While many students were at home enjoying their long weekend or out visiting colleges during MEA break, a small bus load of the Future Farmers of America were driving about 575 miles to Indianapolis. These students were heading out to partake in the National FFA convention. One skilled extemporaneous speaker (a repeat medalist in the MSHSL state extemp competition), Miranda Felton, was actually preparing to speak in the FFA extemporaneous speaking nationals competition. When interviewed Miranda discussed how FFA extemp speaking is more difficult because the topics are “nitpicky and specific,” as they are related to agriculture. So not only are the topics more specific than MSHSL extemp speaking, there is a broader range of topics. Mr. Pliscott, a shop teacher and the head adviser for the Cannon Falls FFA chapter, has a very lengthy definition for agriculture that Miranda says boils down to: “everything can technically be related to agriculture.” The convention in Indianapolis was not just a brutal speech competition because the attendees also got to attend concerts and more importantly tour and learn about different parts of agriculture.

Attending the convention wasn’t just a fun road trip, it was a learning experience and a “once in a lifetime experience that I will always treasure,” says Ms. Felton. Competing wasn’t the only thing that made the convention fun. Miranda said that her favorite tour of the trip was of a fish farm because it was a part of agriculture she hadn’t seen before. Jackson Maki, another FFA member who attended the national convention did not compete but said that his favorite part of nationals was touring a bee farm because: “we got to bottle our honey and see how a live hive acts.”

While many students relaxed at home or explored college campuses during MEA, FFA students, like Miranda Felton and Jackson Maki, were down in Indianapolis having a once in a lifetime experience. They were discovering new things about agriculture and taking bounds towards being successful future farmers of America.