May 27, 2005

76th Indiana FFA State Convention set for June 13-17

Even as the number of small, family farms in Indiana slowly decreases, membership is on the rise in FFA, an agricultural youth organization.

The Indiana FFA organization has about 9,200 members, and that number steadily grows each year. Not all FFA members come from farms either. In fact, only about one-third of the organization is made up of members with farm backgrounds; the other two-thirds come from non-farm, suburban and urban areas. What these high school students have in common is a love of agriculture. FFA offers members the chance to meet other students from around the state that share that interest while also having access to leadership and educational opportunities.

One place these students have a chance to meet one another is at the Indiana FFA State Convention, which takes place each summer at Purdue University. The 76th annual convention will be June 13-17 on Purdue's West Lafayette campus.

Almost all of Indiana's 184 FFA chapters will be represented at the convention, with about 3,000 FFA members, advisers and parents in attendance. Included in the convention's activities are recognizing the state's top chapters, electing a new state officer team, a performance by the FFA State Chorus, and a two-day trade show that gives FFA students a chance to explore college and career possibilities.

CONTACT: Craig Rebich, who is in charge of program content, (317) 232-9171, crebich@doe.state.in.us; John Wellman, Purdue Conference Division associate director, Purdue, (765) 494-0243, jmw@purdue.edu

Writer: Jennifer Culy, (765) 494-8402, jculy@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page

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