Written by
Danielle Diele
State FFA Reporter
The title couldn’t say it any better…the state
officers have definitely been “on the go”
since the last issue of New Horizons! Since
mid-June when we first moved in, we have
been on numerous adventures-all of which tie
back to our theme for
the year: Illuminate.
This year, our team
strives to shine a light
on the “me, we, and
industry” aspects of
our association. Some
of the experiences
we have had thus
far include trainings
and conferences
like BLAST OFF
((Building Leaders
and State Teams of
Officers), NLCSO
(National Leadership
Conference for State Officers), in Bryce
Canyon, Utah, and the Regional Officer
Leadership Conference. We also have
met many sectional and chapter leaders
at SOLC’s and
COLC’s. At these,
we have enjoyed
learning about the
different regions in
our state and the
members within them.
However, during this
portion of our year in
state office, we feel
extremely blessed to
be given the unique
opportunity to focus
on illuminating the
agricultural industry.
We have gone on many tours, where we
see all areas of agriculture first-hand. During
these tours, we strive to learn more about
agriculture so that we can become wellrounded advocates for the industry. We hope
to build relationships with industry leaders,
as well as broaden our knowledge on all
aspects of agriculture. Although we went on
many amazing tours, some of our favorites
consisted of touring Bayer CropScience, Full
Belly Farms, as well as Central Valley Meats,
Inc. Each gave us a unique and different
insight.
At Bayer
CropScience in West
Sacramento, CA, our
team was amazed by
how much research
and technology is
behind plant disease
prevention and
recovery. Even before
crops are planted,
scientists at Bayer
CropScience are
constantly looking
forward into the
future, in hopes of providing a sustainable
world. Besides this, we were able to see just
how much Bayer CropScience cares about
agriculture. It is said that Bayer CropScience
has “the head of the scientist with the heart of
a farmer.” During
our visit with
Full Belly Farms,
we were able
to see the true
journey from farm
to fork. On their
400-acre farm,
Full Belly Farms
grows over 400
different varieties
of organic crops.
Here, we were
able to milk a
cow by hand and
drink the milk raw.
We collected eggs
from laying hens that
we later consumed
for breakfast, and
pick the fruits and
vegetables that we
cooked for dinner
that night. During
this tour, we were
enlightened on the
farm’s educational
program that connects
students to agriculture
through weeklong summer camps. What is
awesome about this educational component
is that the camp stemmed from an SAE project
years ago! On the other spectrum of things,
we were able to tour Central Valley Meats,
Inc., a harvesting facility for dairy and beef
cattle. This gave us an appreciation for the
amount of labor that goes into agriculturefrom the cattle rancher to the processor!
Central Valley Meats, Inc. harvests meats for
many companies, including In-N-Out. It was
interesting to see the behind the scenes work
that goes into California’s favorite hamburger.
Through each experience, we became
extremely grateful for the bountiful and diverse
state we live in. We hope to illuminate the
agriculture industry and inspire the chapters
within our
associations to
do the same.
We hope
to bring the
knowledge we
have gained
from industry
tours into our
next adventures
as officerschapter visits! •
California FFANEWS • Page 16 • Winter 2015