First FFA Caucus Established in U.S. House of Representatives
In an exciting announcement for FFA members across the country, U.S. Reps. Tracey Mann (R-KS) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) have established the Congressional FFA Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The FFA Caucus will serve as an informal group of U.S. Representatives dedicated to issues related to the next generation of agriculture leaders and students pursuing careers in agriculture, food, natural resources, and related sciences.
“As a past chapter FFA president from Quinter, Kansas, and proud FFA alumnus, I am honored to establish the first-ever FFA Caucus on Capitol Hill,” said Rep. Mann. “The National FFA Organization plays an important role in preparing the next generation of leaders who will change the world. As a member of Congress and the House Agriculture Committee, I’m dedicated to raising awareness about school-based agricultural education, FFA, and the next generation of leaders who will feed, fuel, and clothe our world.”
The bipartisan FFA Caucus will work to strengthen relationships between Congress and agricultural education students and FFA members and will raise the profile of school-based agricultural education, FFA, and the next generation of leaders in food and agriculture.
“I’m proud to have worked with my colleague, Representative Tracey Mann, to co-found and co-chair the bipartisan FFA Caucus in the U.S. Congress. Although Tracey and I come from different parts of the country, we work together in Congress to protect our nation’s agriculture and perpetuate the involvement of young farmers in our food security,” said Rep. Panetta. “The Congressional FFA Caucus will be another way to encourage other members of Congress to support agriculture, enhance opportunities for future farmers, and ensure their involvement in the future of America’s agricultural.”
The FFA Caucus has two core objectives:
Raise the profile of school-based agricultural education and the FFA organization.
Develop relationships between Congress and school-based agricultural education, FFA, and the next generation of leaders in food agriculture.
“FFA plays a key role in educating our youth and developing the next generation of leaders. With the development of this caucus comes the opportunity to share the message of the importance of agriculture to others,” said Scott Stump, CEO of the National FFA Organization. “We know FFA members are not only our future leaders, but they are the ones who will continue to fill the talent pipeline in the industry of agriculture. It is exciting to be able to share this message with a broader audience through this caucus.”
In addition to the announcement, an official FFA Caucus website is soon to come.