National FFA Week kicks off Feb. 22

Agriculture is part of our daily lives — from the food we eat to the clothes we wear. More than 650,000 FFA members will celebrate the role agriculture plays in our lives, while sharing the message of agricultural education, as part of National FFA Week, Feb. 22-29.

National FFA Week is a time for FFA members to host activities that raise awareness about the role the FFA plays in the development of agriculture’s future leaders and the importance of agriculture education. National FFA Week always runs Saturday to Saturday and encompasses Feb. 22, George Washington’s birthday. This year, the week kicks of Feb. 22 and culminates on Feb. 29.

The National FFA Board of Directors designated the weeklong tradition, which began in 1948 in recognition of Washington’s legacy as an agriculturist and farmer.

A group of young farmers founded the organization in 1928, influencing generations that agriculture is more than planing and harvesting. It involves science, business, mechanics, natural resources, the world’s economy and more.

The organization’s mission is to prepare future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing world’s population, now at over 6 billion people.

Today, FFA continues to help the next generations meet new agricultural challenges, develop unique talents and explore a broad range of career pathways. Today’s FFA members are tomorrow’s future biologists, chemists, veterinarians, engineers, teachers and entrepreneurs.

National FFA Week is a time for FFA members to share agriculture with their fellow students as well as their communities. Chapters also give back to their communities through service projects and recruit students to become FFA members.

The Abbotsford and Colby FFA chapters will have activities in their schools during the week to involve students in grades seven through 12.