At Powell High School, students are able to grow in a variety of ways including as members of the Powell-Shoshone FFA chapter.

On a sports team all the members might have different interests, but for a lot of FFA members it’s a lifestyle, “so that kind of makes us mesh together a bit better,” said Cami Gernhart, who joined FFA as a sophomore. 

Learning to do

“Agriculture has always been a big part of my life. I wasn’t in [FFA] for the first two years in high school, and then last year, it just, kind of sparked my interest a little more [which] made me join,” Gernhart said. “FFA gives you a lot of great opportunities to meet new people, and just kind of gives you lots of opportunities to grow as a person and as a teammate.”

Gernhart joined the Wool Judging team this year alongside Colton George.

The duo originally joined the team partly as a joke, because they wanted to hang out with their former teacher and Wool Judging coach Wendy Smith.

“Then we joined and it was actually kind of fun,” Gernhart said. 

George and Gernhart also joined to be more involved their senior year in FFA. If she had to sell FFA to other students Gernhart would mention how involved the organization allows students to be. There isn’t anything else that keeps you as involved, she said. 

Doing to Learn

Katie Morrison has been in 4-H since she was 8 years old and has been wool judging with FFA since she was a freshman. She was kind of expected to become an FFA member, she said. In her tenure she has seen two ag teachers before current FFA adviser Ben Curdy.

“We had [Bryce Meyer], and he always let me come and livestock judge with the upperclassmen, and I was in like, seventh grade, and so that was a really cool experience to get to come and learn with the older kids.” Morrison said.  “And the program has definitely changed a lot since [Meyer has left] in good and bad ways … so I’d say I’ve definitely had a long time in FFA.”

Similar to Morrison, Rieta Clark has had a little bit of ag experience.

Generations of Clark’s family have been in FFA, and she joined to learn about agribusiness in order to help her family’s Ralston-based business where they do horse sales.

Her time in FFA has helped her learn how to properly feed livestock minerals as well as overall care, she said.

Earning to Live

Even if Morrison’s future goals don’t involve ag, she recognizes the important role it plays in society.

“I’m not necessarily going to pursue an agricultural career, but I think that agriculture is like a major base of anything in our world, and so like everything that happens in life kind of feeds back to agriculture, in a way,” Morrison said. “And so even if I don’t pursue a career in agriculture, agriculture will always have a part in my life, and it helped me grow up.”

Gernhart and fellow FFA member Alyssa Ely plan to utilize their FFA knowledge after graduation. Gernhart is looking at a career in the equine field, while Ely is looking at pursuing a welding career, putting her in an ag adjacent field. 

FFA has helped these students grow as people and in their interests, they just wish they could recruit students earlier.

Living to serve

Powell’s FFA leaders enjoy FFA so much, they’d like to see it available for younger students. Gernhart said adding a middle school chapter, as some schools do, would allow the chapter to have more kids. 

“I think a lot of times we do have recruitment night, and we will encourage kids to come join FFA and try to get them excited,” Morrison said. “And a lot of kids do come in freshman year, and the classes are always big, and then they kind of dwindle … I feel like if we did start in middle school, kids would get excited and keep that excitement.” 

FFA members are the future of agriculture, Ely said, without them there isn’t agriculture in the future.

(Editor’s note: Katie Morrison is a Tribune intern.)