By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

WASHINGTON D.C. — A measure giving National FFA control over decision-making so it can meet the changing needs of agriculture quicker will be considered in Congress.

The bills amend the FFA charter to give it authority to fill all but one seat on its board of directors. Board appointees from FFA must be from agriculture, education, food and natural resources.

Currently, the charter established in 1950 mandates that the U.S Department of Education (DOE) name or approve a majority of the board members, including the national advisor, chair and four other positions. Under the new proposal, only the secretary of the DOE or their designee would have a seat on the board.

Riley Pagett, director of advocacy and government relations with National FFA in Washington, D.C., said control allows FFA to catch up and keep pace with change as it happens. Right now, he said the organization can’t move unless final approval is obtained from a majority tied to the DOE.

Pagett said board makeup should now mirror agriculture and industries with influence on farming because of how technology has brought drastic change to producing food.

“Now is a really important time for us to get industry-level experts and career technical-level experts on our board so that it’s not only Department of Education folks,” he said.

According to the National FFA, it provides leadership, personal growth and career success skills through agricultural education to more than 650,000 students in 8,568 chapters throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands.

Change in board makeup guarantees agricultural education in the schools will stay relevant and prepare students for careers in not just farming but areas related to producing food, organization officials said. The FFA educational model of classroom and laboratory instruction, supervised agricultural experiences and FFA would also be included in the charter for the first time.

Pagett said the educational components are followed already, but carry more weight if placed in writing. “It’s not just us saying this is important; we can actually point to the charter,” he explained.

He also said amending the charter could help increase the number of schools teaching agriculture. He said the U.S Department of Labor (DOL) defines an agriculture job as farming or ranching – but other fields, in areas like science with a link to agriculture, are not recognized.

As a result, some schools have eliminated their agriculture education programs because of the low job count reflected in DOL statistics. “Just because it might not be a farm job that’s available in your community, there are certainly ag jobs,” Pagett said.

The Senate bill was cosponsored in February by Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.), and last week a House bill was filed by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.).

“The agricultural education model continues to push students toward a thriving future, thanks to the relevant skills learned and experienced obtained. These amendments will strengthen our commitment,” said Mark Poeschl, CEO of the National FFA.

FFA was founded in 1928. Congress, recognizing it as an integral part of vocational agriculture, granted it a federal charter in 1950.

“FFA helps thousands of young Hoosiers excel by providing opportunities to develop leadership skills and achieve success. The modern FFA helps students prepare for all types of agricultural-related fields, from future farmers to future biologists, chemists, veterinarians, engineers, entrepreneurs and civic leaders,” Donnelly said.

“I’m excited to be part of modernizing the National FFA organizational charter to help our students fully prepare for opportunities of the future.”

Pagett said the hope is for the bill to be heading to the President for his signature by the end of the year.