National FFA Week is scheduled for Feb. 19-26. Each year, FFA chapters around the country celebrate National FFA Week and the organization’s emphasis on leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.
Ag teachers in Weakley County Schools are Jason Kemp, Jonathan Holden, and Jessica Browning in Dresden; Archie Rich in Gleason; Matthew Humphrey in Greenfield and David Hochreiter and Kyle Rogers at Westview. Holden, Rich, Humphrey, Hochreiter and Rogers also serve as the FFA Advisors. Lindsey Parham, Career and Technical Education Director for Weakley County Schools, supports their work.
Nearly 600 Weakley County students this year are choosing from a variety of ag-based options for classes including Large Animal and Small Animal Vet Science, Ag Science, Ag Mechanics. Ag Power and Equipment, Landscape and Turf Management, Greenhouse, Ag Engineering, Natural Resource Management, Applied Environmental Science, and Plant Science.
In 2020, the Tennessee FFA Association, became an affiliated state association within the National FFA Organization. Under the affiliation program, all enrolled students in local agricultural education programs are considered official FFA members. The Tennessee FFA Foundation provides the financial support for Affiliate Membership.
FFA members compete in local, state, and national competitions. They fundraise to cover the costs of travel and additional resources. Fundraisers include fruit sales in the fall and strawberry sales in the spring. Westview and Dresden – which currently have operational greenhouses – schedule plant sales in the spring. FFA Alumni support annual auctions at Dresden and Westview as well.
Dresden’s 9th Annual FFA Alumni Auction is scheduled for March 5 at the Dresden High School gymnasium. Food will be served at 6:00 p.m. for those who have purchased the $5 tickets. A limited amount of dinner tickets will be available for purchase at the door. The auction begins at 7:00 p.m. Entry to the auction is free. All proceeds go to Dresden FFA.
Westview’s FFA Alumni Auction and Dinner is set for March 4 at 6 p.m. in the Westview Cafeteria. The menu features grilled meat with sides, drinks, and desserts. Adult dinner tickets are $10. Children ten and under eat for $5.
Dual enrollment classes with the University of Tennessee at Martin’s department of Agriculture, Geosciences, & Natural Resources and the Weakley County Schools Livestock Production Farm expand the range of opportunities open to ag students.
UTM professors invite students into labs and/or offer expertise on the Livestock Production Farm related to topics such as emerging technologies in artificial insemination, estrus synchronization, ultrasound, and palpitation. The farm is also increasing research and demonstration plots to include both corn and soybeans. Other farm improvements planned are investigating the use of beef products from the farm in school cafeterias (already offering pork from student-raised swine), replacing cattle-working equipment, and building a structure with bleachers for students to observe procedures.
Additional Farm collaborators include Nutrien, Weakley Farmers Co-op, and Tosh Farms.
In addition to gaining knowledge and academic credits, ag students are also contributing to the arts and overall experiences of their fellow students. Last year, Greenfield ag students built exhibit pieces for the Weakley County Schools Art Show. This year ag students across the county will design and build guitar stands for the Art Show’s new feature Upcycled: Guitars as Art competition. Westview ag students are constructing staging elements for Weakley Playhouse’s theatrical production of Romeo and Juliet. CNC machines at each school are providing for signage and adding to school-based enterprise options.