What comes to mind when you hear "FFA"? You might picture a group of students with the familiar blue and gold corduroy jacket. Are there girls in that picture? Are there non-farmers? There should be both. The FFA is no longer the male-only, farmer-only organization it was when it first was established.

The FFA is more than a group of young farmers. It has evolved into a national, intra-curricular youth organization in public schools, providing leadership training and valuable experience in agriculture and natural resources occupations, including careers in the science, business and technology of food and agriculture.

Membership in the National FFA Organization is now available to students regardless of sex, but that wasn't always true. Future Farmers of America was formed in 1928 by 33 farm boys who met in Kansas City, Mo., during the National Livestock Judging Contests. Their goal was to provide leadership training for high school students enrolled in vocational agriculture.

Agriculture was a male-dominated industry then, and so was the FFA. Over time, many of the state associations allowed girls to become members, but the national organization didn't. In fact, in 1930, at the 3rd National FFA Convention, the all-male delegation amended the organization's constitution to restrict membership to boys only.

Yet, many women were full partners on the family farm, working alongside their husbands and sons. Successful Farming magazine recognized the impact women have on agriculture when they featured a female farmer on the cover in March of 1940. Marguerite Craig raised chickens and apparently impressed upon the publishers of the magazine the importance of her role on her family farm. Women like Marguerite helped pave the way for the future of women in agriculture, even though she was introduced as "Mrs. Gale Craig" in the magazine article.

Bob Craig, director of the Agriculture Development Division with the Michigan Department of Agriculture, is Marguerite's grandson. Craig says his family was extremely proud of his grandmother's accomplishment, and he never doubted that she was as good a farmer as any man. In his family, as in many farm families, the women played a vital role in keeping things running smoothly.

As a teenager, Craig knew it wasn't fair that girls couldn't be active members of FFA. He attended vocational agriculture classes at Ovid-Elsie High School with several girls. He visited some of their farms and saw that they could do farm work "just as good as the guys."

Although girls were allowed to participate in chapter and state FFA activities, they were not admitted to membership in the national organization. Therefore, they could not compete in contests, attend national leadership seminars and programs, nor become national FFA officers.

In 1967, a resolution was presented at the FFA National Convention to allow girls into the organization. It was defeated. Efforts also failed in 1968, when a "parliamentary procedural trick" prevented a vote from even taking place, according to Craig.

In 1969, Craig was elected state president of the Michigan Association of FFA. The departing president, Dick Posthumus, encouraged Craig to continue the fight to allow girls into the organization. Craig and other officers planned, lobbied and organized a campaign to present a strong case to the national delegation. He consulted with other state FFA presidents on the subject and set out for the 42nd Annual FFA National Convention in Kansas City, Mo.

As in the two previous years, a motion was made to amend the national FFA constitution to allow girls into the national organization. Craig seconded the motion, a vote was taken, and this time the amendment passed overwhelmingly, allowing full membership rights and benefits to women in FFA.

Today, the National FFA Organization has more than 450,000 members. Women make up 35 percent of the membership and 47 percent of the leadership.

To learn more about the history of FFA, visit the National FFA Organization's web site at  www.ffa.org.

Source:

National FFA Organization -  www.ffa.org, 8/20/2002