FFA New Horizons

MAGAZINE

ixitym

^0)Ht0^'>

Only Yamaha

Can Make This Claim.

Iamaha

^{makesmoreATVsfor}

thefarm thananyoneelse.That's aclaim

we

don't

make

lightly.

Because

when

itcomestoform choreslikehaulingbolesof hoy, dig- ging fencepostholes,orjustgetting aroundthebackforty,

ifitcan'tbedone ona Yamaha,itprobably can'tbedone.

The

YFM250

istrulyajack-of-oll- trades.Itseconomical powerplant withdual-rangetransmissionis

designedtotackleallkinds ofchores anditpullsmorethanitsshareofthe workload— up^to

800

pounds.

Themighty

YFM350ER

isrightat

home

in

narrowrows ^{}UKii..,ri^i} andcrampedquarters. Thisrugged hauler withdual-rangetransmission hasatight8.2-footturningradiusthat's shorterthana pickupislong.

TheBigBearisadifferentbreedof

ATVs

withciic'iiicsizvs of 90cc'sor greaterarcrecommendedforuse only bytlioseaged 16andolder Yamaha recommendsthatall

ATV

rid(T.s/(//"('a /raining course.Forsafetyandtndninginformation, seeyourdealer orcalltheAT^'Safetybistitiiteat1-800-447-4700.

ATVs

canbehazardoustooperate.Foryour.safety:alivayslecara helmet, eye protection,andprotective clothing:neverrideonpared

animal.Itnotonlydrivesonallfours, itsbig348ccengineandexclusive TCD, TorqueControlDifferential,

havethepower andtraction toget youand

900

poundsoftowwhere

youwantto go.

Load upto

463

pounds of hay, seed, fertilizerortools onProHauler'sheftycargobed and frontrackand^itmakesshortworkof thetoughestfarm work.

Terraproistheonly

ATV

with PTO,PowerTakeOff.It'llpowerjust

abouteverythingfrom heavy-duty mowers,tillersandsprayerstoawide rangeofpowertoolswithitsoptional hydraulicsystem attachment.

Of

course,

when

thework'sdone, thesefiveworkhorses ployjustas hard.

So

^isn'titabouttimeyoustake

j~0 yourclaimona

Yamaha ATV?

^SiYAMAHA

surfacesorpublic roads:nevercarrypassengers; neverengageinstunt riding:ridingandalcohol/drugsdon'tmix: avoidexcessivespeeds:and beparticularly carefulondifficult terrain.Someproductsshownwithoptionalequipment

©

1990 Yamaha MotorCorporation, U.S.A. (Cypress,

CA

90630)

Magazine

Staff

Editor-in-Chlel,WilsonW. Carnes SeniorEditor.JohnM.Pitzer ManagingEditor,AndrewMarkwart PublishingAssistant,LindaFlint DirectorofAdvertising,GlennD.Luedke AdvertisingAssistant,JoyceBerryman Circulation FulfillmentManager,DottieM. Hinkle Assistants,JanetMagill,HarriettFidd,NoraBanock, Veronica Ruffner

National Officers

National President,DonnellBrown,Hwy.380West,Box 789, Throckmorton,TX76083; National Secretary, Scott Crouch,1528East Port Court, Cicero,IN46034;

National Vice Presidents. WilliamHenricksen, Rt3,Box 374, DeWitt,lA52742:CaseyIsom,P.O.Box455, Fojitland,ID83619; Bradley Lewis, Rt1,Box183-1A.

Elkmont,AL35620;DanSchroer,R.R. #1,Fairground Farm,NewBremen,OH45869.

BoardofDirectors

Chairman, Larry Case;MembersoftheBoard,David Coffey,John Denmark,Terry Heiman. Leonard Lombard!,Donald Michael,TomMunter.LesThompson, WilliamT.Woody

NationalStaff National Advisor,ChiefExecutiveOfficer,LarryCase;

Executive Secretary,ColemanHarris:National Treasurer, DavidA. Miller:AdministrativeDirector,WilsonW.

Carnes;ManagerofInternationalPrograms, Lennie Gamage: FFA ProgramSpecialist(Awards),Robert Seefeldt:FFA ProgramSpecialist(Contests),TedAmick;

FFA ProgramSpecialist(Leadership),TonyHoyt:FFA Programspecialist(Memtiership),Marshall Stewart;

DirectorofInformation,William Stagg; Director ofFFA Supply Service, Dennis Shafer; Executive DirectorFFA AlumniAssociation,RotjertW.Cox;Managerof Accounting,JoAnn Grimes

Advertising Offices FFANewHorizons

P.O.80x15160 Alexandria,VA22309 TheBrassettCompany 5150WilshireBoulevard Los Angeles,CA90036 Midwestern States Karaban/Labiner Associates,Inc.

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Pennsylvania,Delaware,NewJersey Karaban/Labiner Associates,Inc.

130West 42ndStreet NewYork,NY10036 Peter C.Kelly, Inc.

725SouthAdamsRoad #260 Birmingham, Ml48009 Robert FlahiveCompany 22BatteryStreet SanFrancisco,CA9411

1

41 5-398-4444

ADDRESS CHANGES:Sendbotholdandnewaddressto:

CirculationDepartment, FFANewHorizons, P.O.Box 15160, Alexandria.Virginia22309-0160.

CORRESPONDENCE:Addressallcon-espondenceto:

FFANewHorizons.P.O.Box15160, Alexandria,Virginia 22309-0160. Offices locatedatthe NationalFFACenter, approximatelyeightmilessouthofAlexandria,Virginia.

SUBSCRIPTION:$3.50 per yearinU.S.andpossessions (FFAmembers$1.75paidwithdues).Singlecopy $1.50:

fiveormore 75ceach. Foreignsubscriptions,$3.50 plus

$2.00 extraforpostage. Copyright 1990bythe National FFAOrganization,

703-360-3600

312-236-6345

212-840-0660

313-642-1228

flZT

THE BOTTOM LINE

Your ^FFA

^{membershipdoesnotneedtoend}with graduation fromhighschool.UndertheNational

FFA

Constitution, youcanremain a

member

of

FFA

until

November

30, followingthefourthNational

FFA

Conventionaftergradu- ationfromhighschool.

"That'sgreat,"yousay,"butinpracticeitisnot quitethat easy.

No

oneasks

me

topay

my

dues andjoin inchapter activities.Thelocalchaptersays they couldn't find these out-of- schoolmembers

when

they werecollectingduesfortheyear."

These andotherproblems

make

continuingyourmembership

difficult.Ithasbeen estimatedthatonlyabout 6,000 ofthe50,000 graduatingseniorscontinuetheirmembershipaftertheygradu- ate.

Now

thenationalorganizationismakingiteasier foryouto remainin

FFA

afteryougraduatefrom highschool.Forthefirst

timeever,athree-yearmembershipduespackageisbeingoffered thisspring tograduating

FFA

membersin34states. Underthis plan, astateassociationmustaccepttheplaninorderforthe systemtobeofferedinyourstate. Ifyouliveinoneofthesestates, your chapter advisorwassentinformationdescribing the three- yearprogram.Ifyoutakeadvantage ofthisopportunity,youget adiscountonyournationaldues andbecomeeligibleforseveral benefits.

Why

shoulda

member

continuetobeactivein

FFA

after theyleavehighschool? Hereare justsomeofthereasonsyou

may

wanttoconsider:

•Youwillreceive 18 issuesofFFA'snationalmagazine,

FFA New

Horizons.

•YouremaineligibletoapplyfortheAmerican

FFA

De- gree.

•Youcan applyfor

FFA

scholarshipsprovided throughthe

FFA

Foundationtohelppayforyourcollegeeducation. There areover $400,000inscholarshipsbeingawardedin 1990and morearebeingadded everyyear.

•As anactive

FFA

member, youare eligibletoparticipatein internationaltravelandworkexperienceprogramsofferedthrough theFFA.

•Youcan applyforan

FFA

proficiencyawardduringyour firstyearoutof highschool.

•Youwillcontinuetobeeligibletopurchaseofficial

FFA

itemsfromtheNational

FFA

SupplyService.

•Youcan continuetoserveinleadership roleswithFFA.

•Youwill alsobe helpingyour chapterreceive recognition asoneofthe 100percent retention chaptersif allgraduating seniorscontinuetheir

FFA

membership.

No

doubtyoucanthinkofotherreasonsthatfitintoyour goalsandpersonal plans.Perhapsthebestreasonofall issaidin theopeningceremonyusedatofficial

FFA

meetings

when

the president asks, "...why are

we

here?"andthememberssayin unison,"Topracticebrotherhood,honoragriculturalopportuni- tiesandresponsibilities,anddevelopthose qualitiesofleadership whichan

FFA member

shouldpossess."

Why

don'tyoutakeadvantage ofthisopportunity

now

so

we

will seeyouaroundfor thenextthreeyears?

^^iZ/yinyert^ /J ^>i>^LA\jL<L^

FFANewHorizons

FF/I

NewHorrzons

OFFICIAL MA6AZINE OF THE NATIONAL FFA ORGANIZATION

June-July,1990 Volume 38 Numbers

ON THE COVER

Agribusinesscareers are attracting more

FFA members

everyyear,such

as

Tom

KoepselofBroken Arrow, Oklahoma. Photo byBillStagg.

AGRICULTURE

12

IBelieve...

How

do youfeel

when

yourecitethe

FFA

Creed?

16

European Crossroads

The1989StarFarmers andAgribusi-

nessmenwitnessachanging Europe.

13

Agriculture's

New

Professionals:

Sales

Former

FFA members

SteveBarnes and

Andy

Kuenstleraresalesmenfor Akin Seed

Company

in Illinois.

24

Farm

AidIV

Thisstar-studdedeventdrewalotof public attention to agriculture,butare musiciansthe bestspokespeople?

32

International

Marketing A

Washington

FFA

chapter helpsa localpotatodealer findout

how

tobe moreeffectiveintheCanadianmarket.

31

What's New

It'ssummertimet-shirts,sweatshirts andotherfun

FFA

gear.

14

FFA's

Triple

Crown

Only^four

FFA

chapterscaptured nationalgoldratingsin

BOAC,

Safety

andSuperior Chapter. Here'show.

18

Floating

Tobacco

Plants This chapterishelpingtransfer

new

technologyfroma universitytolocal

tobacco growers.

4

BottomLine

6

Mailbag

8 News

inBrief

DEPARTMENTS

10

LookingAhead

30

ChapterScoop

36 FFA

InAction

41 My

Turn

42

Jol(ePage

FFANewHorizons (ISSN0027-9315),foimerlyTheNationalFUTURE FARMER,Ispublishedbimonthly bythe NationalFFAOrganization,5632MountVemonMemorial Highway,Alexandria, Virginia 22309-0160.

June-July,1990

fiZT

MAIL BAG

IVay

Up

North

I

am

writing from

way

up here in Alaska.I'vebeen an

FFA member

andre- ceivedthemagazinesince

my

freshman year.Inallthattime,Ihave only seen one storyaboutthestateof Alaska.

Fouryearsandjustone story isnot right.

No

oneinthelowerstatesknows anythingabout us.

We may

not be the warmestplace or themostproductivebut

we

deservetobetalkedaboutmore.

Scott

W. Simms

NorthPole,Alaska

We

wouldlovetotalkabout Alaska but

we

don't

know

whatyou'redoing upthere ifyoudon't writeto tell us.

We

depend on

member

input.Let'shearfromyou.

—

Ed.

Made

forExcellence

ForseveralmonthsIeagerlyawaited

my

state's first

Made

for Excellence

conference.

Now

thatitisover,allIcan sayis

WOW!

In justtwoshortdays, the

MFE

staffprovided

new

insightsin set- tinggoals,maintainingpositiveattitudes,

andidentifyingour

own

personalities.

"Thanks"tothecounselors

who made

itallpossible.Theyweretrulyprofession- alsandarealinspirationtousall.

MattLohr Broadway,Virginia

Dropped Ag

Attheendofthefirstquarterof

my

senior year,Idropped

my

agclassand

now

really missitandallthe friendsI

made

in

FFA

atconventions, regional meetingsandcompetitions.

Ijustwantedtosaythat ifanyoneis thinkingofdropping an agclass,don't!

You'll regretitlater. Itwillalways be usefultoyouinthefuture.

Iplanonentering thefieldof agbusi-

RAISING MONEY CAN BE

YOUR PET PROJECTS.

Americans Helping

Americans.

For

your PTA,

church group, scouts,FFA,

4H, and

other non-profitgroups,collecta

minimum

of200 Proof

Of

Purchase

coupons from

40-lb.

bags

of

newly

reformulated

CLASSIC® Puppy,

Adult,Lite, or

Supreme. Manna

Prowill donate 50c per returned

coupon

to

your

non-profit organization.

Put

On A Show-With Manna

Pro.

Manna

Pro hasapacketoffree materials

on how

toset

up your

rules,judgingforms, prizes,

and

otherguidelines-everything

you need

to

know

to

have

apet

show

thatwill

be

fun

and

profitablefor

your

group.

Look on

thebackof40-lb.

CLASSIC® Dog Food

bagsfor informationabout^raisingfunds with

CLASSIC®

coupons.Or,for informationabouteitherofthe

above

programs,write:

Manna

Pro,PetFoods,1

No.

Walnut,Suite 125,Cleburne,

TX7603L

Manna Pro

nessafterIgraduateandI'msure

my

ag experiencewillhelpget

me

whereIwant

togoinlife.

Natalie

Howard

Delano,California

We

are theFuture

Ihave beeninthe

FFA

fortwoyears anddidn't realize

how much

agriculture affects

my

lifeasayoungadult.

Ihopemore youngpeoplewillsignup for

FFA

intheirschoolbecause

we

are the future.

Dan

Smith LakeWorth, Florida

HelloFellow

Members

Ijustwanttotellyou

how much

Ienjoy the

FFA New

Horizons magazine!Ilove toreadabout the national officers and

how

agricultureisimproving everyday.

Beingpartofthiswonderfulorganiza- tioncalled the

FFA

hastaught

me

alot.

Keep

upthegoodwork.

JennieSmart OklahomaCity,Oklahoma

Proud

of

FFA

Igraduatedfromhigh schoolin1980.

That October,IjoinedtheNavy,leaving

my

fanningcommunity.LastweekIfound acopyofthe

FFA New

Horizonsinthe waitingroomatthemedicalclinicherein Hawaii.Itreminded

me

ofthegoodexpe- riencesandlessonsIhadlearnedwhilein

FFA.

My

blue jackethangs in

my

closet everywhereI

am

stationedbecauseI

am

veryhappytohave beenassociatedwith FFA.

Ihavealso started

my

subscriptionto yourmagazineonceagain.

HM^

RobertE.Jones,III

KaneoheBay,Hawaii (formerlyfromFennimore, Wisconsin) Sendlettersor notes with

^

name,addressand chapterto

MAILBAG

.

FFA NEW HORIZONS

P.O.Box15160. Alexandria,VA 22309.All lettersare subjecttoediting.

FFANewHorizons

When was the last time you ^felt

lUce you ^really belonged?

f^

lb

^{..^}

21

m

Friendship.

Camaraderie. A ^sense

^ofbelong-

ing.

Those

oldfeelings

may be

difficulttodescribe, but they're not

hard

toget back.

Thanks

tothe Air National

Guard.

Inthe Air

Guard

you'lllearn

what

it'sliketo

be

a

member

ofa

winning team.

It'salso aplacefor individual

advancement,

too.

Whether your

aspira- tionsare

up

intheairor

more down

toearth,

we can

help get

your

careeroffto a flying start.

Is

telecommunications your

calling?

Maybe

it's

computer

technologythat's

on your program.

Meteorology

security engineering...over

200

job opportunities

can be pursued through

the Air

Guard. With comprehensive

training to

match.

We'llgive

you

the

chance

to travel to exotic locations

around

the world. Collegetuitionassis- tance

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the

Montgomery GI

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good

feelingof

knowing

you're

serving your

country.

What

other job

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you

allthat?

For

aslittleas

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month and two weeks

a year, we'll

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To

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2ZJ

NEWS ^IN BRIEF

Former national officerTerri

Hames

with

MFE

participants.

More Made For

Excellence The National

FFA

Organizationwill conduct32

Made

For Excellence

(MFE)

conferences duringthe1990-91year.

MFE

isa seriesof personaldevelopmentcon- ferenceswhichcenteraround developing a positivementalattitude,maintaininga healthy self-image, goalsetting,motiva- tionand coping with negative peerpres- sure.

MFE

washeldin23states lastyear and hadnearly4,000students participate.

MFE

ProgramManagerKiplingGod- win says,

"Made

For Excellence is an excellentopportunityfor

PTA

members, bothofficersandnon-officers, topartici- pateina national leadershipandpersonal development conference without the expense ofleavingtheir

home

state."

Variouspartsofthetwo-dayconfer- enceareconductedbyoutstanding

FFA

membersincludingformernational

FTA

officers and Washington Conference Program

(WCP)

staffmembers.

The

new Made

For Excellence For Teachers will be pilotedin Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio, Florida, and California in 1990-91.The

MFE

For Teachers semi- nars willbe heldinonthesame weekend dates as the

MFE

forstudents.

Formoreinformation, contactKipling Godwin,

MFE

programmanager,National

FFA

Center,P.O.

Box

15160, Alexan- dria,

VA

22309-0160.

Convention Speakers

Renowned

high schoolprincipalJoe Clark, subjectoftherecentfilm"Lean on

Me"

isscheduledto speak atthe 63rd

National

FFA

ConventioninNovember.

Clarkreformedthecrime-riddenEastside HighSchoolinPaterson,

New

Jersey.

Also scheduledtospeakare

Amway

PresidentRichDeVos,sponsoredbythe

Amway

Corporation throughtheNational

FFA

Foundationandmotivational speak- ersZigZiglarand W.Mitchell.

Good Morning FFA

FFA

wasfeaturedon

Good

Morning Americaat8:30a.m..

May

3.

A

briefspot tapedat lastyear's national

FFA

conven- tionfeatured theband andnationaloffi- cers leading a

Good

Morning America

salute.

KC Mayor

Visits

Center

KansasCity,Missouri,

Mayor

Richard Berkleyvisited theNational

FFA

Center April24todiscussKansasCity'splans for expanding its convention facilities.

Among

thoseannouncedbyBerkleywas an extension ofBartleHallandrenova- tionofAmerican Royalfacilities.

Directionfor

FFA, Ag Education Two

major eventswereheldduringthe weekof

May

14- 19in St.Louis,Missouri.

Nationalandstateleadersrepresentingall

groups involvedinagriculturaleducation metat

Summit

IItoplanandcoordinate thefutureofagriculturaleducationandits various student organizations,including FFA.TheStrategicPlan for Agricultural Education containing

Summit

Resolu- tion,missionstatement,goalsandsum- mary,wasreleasedduringthemeeting.

Laterthatweek,stateleadersmetfor an

FFA

Program Improvement Workshop

to helpteachers betterutilize

FFA

pro- grams.

New Convention

Film, "Leaders

Make

theDifference"

The

new FFA

conventionfilm.Lead- ers

Make

the Difference,isavailableon freeloanthroughVenardFilms, Ltd,

Box

1332,Peoria,IL 61654.Thefilm high- lightsthepast three national

FFA

conven- tions.Thefilmwassponsoredby

CIBA- GEIGY

as a special projectofthe Na- tional

FFA

Foundation.

FFANewHorizons

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iSZf

LOOKING AHEAD

PlantDoctor'sHelper

Plantdoctorsatthe

USDA's

Agricul- turalResearch Serviceareusingamedi- caltooltoreapabumpercrop ofdataon cotton plants.Farmers

may

somedayuse the tooltotracktheircrops' dailyprog-

PlantphysiologistDonaldHendrixuses a microplatereaderto identifysuperior cottonplants.

ress.Meanwhile,

ARS

scientistsareusing the tool'sdatato hasten the searchfor tomorrow'ssuperior cottons.

Medicaltechnicianshavefor yearsused the tool, called amicroplate reader, so physicians can diagnose blood disease andevaluatehormonelevels.Butagricul- turalresearchers are taking differentcues fromitsrapidmeasurementsofstarchand hormonelevelsinplant leaves, says plant physiologistDonaldHendrix ofthe

ARS

Western Cotton Research Laboratoryin Phoenix, Arizona.

"We

canspeedworkin several areas, likefinding cotton plants that need lessirrigation and predicting

how

the crop wouldfare under higher levelsof carbon dioxide expectedinthe 21stcentury,"hesaid.

Linkedtoacomputer,thereaderen- ablesHendrix and colleaguestoprocess fivetimesmoresamplesinthesametime

—

300to400a

week

insteadof50.

He

got theidea forusing a microplate readerin Britain afewyears ago,

when

he saw

scientists usingone to measuretomato sugars.

10

If

You Knew

LISA...

As

farmers continueto explore

new

waysto

make

more

money

whiletryingto reducethe effectsoffarmingontheenvi- ronment,a

new

vocabularyis growing outofthe debate.Thedifferencebetween thetermsisoften subtle,butimportantfor thesakeofclarity

when

discussing the prosandcons of farmingpractices.

Thefollowingdefinitions arebasedon thosefoundinAlternative Agriculture, a reportpublishedbythe NationalAcad-

emy

ofSciences.Other peopleand or- ganizationshaveslightly different defini- tions.

Sustainableagricultureistheproduc- tionoffoodandfiberusingasystemthat increases theproductivecapacityofnatu- ralandbiologicalresourcesinstepwith demand,while earning adequateprofits forfarmers,providingconsumerswhole- some,safefoodandminimizing adverse impactsontheenvironment.

Alternative agricultureisany foodor fiberproductionsystemthatpursues: a morethorough use ofnaturalprocesses such as nutrient cycling, nitrogen fixa- tion, and beneficial pest-predatorrela- tionships into the agriculturalproduction process;reductionintheuseof off-farm inputswiththe greatest potentialtoharm theenvironmentor the healthof farmers andconsumers; productive use ofbio- technology andgeneticengineering; bet- termatching of croppingpatternsbased onthe potentialandlimitationsofagricul- turallands; profitableandefficientpro-

ductionwithemphasison improved farm management,prevention of animal dis- ease,finding the bestcombination oflive- stockandcroppingenterprises,andcon- servationofsoil,water,energy andbio- logicalresources.

Conventionalagricultureisthecom-

mon

farmingpractices,methods andsys- temsina region.Thesechange overtime.

Many

conventionalpracticesandmeth- odsare fully sustainable

when

used prop- erly.

Low-inputsustainable agriculture or

LISA

systemsstrive toachievesustaina- bilitybyusing biologically-based prac- tices thatresult inlessenedrelianceon purchased agrichemicalinputs.Thegoal of

LISA

systemsisimprovedprofitability and environmental performance through systemsthat reducepest pressure, effi- ciently manage nutrients and conserve resources.Thegoalof

LISA

systemsneed notbe viewed as reducing the use of pesticidesandfertilizers,althoughalower relianceonagrichemicalsisoften a posi- tiveoutcome.

Thereportpointsoutthatregardlessof definitions,farmersare alwaysmaking changesto theirfarming systems

when

theyseean opportunitytobemorepro- ductive or

make

more profit. Manage- mentdecisions usually are not

made

based on onegoalorconcern, but

how

itwill affect the overallperformance ofthefarm taking into accountprices, government policy,availableresources,weatherand riskfactors.

Tree Planting Benefits

For people

who

areconcerned about theenvironment,butaren'tsurewhatthey can do, the National

Arbor

Day

Founda- tion suggeststhey plant trees for a numberofprac- ticalreasons.

Trees,throughtheir

shade and transpiration (giving off water), pro- vide natural, "low- tech" cooling that

meanslessneedtobuilddams,coalburn- ingpowerplantsandnucleargenerators.

Leavesworkasaircleaners,reducingthe amount of carbon dioxide.

Due

to the

burning offossil fuels,carbon dioxidein theatmosphere

may

soondouble.

A

tree can absorb26 poundsofcarbon dioxide peryear,orabout2.5 tonsperacre-and replaceitwith oxygen.

Trees provide shadethat helpssave

money

onelectric bills.Three well-placed treescancutairconditioningcostsby1

5

percent. Trees also provide shelter for wildlife,slowrainfallrunoff,preventsoil erosion, muffle noise and providepri- vacy.

As

windbreaks, theycan beshields againstwind andsnow, reducingheating costsbyas

much

as30percent.

And

re- searchshowsthattreeshelpreducestress intheworkplaceandspeed recovery of hospitalpatients.

FFANewHorizons

Now

^Available

on CD

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently completed its first

CD-ROM

(compactdisk-readonlymemory)con- tainingthousands ofpages ofruraland agriculturalinformationtospeed responses fromthe

USDA's

ExtensionService.

Thedisk willenablecounty extension agentsto respond quicklyandeasilyto frequentlyaskedquestionsbypunching upthe desiredinformationonacomputer screen.Thedisk contains universityand extensionfactsheets, publications, fre- quently used databases and computer software.

Thediskisbeingreleasedto 115test sitesintheU.S.whereusers willevaluate itsusefulness foroneyear.Testsitesin- cludecountyandstateextensionoffices andland-grant universitylibraries.

BUCK. The Leader For

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Conferencechairman

Sam

Brownback, Kansassecretaryofagricultureandfor-

mer

national

PTA

officer,said,

"We

be- lieve thatthispushfor industrialusesfor agriculturalcommodities canaddresssuch keyissues asreducingforeign trade defi- cits, helpingmeetenvironmentalneeds, andspeedingupruraldevelopment.

We

canreplaceforeignimportswithdomestic commodities, whilecreating

new

markets forour U.S.farm production."

TheindustrialusesBrownbackrefers toare practical yet innovative,suchas a highlyefficientstovethatcleanly

bums

kernelsofcom;newspapersprintedwith soybeanink;degradableplastics,includ- ingbabydiapers,

made

fromcomstarch;

ethanol,

when

blended with gasoline, reducesairpollution,refinedfromcom;

andnewsprintmanufacturedfromkenaf, atall,thin,fibrous plant

now

beinggrown

insouthernstates.

June-July,1990

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I

Believe...

How do you ^feel when you recite the FFA Creed?

By

LynnHamilton

• _ft

They're

only words.Two-hundred and fifty-eightofthem,tobeexact.

Taken individually, they aren't causeformuchdiscussion.Butgrouped astheyare,theyformthe

FFA

Creed,about which lotsofpeople have been talkingre- cently.

Thefamiliarlines,penned byE.M.Tiffany (Erwin Miltonfortriviabuffs)havebecomean importanttraditionofthe

FFA

organization.

Thousandsofmemberscuttheirpublicspeak- ing teeth onthe five paragraphs, nervously stuttering "I believe..." before intimidating panelsofjudges. Stateandnational officers citethe

FPA

Creedastheir firsttrainingexer- ciseinleadership.

Butwhatreallyisacreed?

What

shouldit

doforanorganization?Webster'sdictionary definesacreedasany statement ofbeliefor principles.

A

creedshould expressthephiloso- phyofagroupanditsmembers.Itdescribes thegroup'sactions, aspirationsand beliefs,

and communicatesthistooutsideaudiences.

New

members are initiated tothe group's valuesthroughitscreed.

Thisdefinition introduces the issues sur- roundingthecurrent

FFA

Creed.Backin1930,

when

thefirst

FFA

Creedwaspresented,itwas written foranorganizationofruralboyswhose maincareergoal wastoproduce foodfora growingnation. The originalcreed, part of whichfollowshere,describedtheFFA'sphi- losophywell.

/believe that the dignityof labor depends notso

much

upon what youdo,asupon

how

you doit;thatopportunitycomestoa boy on thefarmasoftenastoaboyinthecity;thatlife

onthefarm

may

befull,happyandfree,and thata prosperousagricultureisessentialto ournationalwelfare;that

my

successdepends notupon

my

dreams, butwhatIactually do, notuponluckbutuponpluck.

Writtenby an

unknown

author,this first creedwaspublishedinthe1930

FFA

Manual.

Itwasneverofficiallyadopted.Instead, Tif- fany rewroteitsconceptsintoacreedthatwas verysimilartotoday's.Hisversionwasac- ceptedatthe3rdnationalconvention,andwas revised slightlyin 1966atthe38thnational convention.

It's

now

been 24years since theCreedwas revised.Thetimelineitselfisnot soimportant butwhat does matter is

how

the

FFA

has evolved duringthose years.Today,the largest

FFA

chapters areinPhiladelphiaand Chicago, withhundreds ofmembers

who

have neverset footonafarm.

FFA

membersacross thecoun- tryarepreparingforcareersin sales,research, engineering,communications,andthe

many

other careers availableinagriculture.

YettheCreed embracesonlyonesegment ofourmembership

—

^those

^who

^have

^come

from andplantogobacktothe farm.Though nottobe ignoredor forgotten,thatsegmentis clearlytheminorityintoday's diverse

mem-

bership. In atime

when

agriculturaleducation and

FFA

are striving toexpandtheirmission, theCreed,byitsnarrowfocus, limitsthose efforts.

An

ideal

FFA

Creedfortodaywoulden- compassallmembers...nomatterwhattheir SupervisedAgriculturalExperience programs,

home

situationsor career goals. The Creed shouldinspireeach

member

totakeownership in its words,and to trulythe believe inits philosophies.

Of

course, there aremembers,teachersand alumni

who

believethatthecurrentcreed does thisjob,anddoesitwell.Insomepartsofthe country, the

FFA

Creedisasappropriatetoday asitwas 60years ago,and

may

continuetobe forthenext60years.

ConsideringachangeintheCreedhasbeen the taskofthe

FFA

ManualRevisionCommit-

tee.Convened bytheNational

FFA

Boardof Directors,oneofthecommittee's missionsis toconsidertheCreed anditspossible revision.

The Board has requested input from

FFA

membersandadvisors.Ifyouhave anysug- gestions, ideas,orwouldliketo penafew paragraphs ofa creed,sendyourideas to the InformationDepartmentattheNational

FFA

Center, P.O.

Box

15160, Alexandria,

VA

22309-0160.

Virtiiallyeverynational

FFA

convention presents

new

issues,someofwhichresultin dramaticalterationstothe constitution.Change

istheverynatureofaprogressiveorganiza- tion.Those

who

willbecharged with keeping agriculturemovingforward cannotbeafraid tostretchtheirimaginationsbeyondtradition.

This November,the nationalconvention delegatesmight havethechancetodecidethe futureoftheCreed.Whetheritbea revisionof Tiffany'swork,a

new

creed, or thesameone, the intentisthatall

FFA

memberswillbeable torecite"Ibelieve..."and

mean

it. •••

12 FFANewHorizons

Agriculture's New Professionals

Agricultural Sales

By

MollyWilson

Do

^{Travel?youlike}Setting goals?^workingwith

Would

^people?you enjoy being rewarded for your successes?Then you

may

havea futureinagriculturalsales.

"I'll often interview as

many

as 13 peopleaday andtheonesI'llremember willbetheones withthe

dynamo

person- alities,"saysSteve Barnes,aformer

FFA member

fromLicking,Missouri,

now

a regional salesmanager for Akin Seed Company."Therewillbeapresenceabout them

when

they walk in the room, a magnetism."

Barnes spendsmostofhistimetrain- ingdistrictsalesmanagersordeveloping

new

salestrainingprograms. Last winter he interviewed nearly 100 soon-to-be collegegraduatesfor sales positions."The competitionisfierce,"hesays.

Those

who

fitthebill

know how

toget along withpeople."Inagsalesthere'sa finelinebetweenbeingpushy andbeing friendly," says Barnes. "Farmers, as a group, are

down

to earth, reasonable people,"hesays."Mostappreciate agood salesperson.

On

theotherhand,peopleget irritatedwithbadsalespeople."

"PT^A experiences^fitwellwitha career inagriculturalsales,"saysBarnes.Public speakingand parliamentary procedureare natural experiences that will help you thinkandtalkonyourfeet

—

important traitsinanagriculturalsalesperson.

Former

FFA member Andy

Kuenstler agrees.KuenstlerisanAkin Seed

Com-

panydistrictsalesmanager

who

gradu- ated from the University ofIllinois in 1989 withadegreeinagriculturalbusi- ness.

He

had doubts aboutagricultural salesinhighschool.Butaftertakingsome collegecourseshebecameintrigued.

"IfiguredImightlike sales.Iliketo work andtalkwith people,"hesays.

"Ag

sales,likeFFA, isnotjustaimedordi- rectedtoward people

who

grew up ona farm."

Kuenstler'sinterest inagricultural sales hasblossomedintheyearhe'sworkedin thefield."Salesdependsonbeingself- motivated. That's importanttome," he says.

Starting salaries for agricultural sales and marketingcollegegraduatesthisyear are expected to average $25,000, says

Purdue agricultural business/marketing professorDave Downey."It'soneofthe hottestjob markets right now," says Downey,

who

in1983 co-authored "Agri- Selling," a ground-breaking guide for professional agriculturalsalesmen.

Downey

says you don't have to be fromafarmtobesuccessfulinagricul- turalsales,althoughit

may make

thejob easier."Abouthalfofthe75 studentsin ourprogramarenotfromfarms,but

many

ofthemplantobeⁱⁿagricultural sales,"

hesays.

Downey

says a positive attitudeabout agriculture willovercomea lackof farm experience.

"We

encourage ourstudents toget aminorinanothersubjectthatwill

make

them more knowledgeable in a certain area,suchasagronomy."

There'smore^toagricultural salesthan justoffering aproductforcash.Agricul- tural sales ishighly seasonal,

Downey

points out.

You

havetobethere

when

the farmerisreadytobuy.

Kuenstleradds,"Irealized thatagsales ismoreofa servicethantryingtopush something.I've developed

many

on-going relationships

—

Ireallylikethat."

Barnesagrees. "Serviceisproviding technical information, clearing upmis- conceptions, helping producers plan a program," hesays."It'snotjustshowing upatthe sellingtimes,butrathershowing

Former FFA

members

SteveBarnes,

left,and

Andy

Kuenstler are

salesmen

for tfieAkin

Seed Company.

upatnon-sellingtimesandaskingifthey needanything.We'renotalwaysthere to getanorder."

Downey

says there areno naturally

bom

salespersons.Butthere are natural instinctsthat can befine-tuned.Ifyou enjoy interacting with lots ofdifferent kinds ofpeople, thinkquickly onyour feet,andlike

many

variedactivities,agri- cultural sales

may

berightforyou.

"It'salsoimportanttohavea strong business skills," adds Downey. "That meansunderstandingeconomics,markets, prices, government programs and sci- ences."

Downey

believescompaniesare look- ing for employees with business skills balanced with communications skills.

"Companiescantrainemployeesintech- nicalareas,buttheymighthavetrouble teaching them to communicate effec- tively."

So where ^is the action? "Wherever there's agriculture,"

Downey

responds.

"There^'sabroad-based need, butthere are morejobsintheMidwestthan theSouth- west simply because of the numberof farmers,"

Downey

says.

And

ifyou're wonderingaboutdemand,don't worry:a recent

USDA

report revealsthatthere'sa 10-15 percentshortfallofqualifiedwork- ersfor agricultural sales positions. •••

June-July,1990

Capturing

FFA's

"Triple Crown"

Out of 7,705 FFA ctiopters in ttie country, only four returned from the Notional FFA Convention in November ^witti gold rat- ings for

all

ttiree National Ctiapter Award programs. Here's tiow ttiey did

^it.

By

ChantalCochrane

It's

beenalongdayandthere arestill tenthings yettodotogettomorrow's eventready.The^restofyourlifehas been temporarily putonhold,allyou wantisa nap,butyoukeepgoing.

A

lotof timeandsweat goesintoevery eventjust to

make

ithappen.

Why

doit?

"We

wantto

make

a difference,"says SheilaHeide oftheSycamore

FFA

Chap-

ter,about hercommunityinnorthernIlli- nois.

"We

livehere and

we

wanttobe proud ofit,"

Fellow

member Kim

Lenschowagrees.

"Itisupto us. If

we

don'tdoit

who

will?

We

aretaughteverydayinclass that

we

needtoberesponsible,

we

areonlytrying toapplythattheorytoourlives."

Outof7,705

FFA

chaptersinthecoun- try,onlyfourreturnedfromtheNational

FFA

Conventionin

November

with gold ratings forall three National Chapter

Award

programs.

Hard work,acommitment to excel- lenceandchapterenthusiasm paidoff for theSycamore,Illinois;Stockton, Missouri, Denmark,Wisconsin andBison,Iowa

FFA

chapters.Thehonorswereawardedinthe areasof BuildingOur American

Commu-

nities (BOAC), National Safety

Award

Programand National Superior Chapter Award.

Thesechaptersreachedtheir"Triple

Crown"

achievement throughtheirdeter- mination and ambitiontotakeanactive

partintheircommunity.

Teamwork

isthefoundationoftheir success.AccordingtoJamieSwaggerty oftheStockton

FFA

Chapter,"Working together is essential. Our committees research possible projectsand thenthe chapterbrainstorms together, weighing theprosandcons of eachproject."

Lori Michaelson oftheBison FFA, located in Buffalo Center, Iowa, said,

"First

we

talkwithlocalgovernmentoffi- cials,civicleadersandservicegroupsto identifythecommunityneeds."

Oncethechapterhasdecidedwhich projectstopursue,

specific commit- tees are respon- sible fororganiz- ing their

own

event.

"Action takes place in commit- tees," said Jay Vanderburgofthe

Sycamore FFA.

"The chapter de- pendson commit-

tees,withoutthem there

would

be chaos."

"Chapter offi-

^^^^^"^^""^^

cers are there to guide committee

chair-persons and encourage chapter members^togetinvolved.Theyneedto give 110 percent of timeandeffortinto everyevent," saidLenschow."They do notand should notdoalltheworkthem- selves, thereneedstobeabalance."

"Gettingthingsdonehasneverbeena

"We always evaluate the stiow and ^write down suggestions for

next year's committee.

We do not leave

It

up to

memory.

"

—

CoriMichaelson,Bison,Iowa,FFA

problem.Theseniorshave alwaysseta precedent,theyworkhardand theyhada goodtime.

We

werenotawarethatthere wasanyother

way

todoit."Vanderburg added.

"When

our chapterworkstogether,

we

seeresults.

We know

thatourprograms affectthecommunitypositively.

We

are makinga differenceand

we know

that this helps tobringthecommunitytogether,"

said Matthew Erpelding, Bison

FFA

Chapter.

"We

takeprideinourcommunity.Our townisamajortouristattractioninthe summer, therefore,

we

takeituponour-

^^^^^^^"^^~

selvestotake careof thelake area," said Matt Hewstauffer, Stockton

FFA

Chap-

ter.

These three na- tional award-win- ning chapters have found

how

to

make

a differenceintheir community,y^eteach one went about it differently.

Bison FFA

Chapter,

Iowa

EachyeartheBison

FFA

holdsa"Bison Farmand

Home Show"

forsurrounding communitiestoattend.Theday-longshow

is designedfor localagribusinesses to

come

togetheranddisplaytheirwaresand services for thepublictoview.

"We

wanttoencourage our

commu-

14 FFANewHorizons

nitymemberstoshopathome,"remarked Michaelson.

"Why

shouldsomeonedrive 20or40milesawaytopurchasean item thatisrighthereathome?"

Throughthe"BisonFarm and

Home

Show,"anincreasein

new

customersto theareahasdeveloped.The community hasalsobecome moreaware oftheprod- uctsandservices localbusinesseshaveto offer.

Thisevent hasbeensuccessfulevery year.

When

asked

how

they doit, Mi- chaelsonexplained,

"We

have set upa planand

we

followiteachyear.Attheend oftheevent

we

alwaysevaluate theshow andwrite

down

suggestionsfornextyear's committee.

We

do not leave it up to

memory."

Stockton FFA

Chapter,Missouri Stockton tookaboldstepintackling current issuesbybringinginanexpertto talk toaboutthe

AIDS

(Acquired

Immune

DeficiencySyndrome)virus.Thischap- terdecidedtostepoutoftheboundaries of addressing only agricultural topics by concentratingona topicthatisa national concern.

Thisprogramwassetuptodispelmyths aboutthe

AIDS

virus,educatingthestu- dentson

how

itcan beacquired, thediffer- enttypesofcarriers,and

how

itaffects people.Thechapterfeltitwasimportant toinvolve surrounding schoolsas well as theirown.

The chapter also sponsored a Drug AwarenessWeek.Theweek-long event dealt with suchtopics as the effectsof drugs, alcohol,tobacco and peerpres- sure.

"We

^feelthese topics areimportant forstudents to

know

and understandthe factstoallowthemto

make

thebest deci- sions

when

facedwiththese issues," said chapter

member

RichieJohnson.

Denmarl( FFA

Ctiapter,

Wisconsin Members

ofthe

Denmark FFA

Chap-

terhelpedtheircommunitybuild a recy- clingcenter lastyear. "Our

members

attended meetings and met with local contractors and builders to discuss the differentoptionsandsitesforthisbuild- ing," said Dennis Vanderpool, chapter president."Over 300hours were putinto buildingthiscenter.Ithaseight separate bins for glass, newspaper andmetals."

Construction ofthecenterwasthechap- ter'smainfocus,though theyarecontinu- ing tolandscapethesite.

Thechapter involvedtheirschoolby collectingpaperfromclassroomsandtin

from the cafeteria. They also venture outside the school to contribute to the cause.

"On

occasion,

we

are asked to

cleanup parkareasandallthematerial fromthesesitesgoesstraighttotherecy- cling center," saidVanderpool.

There has beentalkabout shredding wastepaper and using it for livestock beddinginsteadof straworwoodchips.

Thechapterhasvolunteeredtohelpthe villagelaunchtheprogram

when

a deci- sionismade.

Besidesthe threegold chapter awards,

Denmark

also receivedan Outstanding AlumniAffiliategoldrat-

inglastyear.

Sycamore FFA

Ctiapter,lilinois

Of

the140

mem-

bers in the Syca- more

FFA

Chap-

ter, only 20 of them are from farm back grounds.Their agriculture classes are

Sycamoremembersareactiveintheir

community, whichis

why

theNorthGrove Association contacted them tohelp re- storetheoldNorthGroveSchoolhouse.

The chapterwasresponsible for recon- structingafence, painting, fertilization, treepruning,weedcontrolandtherecon- structionoftwoouthouses. Theschool- houseis

now

usedforcommunitytours, eventsandhistoricalinformation.

The Bison, Stockton,

Denmark

and Sycamore

FFA

Chapterswere honored withnationalgoldratingsin

BOAC,

Safetyand SuperiorChap-

terawards bytak- ng an

recommended bythecoun- selor as asciencecourseandalso for leadership training. Students atthe Sycamore HighSchool

know

that

FFA

offersachanceforonetoimproveper- sonalskillssuchaspublicspeaking,par- liamentaryprocedure,andselfconfidence.

Members

gainpracticalexperienceat the school's270-acre farm,whichhas73 head ofregisteredSouthdownsheepanda greenhouse.

"We

are fortunate to have these three aspects as a partof ourclass- roominstructionbecauseso

many

ofour membersarenotfroma farm.Thisgives them thechance forhands -on experi- ence," saidHeide.

Sycamore FFA member Sean

McMillan

measures

the fence border-

ng

the old North

Grove

Schoolhouse.

idea,setting agoalandworking hardto achieveit.

Eachchapter'sProgramofActivities isuniqueinthe

way

theyapproachand adapttotheneeds oftheircommunities.

Alongwith anenergetic

FPA

advisor and a supportive community, all three

owe

theirsuccesstoahighlevelof

member

involvementandanunending supply of

enthusiasm. •••

June-July,1990 15