FFA is a dynamic youth organization that changes lives and prepares members for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
FFA develops members’ potential and helps them discover their talent through hands-on experiences, which give members the tools to achieve real-world success.
Members are future farmers, chemists, veterinarians, government officials, entrepreneurs, bankers, international business leaders, teachers and premier professionals in many career fields.
FFA is an intracurricular student organization for those interested in agriculture and leadership. It is one of the three components of agricultural education.
The official name of the organization is the National FFA Organization. The letters “FFA” stand for Future Farmers of America. These letters are a part of our history and our heritage that will never change.
“Future Farmers of America” was founded by a group of young farmers in 1928. Their mission was to prepare future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing population. They taught us that agriculture is more than planting and harvesting – it’s a science, it’s a business and it’s an art.
FFA is for students who want to engage in agriculture and aspire to be farmers, teachers, doctors, scientists, business owners and more. For this reason, the name of the organization was updated in 1988 after a vote of national convention delegates to reflect the growing diversity and new opportunities in the industry of agriculture.
FFA continues to help the next generation rise up to meet those challenges by helping its members to develop their own unique talents and explore their interests in a broad range of agricultural career pathways. We are the Future Farmers of America, and we are the Future Biologists, Future Chemists, Future Veterinarians, Future Engineers and Future Entrepreneurs of America, too.
Today, the National FFA Organization remains committed to the individual student, providing a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. Our members live the motto Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live and Living to Serve. FFA members rise to the challenge of service embracing members of all walks of life united through FFA. We Are FFA.
FFA is Structured on Three Levels:
Local FFA Chapters
The heart of the National FFA Organization is at the local chapter level. FFA chapter may be chartered in any public school with an agricultural education program.
Leadership is provided by student officers who are elected each year by the chapter’s members, and by the agriculture teacher who serves as the advisor for the chapter.
State FFA Associations
FFA is an organization made up of state associations; those state associations are made up of local chapters.
State FFA Associations function within the constitution of the National FFA Organization but may also create individual leadership structures, awards, programs and competitions.
State FFA officers lead the membership of the state associations and are elected by state FFA convention delegates.
Local FFA Chapters are chartered through the state associations.
National FFA Organization
At the national level, FFA is led by a board of directors and six student national officers.
Together they act on recommendations from the national convention delegates and agricultural education’s stakeholders to set the vision and policy for FFA. The founding principles, authority, objectives and procedures of the National FFA Organization are established by the National FFA Constitution and Bylaws. The National FFA Organization is a federally-chartered organization.
The National FFA Organization is a resource and support organization that does not select, control or supervise state association, local chapter or individual member activities. Educational materials are developed by FFA in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education as a service to state and local agricultural education agencies.
The National FFA Organization affirms its belief in the value of all human beings and seeks diversity in its membership, leadership and staff as an equal opportunity employer.
How is FFA Funded?
FFA programs are funded through sponsorships and individual donations at the local, state and national levels. National dues for each member are $7 per year.
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