Tyler Long and Jace Streater of the Shawnee FFA Chapter in Oklahoma share their plant systems agriscience fair project with pathway sponsor Susanne Wasson, the vice president of commercial effectiveness—agriculture division for DowDuPont.
The 91st National FFA Convention & Expo will feature an innovative experience known as The FFA Blue Room for thousands of FFA members in Indianapolis, thanks to the sponsorship of companies like Corteva Agriscience. Corteva Agriscience provides tools to help farmers–including diverse seed, crop protection and digital service solutions–to produce what our food system demands while being sustainable.
Susanne Wasson, President of the Crop Protection Business Platform at Corteva Agriscience in the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, says Corteva is a sponsor of FFA because they see every FFA member as a valuable future leader in agriculture.
“We have been a long-time sponsor of the National FFA. The youth are future employees for the agriculture industry. It’s a growing industry, so a partnership with FFA lets us meet great kids in agriculture today who could be our employees of tomorrow.”
Corteva Agriscience believes the future of farming depends on innovation. Wasson believes it is important for students to be thinking about their future careers at a young age.
“If you think about innovation, everything is changing at such a rapid pace, including agriculture. Technology is a part of everyday agriculture, and The FFA Blue Room here at convention is a way to expose students to that technology. Exposing students to these career opportunities at a young age could set the path for them as they go into secondary education.”
Sponsorship of convention allows Wasson to interact with students on a personal level. “My favorite thing is running into students who are excited to be here. I have had the opportunities to judge several of the agribusiness finalists, and I am so impressed by their talent, drive and commitment they have to their projects.”
Lauren Schwab is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She works full time on her family’s pig farm as the farrowing house manager. She is a freelance writer and blogger at farmgirlwithcurls.com.
