J. T.":1jakuqsu said:
The reason for the move to Indianapolis for the National FFA Convention was twofold. One, the National Headquaters are located there, and two, Kansas City was no longer able to accomodate the delegates. FFA has changed over the years as has Ag Education. The changes were needed to keep programs alive. Gone are the days of teaching young boys to be farmers. If that was the primary objective, the programs should all be shut down. As only about 2% of our population farms, we'd be barking up the wrong tree. Instead the emphasis is teaching about agriculture: it's importance, careers in agriculture, skills needed in the industry, as well as developing leadership skills. Twenty five percent of the American workforce is employed in some branch of agriculture, so we're reaching a broader base of students. Students are still very much active in livestock programs, forestry, wildlife, ag mechanics and the like. Also, FFA is the largest youth organization in the world. Improvements could be made, but FFA and Ag Education have to evolve just as the industry that they are affiliated with must evolve.