FFA is worth celebrating

“Learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, living to serve.” — FFA mottoThose words are well known by the nearly 550,000 members of the FFA nationwide who have committed themselves to what is arguably the best-known agricultural student group in history. Formerly known as “Future Farmers of America,” the FFA was founded in 1928 by a group of young farmers. According to its website, their goal was to “prepare future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing population .... [which] taught us that agriculture is more than planting and harvesting — it’s a science, it’s a business and it’s an art.”That mission is alive and well in the Pine Plains Central School District, which has done an exemplary job of preserving and promoting the FFA within not only its hallways, but throughout the community. While practically every school district in the Hudson Valley has done away with the FFA, Pine Plains has seen its chapter thrive and students flourish through the program.According to its website, the FFA aims to make “a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education ... and develops interpersonal skills in teamwork, communications, human relations and social interaction.”There is no doubt students who participate in the FFA benefit from doing so. So, too, does the community. That symbiotic relationship was celebrated on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 5 and 6, during the Pine Plains FFA Fall Festival. The event is one the entire Harlem Valley looks forward to each and every year. There are always so many great ag-related activities to celebrate at the fair — the only chance for many to get a glimpse of the different facets of agriculture. The festival, and of course the much-beloved parade, bring neighbors, friends and families together for two days of learning and fun.The Pine Plains Central School District should be commended for its steady support of the FFA, and the Board of Education lauded for approving the stipend to back the program — let’s hope they continue to do so in the future. The students who participate in the FFA clearly love it. In fact, they revel in it, and thrive under the leadership of FFA Advisor Christine Mac Neil, who should be praised for her hard work, dedication and obvious talent at running the program.The FFA serves the students well, and also the surrounding community, which was once deeply entrenched in the farming lifestyle. Although the dairy farms that dotted the countryside are now far and few between, the FFA teaches our children about those traditions and how agriculture has grown and changed in the new millennium. Those lessons are worth protecting, and the fact students are interested in learning about them is indeed encouraging. Thankfully the school district also supports the program.All told there’s little doubt that in Pine Plains the FFA is alive and well, keeping plenty busy feeding fertile minds just as adroitly as it does fields and crops.