LesThompson,Rosco Vaughn

National Staff

National Advisor.ChiefExecutiveOfficer.LarryCase:

ExecutiveSecretary.ColemanHarris;ChiefOperating Officer.BernieStaller;National Treasurer.CharlesKeels:

TeamLeaders

—

StudentServices.AndrewMarkwart;

TeacherServices. MarshallStewart;PartnerRelations.

JoyceWinterton;SponsorRelations.DougButler;Human

&FiscalResources. LennieGamage;Communication Resources.WilliamStagg;D/s/r/dufionResources. Janet LewisandJamesLong;FFAVentures.Dennis Shafer

AdvertisingOffices FFANewHorizons

P.O.Box15160

Alexandria.VA22309 703-360-3600

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Fullerton,CA90036 714-523-2776

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RobertFlahiveCompany 22Battery Street SanFrancisco,CA⁹⁴¹1

1

41 5-781-4583 FFANewHorizons (ISSN 0027-9315),formerlyThe Na- tionalFUTUREFARf^ER. ispreparedand published bimonthlybythe NationalFFAOrganization,5632Mount VernonMemonalHighway,Alexandria,Virginia22309- 0160,incooperation with the U.S.DepartmentofEduca- tionas asen/icetostateandlocalvocational agriculture educationagencies. Applicationto mailat 2nd Class postageratesispendingatAlexandria,VAandadditional mail offices POSTMASTER: Please sendchangeof addresseslo Circulation Department, FFA NewMori-

zons.PO Box15160,Alexandna,Virginia22309-0160.

CORRESPONDENCE:Addressallcorrespondenceto:

FFANewHorizons. P.O.Box 15160, Alexandna.Virginia 22309-0160 Offices locatedatthe NationalFFACenter, approximately eight mites south of Alexandna, VA.

SUBSCRIPTION:S3.50peryearinU.S.and possessions (FFAmembersi ^5paid withdues) SinglecopySI 50;

fiveormore 75c eoc "o.-eignsubscriptions. S3.50plus S2.00extraforpostage'".opyright1993 by the National

FFAOrganization.

^^

^Tne

^

^AuditBureau

fiZT

THE ^{FRONT LINE}

Beyond Up Service

It was only a few hours after being electedthatthesixnewly-electednational officers

huddled around

a table at

Applebee'srestaurantinKansasCity.Ear-

lierin the afternoon, they hadeach heard their

names

^{called,rushed}tothe stage,and, baskinginthe

moment,

gottheirfirsttaste ofthe spotlight.

Now,

oversoft drinks and appetizers, they were talking about whatitall meant, whatthey were goingtodo and

how

they

would

approach their

new

responsibilities.

A

theme started to emerge.

Individually they were saying it in different ways, but the topic always

wound

upbeingthe

same —

^service.

Amongst

the clattering dishesanddarting waiters,without any promptingfrom

FFA

staffor advisors, the officersagreedtohavea themefortheirteam, "Service

Above

Self."

They

agreeditwouldbe theircentral focusastheyapproachedalloftheirduties.

As

adaily remindertothemselvesandothers,theywould even havethephrase printedbelowtheir

names

ontheirbusinesscards.

"We

seeourrole as being there for the

members

andteachers tofurther theirpur- poses,"saidJohn Kleiboeker,centralregionvice president.

The

wholeideaofservice

—

^{reachingouttootherswhileputting}

your

own

self-interests incheck

—

^isacornerstoneinanyorganiza- tion that tries to

make

a positive difference in the lives of other people.Takeacloselookatchuiches,school boards, volunteerfire departments,youthgroupslike

FFA,

and youfindpeople

who

have chosentogetinvolvedforthe goodofothers.

Serviceis

becoming

anationalissue.

A

large portionof President Clinton's inaugural speech centered on service, drawing close comparisons toPresidentKennedy's

"Ask

not what yourcountry candoforyou,askwhat youcandoforyourcountry"callfor action.

The

president has even proposed college financial assistance to

young

people

who

are willingtogiveayear ofserviceinreturn.It's

obvious our national leaders feel it is necessary to motivate the massestoturnoff the

TV

and

make

apersonal investmentintheir communities.

On

an individual level, it takes extra time and effort, but the officers say the personal rewards thatyou reap are well worth it.

"You

serveyourselfbyservingothersbecause^itfulfillsapartofyou

that otherwise would go empty," says Dennis Degner, western region vice president.

Ittakesrealfocusanddeterminationtostay truetosuchaweighty

commitment

as"Service

Above

Self." Kleiboekeradmits,

"We've

yettobetested.It's

when

you'retiredand have been ontheroadfor weeksthatitwillreallybeputtothetest."Attheendoftheyear,the officers will

know

ifthey^'ve beentrue to theirgoal ornot.Theydeserve congratulationsjustformaking serviceapriorityfromthestart.

FFANewHorizons

NEWS ^IN BRIEF

The Washington Conference Program

Is

Coming

Getreadyforleadershipdevelopment andteambuildingat thissummer"s

Wash-

ington Conference Program. There are fiveweek-longsessions:June15-19.June 22-26. July 6-10, July 13-17. July 20-24 andJuly27-31.Registrationfeeis$450per studentinadvance,or$495to register atthe conference.Formore informationcontact Linda May, National

FFA

Center, 5632 Mt. Vernon Memorial Highway, Alexan- dria,

V A

22309-0160.

InternationalFlair

Send yourapplicationsforthree-week

summer

programsto Australia,England.

Germany,Italyand JapantoStudentSer- vices/International,National

FFA

Center, 5632 Mt. Vernon Memorial Highway, Alexandria.

VA

22309-0160before

May

1.

Ask

your advisorforanapplication

—

^it"s

inthelatestissueof

FFA

Advisors...Making a Differencepublication.

Board Notes

The

National

FFA

Boardof Directors met at the National

FFA

CenterinJanu- ary. Highlights include:

•Sweetheart items willnotbe soldby

FFA

afterAugu.st 31. 1993.due toarec-

ommendation

by 1992national

FFA

con- vention_delegates.

•New

national

FFA

conventionwork- shopsforninthandtenthgrade

FFA mem-

bers,chapterofficersandWashington Con- ferenceProgramgraduateswereapproved.

President Signs FFA Week

Proclamation

In aceremony on February25. 1993.

Silverton.Oregon.

FFA

presidentRebecca Fisher,her parents, advisor, andagroup of state and national

FFA

officials wit- nessed the president sign and approve a National

FFA Week

proclamation. We"ll have

more

details inthe nextissue.

Where Does The Money Go?

When

it

comes

to

who

^getstheirshare of

money

for bringing food to market, everyoneelse

makes

morethanthefarmer, indicatesaTexas

A&M

^{Universitystudy.}

On

a60-cent can of beans,forexample.8 cents goes to the farmer while 27 cents goestotheprocessor, 10centsgoestothe wholesalerand 15cents tothe retailer.

Out ofeach dollarbill you spend on food, 22 cents orlessgoes tothe farmer

who

grew it.Outoftheother78cents,35

Includes loodeatenathomeandawayfromhome. Other costs includepropertytaxesandinsurance, accountingand professional services, promotion,baddebts,andmany miscellaneousitems.

cents goesformarketing laborcosts.

Processingand marketing ofagricul- tural products are

much

largeractivities than agriculture itself.

The

U.S. Department of Agriculture calculated which industries and services benefit from agricultural production and

how much

they benefit

—

^tothe half-penny.

Forinstance, 8.5centsof everydollar goes forpackaging, and 4cents goes for advertising.

More

facts are on the dia- arainbelow.

FarmValue Marketing Bill

Thank Your Advisor

In the Magazine

What have you done for your advisor

lately?

Here's a way you can recognize him or her for

all

of

their

hard work. Type a

letter

on

plain

white paper stating what your advisor

means to you and why. Include your name, home address,

home telephone number, school telephone number, FFA

chapter, and FFA advisor's name. Then send your entry to FFA New Horizons, Advi- sor

Tribute, F.O.

Box 15160, Alexandria. VA 22309-0160.

Letters must be postmarked by May 20, 1993.

We'll

pub-

lish

the top entries

in

the September-October Issue

c

the magazine.

April-May, 1993

Nationalwildlife

management

proficiency

award

finalistSierra

Stoneberg

has

worked

intheAlaskan alpinearea.

Alaskan Adventure

FFA prepared this member to live and

worl< in our norttiernmost state

By

Paul Bolstad

FFA

Member.

Gays

Mills. Wisconsin

For ^many

high school seniors,the

summer

aftergraduation

means

loafingaround

home

enjoyingthe lastfew weeksoffreedombefore enteringthe "real world" of

work

orcol- lege.Butfor SierraStoneberg of Hinsdale, Montana, that

summer

meant studying moose, mountain sheep, and avoiding bearsinthelandofthe midnightsun.

Duringthe

summer

of1991 Stoneberg

worked

fortheNationalForestServicein the

Seward

Ranger District of Alaska.

WhileinAlaska,shedideverythingfrom studyingrangegrasstobuildingbird nest boxes.

Herhigh school

summers

were filled

workingfortheSoilConservation Service (SCS) in Montana.

FFA

activities and

SCS work

gaveStoneberg valuable expe- riencesheneededtoget thejobinAlaska.

"I

was

the only crew

member

without a degree. I

was

qualified because of

my work

in

FFA."

Stoneberg first

became

^{interested in} botany throughthe

Montana Range Days when

she

was

in seventh grade.

Range

Daysaretwotothree-dayworkshops where students learnabout botany, biology,and

otherrangesciences.

"I found, ratherto

my

^{surprise,thatI}

didn'twanttodoanythingelse,"Stoneberg says.

Her

interest inplantsciencesledherto

become

an active

member

of her

FFA

chapter. She chose projects ⁱⁿ areas as diverse assheep productionandcomput-

ers in agriculture and competed in an agricultural mechanicscontest.

"FFA

definitelyhelpedme,"Stoneberg says."Idid alotofthings,and

FFA

helped

me

^tie them all together. It gave

me

an important senseofself-confidence."

Attheendof hersenior year,aftertwo

summers

with

SCS,

Sierra wanted a FFANewHorizons

changeofpace.Shelearned aboutaposi- tion with the Forest Service in Alaska.

After

some

^calling around, she was ac- cepted as avolunteer atthe Kenai Lake

Work

Center.

"You

volunteer with the understand- ing that you will

work

40 hours a

week

withoutpay. In return,yougetplanefare there and backplus

room

andboard."

"I stayed with 12 other workers in a dormjustoffthehighway by LakeKenai.

It was a typical dorm.

The

kitchen was downstairs,andupstairs were 12 simple rooms."

The dorm

was 26milesfrom Seward, Alaska. Stonebergenjoyedthe secluded locationof herAlaskanhome.

"Itwasbasicallyjustthe 12ofusonthe shore of the lake. It

was

a fascinating chance to get to

know

a small group of people veryclosely."

Stoneberg quickly adapted to life in the northernmost state. Because of her travelwith

FFA,

she saysit

was

easy to adjust. Eventheliterallyendless

summer

daysin Alaska werenoproblem.

"Igotusedtosleepinginthelight

—

ⁱⁿ

fact,Ihadtrouble gettingusedtothedark again. Itwasfunnyto

wake

upearlyand think "oh no. I've only got 22 hours of daylightleft.

WhatTl

Ido?' ^"

It"s the little things that stick inyour mind,"Stoneberg says ofthebeautythat surrounded her in Alaska. "I

was

just

amazed

^atthe the incredible, hugegreen treesandmosses."Shealso loved,"walk- ing in the woods...or finding a unique

mushroom,

oraburnedoutlogthat'sfrom a^fireyou've heardpeopletalk about."

DuringpartofherstayStoneberg^lived and

worked

highinthemountains.

Some

of her fondestmemories are ofthe time she spent inthe alpinecountry.

"We

livedonthetopofamountainin thislittle tent city. I

remember

all ofthe tinyplantsandlichens(crustlike,scalyor branching fungusgrowth onrocks ortree trunks).

They

weresimilartotheones

we

haveathome,buttheywere

way

upinthe mountains.There

was

so

much

lightand sunupthere."

Stoneberg monitored fertilizer on rangelandforsheep herds andtook data onrangegrass.Shealsolookedforeagle nestsandscouted

moose

habitat.

The work

brought Sierra close to nature, and in-

All of a sudden, ^the bear sprang out of thie brusti and up a ^tree.

^I

was close enougti to

see hair on

its

nose.

volvedplentyof physical labor.

"Therewasn'talotofaccessibilityup

there, soa^lotof times

we

hadtopackall

ofour gearand haul itintothewoods."

Stoneberg had no problem being the youngest

member

^{of her}

work

crew. Al- though she

was

intimidatedbythe older peopleat first,she quickly

became

confi- dent.

"As

it

worked

out,

when

they had a plant question, they'd

come

to me.

We

were all wildlife biologists, but I hap- penedtohavethemostplantknowledge."

It

was

her animal knowledge though

that

may

havesaved herlife. Duringher second

summer, when

she

was

a paid employee,Stoneberg hadarun-inwitha blackbear."I

was

walkinginthe woods, alone. 1 sang as a safety precaution, but because^I

was

inbrushandnearastream, neither thebear nor

my

selfheardtheother until

we

wereveryclose.Somethinginside

me

said that something wasn't right.

(Stonebergwentthrough bearsafetycourse the

summer

before.) Allofasudden, the bearsprangoutofthebrushand upatree.

Iwascloseenoughtosee haironitsnose.It

had huge ears, and ^I

remember

^thinking.

'Oh

my

God, ^itsMickey Mouse!'^"

Stoneberg slowly

managed

to back

away

fromthe bear.

The

crisispassed.

Fortunately, notall of her encounters withAlaskan^wildlifewereso dangerous.

"Ihave alotofgoodmemories.^Partof

my

job was tracking birds early in the morning. The sun rose at 3 a.m.. which meant

we

hadtobe readytogo by2:30.It

was neat to be out in this sort of half darkness. It's a thing

most

people neversee."

Stonebergchanneledher

FFA

experi- enceandherinterests inbiology,botany, andrange science into an ad\enture she willneverforget.

As

forthefuture. Sierra,

now

asophomoreat

Montana

StateUni- versityin

Bozeman.

planstoearnamas-

tersandPh.D.

"Ihopetocontinueinresearch,combin- ingwildlifebioloevandransescience."

TheWildlife

Management

Proficiency

Award

is sponsored by Buck Knives

and

the U.S.

EnvironmentalProtection

Agency

asaspe- cialprojectofthe NationalFFA Foundation.

Looking

foreagle nests

and

scoutingfor

moose

habitatbrought

Stoneberg

close tonature

and

Involved^plenty ofphysical labor.

April-May. 1993

If anythinq counts or

Some things never change.

All

the toughness and

durability that

made

Ford America's Number One farm pickup truck

is

here

today.

Even

better,it'll

be there tomorrow. This truck

isbuilt

Ford Tough.

What else can you expect from Ford?

The big payload and

^flex-

ibility

you need with the longest cargo box

^initsclass.

Power

that'srightfor

the task with the wide range of

multi-port

EFI gas engines,

plus,

the new-and biggest-turbo

diesel,

the

7.3L*

a ^{farm, it's toughness.}

You'llfind

unexpected comfort with the spa- cious

interior,

the long

listof

luxury options.

And, Ford

offers

the added protection of 6-year/100,000-mile corrosion coverage"

Obviously, Ford never

|

forgets:

on a farm, what counts most

is

getting plenty of

^real

value

for

your

dollar.

For an informative brochure,

justcall

1-800-258*FORa

Available captain'schairs with

powerlumbarsupports help maketough dayseasier

SalesbyDivision.*Askdealerfor availabilityonF-250.350and SuperDuty models.

"Askyourdealerforacopyof this limited vrarranty.

F-Series

^(jS^ ^a

TBEBEST-SELLING

AMERICAN TRUCKS

AREBUILT

FORD

TOUGH.

Former

members

give back

toFFA

Teaching elementary students aboutagriculture is

one

ofCarthage, Missouri,

Alumni member

Sarah Wallace'sfavorite activities.

Beyond ^the

Blue ^ ^{Gold Horizon}

By

Jennifer

West

Hesperia. California.

FFA member

Amidst

^{the rigorsoflifeafterhigh}

school, former

FFA members

often find^ithardtokeepintouch with theirchapter.

"Some FFA members

think that

when

their active

membership

expires,they don"t have any effect on their chapters,"" says

Wendy

Lewis, an agri- business technology ma- jorat

Crow

derJuniorCol- legeinNeosho,Missouri.

As

part of the Carthage

FFA

chapterinher

home-

town, s. mipeted in various contests and was c inan of the Building

Our

American

C

aunitiescommittee.

She saysh^ ';apter"ssuccess would notbepossible\. v.iitthesupportofthe 10

Carthage

FFA Alumni

Association.

"There'saclose relationshipbetweenthe chapterandthealumni.

We

gotoso

many

contests and activities that without the Alumni's help in paying expenses,

we

wouldn't beabletogo. In fact,

we probably

wouldn'thave

much

ofa chapterwithouttheirsup- port."

Alumni member

Sarah

Wallace

agrees.

"Our Alumni

associationisthe

backbone

of the

FFA

chapter.

Our

chapter has over 150 stu- dents.

Alumni

helpsout

when

the teach- erscan'tdoeverything." In 1992,Carthage hostedthenationalinvitationalhorsejudg- ing contest.

An

American Degree recipientstudy- ing agricultural education at Southwest Missouri State University, Wallace"s in-

volvementwiththeCarthageAlumnistems fromafamilyinterest in

FFA.

Herolder brother, aformer

member,

is

now

anadvi- sor,andhermotheris a lifetime

Alumni member

and past president of the local association. "I was active in

FFA,

and

when

Igraduatedfromhigh school three yearsago,^I didn'twanttogive thatup.I

think it's important to stay involved, to givesomething backtothe chapter."

Wallace's

work

withtheAlumnihelped herdecide on a career.

"My mom

and ^I

worked

togetherona

Food

For America presentation.

We

talked about products produced only in Missouri, and about wherethefood theyeat

comes

from.Teach FFANewHorizons

ing kids is something I enjoy, and that helped

me

want tobe an agleaeher."

'it' simportanttorstudentstocontinue their experiences in agriculture and to expand," says

Ken

^Olcott, one of the founders of an agriculturalgroupforcol- lege students

known

as the National Postsecondary Agricultural Student Or- ganization (PAS). Fifty colleges in 13 statesofferPAS.Nearly50percentofthe 1,200

PAS members

werein

FFA,

includ- ing the

PAS

national officers.

"We'reinterested largelyinleadership aspectsandcareerplanning,and

we

tieit

intothe agriculture industry,"saysOlcott.

Anotherorganizationthathelps former

FFA members

develop their leadership potential is the National

Young

Farmer Educational Association.

Anyone

study- ing agricultureⁱⁿadulthigh schoolclasses ornight schoolcanjoin.

"For me, the

Young

Farmers was a natural nextstep...agood

way

tocontinue

my

education."says

Ray

Schlabs,pa.stna- tional president.

A

former

FFA member

from Hereford,Texas, he'llsoongo on a tourtoEuropewiththe

Yoimg

Fanners.

"Through the program, I got to see

\National

Young

Farmer EducationalAssociation, Inc.

farming practices across the nation,"

Schlabssays. "1leainedaboutagriculture' s

diversity,thatagisa high-techbusiness.

Itdefmatelyhada positive influence, es- pecially

when

^it

came

to learningto deal with other people." ^•••

"/

think

it's

important to stay invoived, to give something bacic to the

chapter.

"

— Sarah Wallace

Where The Action ^Is...

After High School

FFA Alumni

•The purposeoftheFFAAlumniistosupport and promoteFFAonlocal,stateandnational levels.

•National annualdues^{are $7.00.}Youcanget alifetimemembershipfor$100^(thisfeewill

go upto$150 onNovember1^, 1993).

•Total1992 membershipwas35,396.

•There are about1,200affiliatesin42states.

•AnyonewhowantstosupportFFAcan bea member.

Formoreinformationcontact:

RobertW. Cox(703) 360-3600,ext.292 P.O.Box 15058

Alexandha,Va22309-0058

National

Young Farmer Educational Association (NYF)

•Thepurposeoftheyoung^farmer'sgroupisto help memberslearn about thelatest tech- nologiesandskillsinagricultureaswellasto develop leadershipskills.Oneoftheirgoals, accordingtoExecutiveDirectorWayneSprick, is "to provide a mechanism forproduction agriculture totakepartinthecommunity.

We

helpyoungfarmersseekinformationtode- velop their position on an issue, whether about theenvironmentoragriculturalspend-

ing,andtogivethemtraining tohelpthemget their pointacross."

•Anyone^interestedcanjoin.Youdon'thaveto beactivelyfarmingto participate.

•A recent survey foundmorethan62percent ofmembersareformeragricultural educa- tionstudents.

•You mustnotbemorethan40yearsold to holdanational office or to participate inthe SpokespersonForAgricultureProgram.

•Nationalyearlyduesare$5,Alifetimemem-

bershipis$100.

•Every otheryear selected membersofthe grouptour agricultural sitesinEurope.

•There are 16,000membersin25states.

Formoreinformation contact:

WayneSprick (703)360-3600ext.296

5632Mt.VernonMemohalHighway Alexandria.Va22309-0160

The FFA Alumni sponsor many FFA

activities.

One way

theygain

money

isthroughtheirauctionofitems

such

as this 4-wheel drive

Chevy

pickup truck

which

sold for SI8,000. This

money

is

used

for

FFA

scholarships.

Postsecondary

Agricultural

Student Organization (PAS)

•ThemissionofPASistoprovide opportuni- tiesformemberstodeveloptheskillsand

abilitiesneededtoenterandadvancein careersinagnculture.

•ThePASmotto^isUnitingEducationand IndustryinAgriculture.

•Several notableactivitiesare theEmploy- mentInterviewContestandthe nationalAg

IvlechanicsTechnicianAward.

•Chapters are locatedinone andtwo-year colleges (thosethatdonot offera baccalau- reatedegree),

•Activemembershipisopentostudents enrolledinagnculture, agnbusiness, horticultureandnaturalresourcesprograms

atapostsecondaryinstitution.

•There are50chaptersⁱⁿ13states.

•Annual fees are Si 5 per^activememberplus

$50perpostsecondaryinstitution.

•AnyonewhowantstosupportPAScan be an associatemember.

ForMoreInfoContact:

Kimberty Perry

PASExecutiveDirector P.O.Box 15440 Aiexandna,VA22309 Phone:(703)780-4922 Fax: (703)780-4378

April-May. 1993 13

LOOKING AHEAD

Future Frontiers Of Pesticides

A ^{look into} the evolution of insect and weed control

By

MichaelJ. Major

Insects

^{and plants that live where hu-}

mans

don'twant Iheni areconsidered pests. Because these bugs and weeds harm crops that people need for food and fiber, scientists began developing synthetic chemicals (pesticides) to kill

them. But nature evolved chemicals to kill pests long before

man

did.

Some

plantscontainchemicalsthataretoxicto insects.

When

the insect eats the plantleaf

it dies. "It is like a naturally occurring insecticide." says Dr. Richard Wilson.

SandozAgro.Inc.

Some

plantshavebiult- in. naturally occurring herbicides, or chemicalsthatprevent other plantsfrom growingnearthem, headds.

Syntheticor naturallyoccuiringchemi- calpesticides aren't theonly

way

tokill pests. Parasites and disease-causing or-

ganismscan alsokill pests in nature.

The

Natural

Way

AccordingtoJames Vaughn,research leaderfor

USDA

in Beltsville,Maryland, several biological companies are

now

producingthenaturalenemiesofinsects.

These

come

intwoforms,externalpreda- torsand internal parasites.

Usinglady beetlesforaphidcontrol is

anexampleofexternal predators.Female parasites layeggsinthebodyoftheaphid pest.

The

developingparasitesthen feed onthebodytluidsoftheaphidandkill it.

Biologicalmicrobesor bacteriafound

innaturecauseinternaldamage. Forex- ample, farmers spray Bacillus

tlniriiiiiu^'-is (Bt) on their cotton crop.

The

larva -tage of bollworms eat the sprayedlea ^

Then

theBtbacteria cre- atesan ulcer, ':'ly/ingthe bollworm's gutandeventual ilingtheinsect.Other biologicalmicrob. ^' rmcertaintypes of caterpillars, mosqui ii':ick flies, and 14

theColoradopotatobeetle.

Bt's

work

especially well be- cause theyattack specificharmful pestswithoutharmingotherinsects, wildlifeorhumans.

Now,

with biotechnology, sci- entistshavetransferred the Btgene responsibleforcreating the ulcerin insects into cotton plants. Since these

new

plantsproducethe

same

insect toxin the bacteria did,they don'tha\etobe sprayed with Btto killpests.Wilsonsaysinsect-resis- tant cotton is in the late stages of researchandthatsomedayresearch- ers

may

bioengincer

more

plants withbuilt-inpest repellants.

Another

way

togetridofpesky

crittersistogivethemalethalcase ofthe flu.

A

virus is

now

on the marketthatworksagainst the

Gypsy

moth.

The wave

ofthefutureincludes sneakyplanstomess upinsects'sexlives.

Saturating fields with pheromones dis- rupts mating habits of the oriental fruit

moth and tomatopin

worm.

Joan Fisher, laboratory

manager

at Trece, Inc., inSalinas,California, reports her

company

uses sex hormones to lure the malesofa species intoatrap. Using

this method, farmers can tell

how many

insects are infestingtheir fields.

The

traps help them decide

when

and

how much

insecticidetoapply.

Low Doses

Many

ofthefirst insecticidesandher- bicides would killjust about anything if

you applied enough.

One

ofthe earliest herbicides for example, waskerosene or oil. Farmers poured it on the offending weed, whicheventuallydied.

Beforea

new

pesticideisbroughttomarket,

it is run through

more

than 120 safety

and

environmentaltests.Here, scientistsanalyze a soil

sample

forproductresidues.

More

chemicals

now

target specific reactionsthatoccur onlyintheplants or insectsthey wantto kill. So farmerscan apply small doses (ounces in

some

cases as opposedtoseveral poundsperacre in the past)andget the

same

or bettercon-

trol.

Smalleramountsofchemicals applied

inthefield

means

lesschanceforchemi- cals to contaminate ground and surface water.

Wilsonbelievesfarmerswillcontinue to use synthetically produced chemicals as well as naturallyoccuring, biological controls to control pests. "Farmers are increasingly concerned about the envi- ronment," agrees Susan Kelly, Sandoz Agro,Inc."Theyarelookingfor

ways

to cut

down

ontheuse ofpesticides." •••

FFANewHorizons

Up With Agriculture

Your high school guidance counselor asks you why you want to enroll

in

agriculture. What

^is

your response? These four students were faced with that question and answered eloquently

in

100 words or

less.

National winner, Jennifer West, Hesperia, California, receives $1,000. Seth Derner,

Bartlett,

Nebraska,

placed second winning $500, Loralee Woods, Grady, New Mexico, was awarded third with $300 and fourth place national winner Kelly Snyder, Robesonia. Pennsylvania, won $200.

1st Place JenniferWest, 18 Hesperia

FFA

Chapter Hesperia. California Advisor. JonEvans

^Agriculture affects our daily lives in

^

^*"

ways we

often take for granted.

From

the sheets on our beds tothe foodon our tables,

we owe

our lifestyle to the American Fanner.

As modem

agriculture shifts its focus from the fields to the laboratories,

new

andbettermethodsarebeing discoveredto maintain America's status as the world's breadbasket. Agri- cultureisgoodforthe

economy

andgoodforus.

By

enrolling inagricultureeducationclasses,anindividualcan perhaps gain agreaterunderstanding ofthisindustry andits workings, as wellaspreserve thefutureofAmerica'slargestemployer.

3rd Place

Loralee

Woods,

17

Grady FFA

Grady,

New Mexico

Advisor,

Tommy Thompson

^^

^{omeday,Ihopeto live inaworldwhere}

*^

everyman,

woman

andchildhavethe necessitiesoflife; clean air tobreatheand watertodrinkandahealthyenvironmentinwhichto live.

The

agricultural industry faces

many

challenges: an increase in population, a smaller production area and pollution. Bright, positive,well-educated peopleareneededtopushtechnology and science forward to meet those challenges and provide every

human

being with a high quality, economical food supply andasafer,healthierenvironment.

2nd Place Seth

Demer.

¹

8

WheelerCentral

FFA

Bartlett. Nebraska Advisor. Robert Swett

7C/

^h\_field^wouldn't_of ^{I want to enroll in the}

agriculture today?

The

op- portunities andpossibilitiesfacingagricul- turetodayare

more

numerousthantheears of

com

inafield.

Agriculture is leading the pack in biochemical, mechanical, nutritional, and environmental research.

The

research being done in laboratories

now

is reshaping agriculture forever. I

want to get involved in a field that holds the promise of promoting

new

andpositi\echangefor the future. I

am

also,

however, reassured ofagriculture's strong, traditional past.

These are the reasons

why

I want to enroll in the field of agriculturetoday.

4th Place Kelly Snyder. 16

C onrad Weiser

FFA

Chapter Robesonia. Pennsylvania

\d\isor.StephenMiller

^Tlie

reason I have chosen to enroll in agricultureisverycleartome.Iplanto

majorinelementar\ education,andIintend to

make

agriculture a large partof

my

curriculum. .Agriculture

iseverywhere. It is \italtoourexistence.Iwantto

make

the excitement ofagriculture

come

ali\e for

young

people. It is

importantforthemtorealizewhatagricultureisande\ en.thing

itinvolves.I

am

using

m\

high schoolclassestolearnallIcan aboutagricultureinordertode\elop\oung minds andincrease asriculturalawareness so agriculture's futureisabriahtone.

Thiscontestisaspecial projectofthe FFAFoundation sponsoredbyICISeeds.

April-May. 1993 15

#5

In

a ^{series of articles to help FFA} members

get the most out of

life

Soar With

Your Strengths

Life

is

exciting.

If

you under- stand your strengths, you can accomplish your goals

By

Lawlnna

McGary

ain was a regular part of

Emory

Austin's high school life. Physical pain wasn't herproblem

—

P

^~^

_she never had any major surgeries, diseases or accidents. Instead, heraffliction

was

the fearof notfittingin."Iwastallerthanalloftheothergirlsand miserableabout

my

height. ^I triedtoslink aroundand hide in theshadows. I wasinclined tobe shy

anyway

and because 1 felt I couldn't exel at beingpopular, I

became

a

bookworm.

Mother had to

make

all of

my

clothes,andshehad noconcept ofwhatyoungpeople were looking for.

And

that wasn't all.

My name

was Emory. I wanted

names

like all the cute girls had."

Apparently,

Emory

didn'tsoundlikeacutegirl's

name

tothegovernment either. Shegot adraftnotice

when

she

was

a seniorinhighschool."Itjustaboutkilledme,"

she says. "Everything peoplejudged

me

forwerethe things 1didn'tlikeabout myself."

Now

a successful motivational speaker,

who

loves her

name —

becauseit'sunique,people

remember

her

—

Austin says she

knows

she wasn't alone in her high school misery.

"Nobody

feels liketheyreallyfit

when

they're young."

The

irony aboutthat, she says,isthat notalwaysblendinginisthe bestthingthatcanhappen

toyou.

"Your

strengths

come

from yourdifferences."

Look

atwhat you do anddon'tlikeabout yourself, she says. Figure out

how

you can turn your natural characteristics into strengths.TakeAustin's passionfor booksasanexample. Atfirstshe turnedtobooksasan escape from the world.

Now

she uses the words she learnedfrom readingtoexcel in herworkas a profes- sional speaker.

Herheight, onceherhorror,

now

turnsout to be a

j. 'sitive point. It's hardto lose herin acrowd.

Many

pc lierecall

who

she is,justbecauseshe'stallerthan avei ^-

Au. didn'tjust

wake

up one morning and magi- callylov ^'' ifthethingsaboutherselfthatsheusedto hate.

The

i. :j:oundtook years of honest evaluations of

who

shew;i j;sd whatshe wanted.

Emory

Austin

Take Charge

"A

horrible story to

me

is Sleeping Beauty.

The woman

laidaroundfor100years,waitingfor

someone

elseto

come

alonganddosomething.Suppose no one had

shown

up?"

In real life, says Austin, you're responsible for rescuing yourself.

To

develop survival skills, always evaluate yourselfandwhatyou're allowing yourselfto

become.Afteryou

know

where yourstrengthsare, set goals inthoseareas. Ifyoudo this,

"You

can have a tremendous impact and have a lot of fun doing it,"

Austinsays."Lifeisreallyaboutfiguringout

why

you werebornand what you'replanningtodoaboutit."

Be

curious about everythingaroundyou."Don'tlull

yourselfday by day intothinking, 'What do¹needto

do to get by.' " Instead, she recommends,

"Ask

not whatlifeisgoingtohandyou, askwhat youcan hand

itback."

"Casinofloors arepackedwith people with glazed eyeballs

who

want something for nothing. Although there'snothing

wrong

with dreaming," shesays,you've gotto

work

foryour success.

*"

Three Ways To Soar With Your

Strengths

•FindYourPassion.

Try everything that interests you...as long as it's

within thelaw.Keepyouroptionsopen.It'shardto stayenthusedaboutlife ifyoudon'thaveanything youreallyenjoydoing.

•Be

A

WordWizard

Once youknowyourstrengthsondknowwhat you wanttoaccomplish, Austin soysyouneedtobeable toclearly stateyourpointsand communicateyour goalstoother people.Wordscanbeeffective tools inhelpingyouaccomplishyourgoals.

•GoForThe Dramatic

Whenever you haveachoicebetweendoingsome- thinganordinaryway,or puttingsomeexcitement anddramaintoit,Austin soys,goforthe dramatic.

People will remember you^for beingoriginal and theywillbe impressed.

16 FFANewHorizons

You can win money and have your art published in

FFANewHorizonsmth our Design Your Own ^T-shirt Contest

Prizes:

•SlOOf

or the national overallwinner

•

$50

foreachofthe threecategory winners

•A

chancetogetyour winningdesign publishedinFFiflAfeu/

Wor/zo/75magazine

•A

limited

number

of the nationalwinning T-shirtswillbesoldat thisyearsnational

FFA

convention

Design

Categories:

A.

FFA

leadershipand theenvironment B.

FFA

leadershipand

community

involve-

ment

C.

FFA

generalfforany

FFA

topic that

doesn

t deal with

community

involve-

ment

or the environ- mentJ

LLLLLLLLUJLi:

Entries must be postmarked by June

10.

DesigninfiTiPs:

•Askyourself, isthisaT-shirtyou wouldwanttobuyifyou

saw

itinastore?

•Doesthedesign appealto both males and females?

•Make

surethedesign upholdsthe positiveimageof

FFA

and^is ingoodtaste.

•FFA

must be identified

somewhere

ontheT-shirt.

•Donot usethe

FFA — The

Spiritof Leadershiplogo.

Allwinningdesignsare propertyoftheNational FFAOrganization.Allother entries that includeaselfaddressed stampedenvelopewillbereturned.

How To Enter:

•Draw

your designfin the colorsyou

want

J

ontheT-shirtoutlined onthispage.

Vou may want

to

make

copies of thispageto practice.

•Type your

name,

age,

home Phone number,

and address: high school

name.

Phone number, and address;

chapter

name,

advisor

name,

colorofT-shirt you

want

your design togo on and design categoryyou re enteringonaseparate sheetofpaper.

•

Send

yourentryto:

Design

Your Own

T-ShirtContest National

FFA

Organi- zation

5632Mt.Uernon

Memorial

Highway

Alexandria.

UA 22309

-JZ^H

April-May. 1993 17

The Time

Come...

...to send for the latest

copy of the free Consuiner Information Catalog.

It Usts more than 200 free or low-cost

government publications

on topics Like money,

food, jobs, children, cars, health, and

federal "benefits.

Don't waste another minute, send today for

the latest free Catalog

and a ^free sample ^booklet.

Send your name and

address to:

Consumer

Information Center Department TH

PueMo, Colorado 81009

A

public serviceofthispublicationand 1:6

Consumer

Information Centerofthe

I.. 3.GeneralServicesAdministration

M

— ^fi27

A

^I

^{L B} A G

Animal Mishaps

While readingyourmagazine,

we

no- ticed the Viceroy butterfly (December- January 1992, page 12).

We

thennoticed thatis

was

referredtoasa

Monarch

butter- fly.

We

^realize thesebutterfliesare

com- monly

mistakenbecause oftheirstriking resemblances.

BeckyGillinan, Carl Shufeldt

and

Kent Sprague

FFA

Entomology Team, Lenapah.

Oklahoma Advisor Gives Hope

Menifee County. Kentucky is apoor

rural area wherejobs and opportunities areextremelylimited.After yearsof hard times and slow growth, people tend to

developasenseof hopelessness.

However,thereisa risingstarfor the kids in the Menifee County

FFA.

His

name

isOrbinRudd,thechapteradvisor.

He

has giventhese kidsbacktheirpride.

They

believe in themselves and the fu- ture.

Under

hisleadership,theyarework- ing hard and receiving recognition for their efforts.

He

givesthem

more

thanjust histime,he givesthemselfrespectandthe

knowledge

that nothing is impossible through hard

work

anddetermination.

The young

adults

coming

outofthe

FFA

are strong leaders andexcellent rolemodels for the other kids in the county.

Thank

you forcaring,Mr. Rudd.

JonLooeless MenifeeCounty, Kentucky Agricultural

Education Convert

Thanks forpointingout the diversity of anagriculturaleducationdegreeinthe latest issue of

FFA New

Horizons (De- cember-January1992,page14).Thevari- etyofthisdegree,

combined

with

my FFA

experience,openedaworldofdoors

when

Ihit thejob market this spring. Just be- causeyou study education doesn't

mean

you have to teach. I ended up in farm broadcasting.

Carey Martin Tulsa.

Oklahoma

Sendletters ornotes with mime, address andchapterto

MAILBAC, FFA New

Horizons.

P.O. Bo.x 15160. Alexandria. VA 22309. All lettersaresubjecttoediting.

visions^ Tractors

Global Trade

National officers experience Japan

By

Jeri D. Matties

/apan...the land of

the rising sun. exotic foods, electronics

and automobiles.

Believe

^it or not, the

United

States

has

a lot in

common with

this

country

thateats

more raw

fish

and

rice

than meat and

potatoes.

For

one,

Japan buys about 40 percent of

its

food and

fiber

from

the

United

States.

That was $10

billion

of worth

agricultural

products

in 1991. In return,

we purchase

cars, elec- tronics

and

ahost

of

other

goods.

The

national

FFA

officers

have

travelledto

Japan

forthe past 14 years,

courtesy of Mitsui &

^{Co.. Inc.}

While

overseas, the officer

team meets with business and education

officials

and members of

the

Future Farmers of Japan.

Here

are

some

highlights

of

theirtrip.

o

The

officer

team

spentan afternoonat

Tokyo

Engei HorticulturalHigh School,

which

sits

on

abeautifully landscaped acreage, visiting with

FFJ members.

From

lefttoright,NationalFFJVice PresidentTakashi Uno, Kevin, Rick,John, Todd, Dennis

and

Travis.

Inacountry

where

the

senses

are

overwhelmed

with

new

sights,

sounds and

tastes, the golden arches

were

a

welcome

^sight.

From

left to right, Dennis Degner,

Todd

Hingson, Kevin White,

John

Kleiboecker, Rick Perkins

and

Travis Park.

Along

with business,governmental

and

schoolvisits

were

severalcultural ac- tivities. Pictured here in front of an incense burneratthe

Asakusa Kannon Temple

in Tokyo, are Todd, Dennis, Rick

and

Kevin.

April-May. 1993 19