Future Farmers of America (FFA)

Today I'm talking with Kristy at Future Farmers of America (FFA). You can also follow on Facebook.

00:00
This is Mary Lewis at A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. If you're enjoying this podcast, please like, subscribe, share it with a friend, or leave a comment. Thank you. Today I'm talking with Kristy at Future Farmers of America. Good morning, Kristy. Good morning, Mary. How are you? I am wonderful. It's a beautiful sunny day in Indiana.

00:26
Awesome. It's a beautiful sort of overcast day in Minnesota. The sun keeps peeking out. So tell me about Future Farmers of America. Yeah, so National FFA is an organization that allows students to take agriculture education classes and then also participate in FFA chapters. And what that means is along with taking those classes in their schools, they can then participate in FFA events.

00:55
that allow them to really focus on different projects and also on leadership skills. So instead of being like some clubs that are extracurricular, FFA is unique in that it's intracurricular, meaning you have to have an agricultural education class to be an FFA member. Cool. So it's just offered in schools. And I'm assuming it's not necessarily offered in city schools, or is it?

01:25
It actually is. Interestingly enough, we are in 23 of the largest 25 cities. We have more than 8,995 chapters and we're almost a million members strong. So FFA is definitely growing and really gaining interest for a lot of students on a lot of different levels. That's awesome. I'm sorry, I made a bad assumption on that one.

01:55
Okay, so what do you guys teach in the FFA classes? Yeah, absolutely. And Mary, don't worry, a lot of times people make that assumption. It's an easy one to jump to. So our ag education classes really run the gamut, right? There are more than 350 careers in agriculture, which a lot of times people don't realize because we usually tend to think just about production agriculture, but there's a lot more.

02:22
There's aquaculture, there's forestry, there's veterinary science, biotechnology, so a lot of opportunities. So depending on where your chapter is, it could vary of what you might really be focused on. For example, some of our urban chapters focus a little more on the greenhouse pieces or maybe the aquaculture piece. We have a chapter out in the Northeast that really focuses on aquaculture.

02:47
And then one up in Chicago that focuses a little more on agri-science. So it's kind of all over the board. But our goal really is to let students understand that there are so many opportunities in agriculture and really help them look at those career paths and figure out what their best pathway is to a career in agriculture. Okay. So what grade level can kids start taking these classes? Well, we've actually just recently expanded into middle school.

03:17
So they can start in fifth grade. Not every state has that, but some do. Traditionally, most of them are in high school, but we have expanded to include middle school and junior high. OK, and it's offered as an elective, I would assume. Well, so the agriculture education class is a regular class, but then FFA just is an additional piece. Yeah. It's been a while since I was in junior high or high school. But I'm.

03:46
The classes that weren't required were called elective classes back then. I don't know if that's what they're called now. Well, and also been a long time since I've been there too, but I believe that some of the agriculture education classes qualify as science classes as well. So some of them might fall under those science classes and not necessarily elective, it just depends on what those offerings are in your school. Okay.

04:11
I wish that they had been offered in my high school because I would have taken one. I would have loved to do that because my parents were very into the growing things and hunting and fishing and I would have been happy to take an FFA class. That would have been awesome. Okay, so on average, do you have any idea how many kids choose to take these classes? Oh, well, that's a little hard to break down on like how much it would be per school.

04:40
I do know we're reaching close to a million members nationwide. So there is a large percentage. It just depends on if those schools happen to offer those agriculture education classes and if they have an FFA chapter. Okay. And does it, it doesn't cost the students anything to take those classes? The classes don't cost, no. But FFA membership, there is a fee.

05:07
And usually that just depends on what the chapter fee is and then what the state fee is and then what the local fee is. Okay. All right. Well, what are the benefits of taking the classes? I assume the benefits are that the kids are interested in whatever they're interested in and they get to learn about it. Yeah, absolutely. The benefits are kind of twofold. One, it's an opportunity really for them to

05:34
explore those different career paths and see what they might want to really focus on after graduation. It's also an opportunity for them to get involved in their community. We have what we call a supervised agriculture experience, which is a project which allows them to get hands-on learning. So working with the community maybe on some of a local

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Maybe it's with a local farmer or with a local vet where they can work and get that work experience. And that's part of their SAE project where they can kind of get that hands on. So we really like the hands on piece where they can kind of experience those careers firsthand. But then in addition to that, the FFA chapters definitely teach leadership. And we also believe in giving back to the community. So service is also a big piece. So there's a lot of different benefits. And of course, as most organizations have, the camaraderie as well.

06:27
Do you guys work at all with the 4-H organizations too? No, not exactly. There are times where we're like working hand in hand on if we're promoting agriculture, but there's no big partnership with 4-H. Okay. And I don't wanna put you on the spot, but I'm gonna ask the question, is there a reason there's no real tie-in?

06:54
Well, they're just two different organizations, right? 4-H is extracurricular and FFA is intracurricular. So they're just different. Okay. Alrighty. See, I'm the type of person who would be like, hey, we should join up and do a cross thing with the 4-H and the FFA, cause they're kind of related, but not exactly. But whatever, I'm not the one who runs it. Yeah, I mean, we work together on promoting agriculture, but like I said, they're a little bit different, right? They offer different pieces.

07:23
They're also open to different age groups. So that's why they're just different organizations the way they're created. Okay. When you talk about service, what kind of things do the kids do to help out their communities? Do you know? Yeah, there's tons of things that they do. Sometimes they're helping at food pantries. Sometimes they're running the food pantries. Sometimes they're growing the produce that then they donate to the food pantries.

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Other times they might be helping with Habitat for Humanity or they might be working with local animal shelters. We had a couple chapters who worked with the local animal shelters and helped them with their facilities, building things at their facilities or creating dog toys. There's just a lot of opportunities. They look in their communities, see where there's a need for service and see how they can get back. Nice. That's fantastic.

08:18
I had another question while you were talking and of course now I've blanked on it. I'm trying to think and I don't remember what it was. It was something about the kids. Oh, if there aren't any classes offered in the schools that the kids go to, is there any way for kids to get involved in FFA beyond their school?

08:45
Yeah, for those who don't have a chapter at their local high school or for those who might be homeschooled, we always encourage them to reach out to their state FFA association and then they can work with them to see how they can get involved and how they can be still a part of FFA. Okay. And then I'm thinking if I was in FFA when I was in school, I would want to grow up and help.

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like volunteer at the FFA. Is there a way for people to do that? Yeah, absolutely. I'm actually really glad. Glad you asked about that, Mary. So we have an alumni and supporters group for FFA. And the reason we call it alumni and supporters is you do not have to have been an FFA member to be an FFA alumni, because you can be a part of FFA alumni and supporters and you can volunteer on your local level. You can volunteer on your national level or state level.

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in a variety of ways, whether it's helping that chapter, helping that advisor, or maybe it's being a mentor or sharing with members what your career path is. We also encourage people to become a member of our Forever Blue Network, which is basically a LinkedIn for our FFA members and alumni, for them to make those connections and mentor. So absolutely, you don't have to have been an FFA member to become involved and really play a part in FFA members' lives and volunteer. So.

10:08
I'm really glad you asked that question. Yeah, because I mean, I'm guessing that the FFA organization probably needs all the help it can get wherever it can get it because people, bodies help. Absolutely, absolutely. And our advisors are such amazing individuals and they give so much of their time that I know it helps them when they have people in the communities who can help them a little bit.

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on the different events, you know, help them when they're taking students to competitions or when they're taking students to different conferences. So we greatly appreciate our supporters and our volunteers. Okay. And is the FFA, is it a nonprofit organization? It is. We're a not-for-profit. We work with a lot of corporate sponsors who give back to our organization and help us make sure we have the programming we need for our students.

11:03
And do you guys do like fundraiser event things at all? It varies. So a lot of the local chapters will do local fundraisers. So you may see your listeners may see FFA chapters out, perhaps selling mums or selling vegetables or seedlings, or they might see them at Christmas time selling poinsettias or fruit. And that's the way that they raise money for their chapters, so they can go to different events. So it just depends. And then

11:31
Many of the state organizations, the state FFA associations also do fundraising. And then national also does fundraising with our corporate partners, but also with individual donors. So during FFA week, which is a week where we celebrate FFA in February, we have a day called give FFA day where we encourage people to give back to the organization. And so that's always a big success and an opportunity for people, not only to give to the organization, but to really indicate where they want their dollars to go.

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whether it's to program to fund blue jackets for members so they can get their blue jacket, or maybe it's to conferences, or maybe it's just to where the greatest need is. But there's definitely opportunities to get that. Okay, is there a link on your website if people want to donate to FFA? Yeah, actually, I would just encourage them to go to FFA.org, and then they can find information out about the organization as a whole, and there is an area to go for a foundation where you can give back.

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And you can also find information about our alumni and supporters on the page as well. Awesome. Yeah, I looked at your website after I asked if someone would chat with me about FFA and it's actually pretty user friendly. I'm impressed. Oh, thank you. We love to hear that. Yeah. Sorry. Okay. So what do you do at the FFA?

12:56
So I am the communications manager. And what that means is I work with my colleagues to make sure that the information they're putting out is correct, right? That it's pristine, good copy, engaging. I do a little bit of editing for them and a little bit of writing, but then I also work when I get to talk to people like you to spread the word. So I get to work on our public relations. And then I also get to work during our national convention of sharing the word.

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broader audience. So that is what I do. I've never bored. It's always great to share our message with a lot of people.

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I was going to say your voice sounds so I'm guessing you love your job. I do. I really do. Yeah. I really like it when I talk to public relations people. It doesn't really matter who they are doing public relations for because every single marketing person and public relations person I've talked to has just sounded so up and peppy and happy. It's really fun. I think it's...

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I think that you're born with that personality and it just comes through. Maybe, I don't know. I think it helps when you really believe in something. And I, I, this organization, I also was not an FFA member. Um, so I've been very privileged over the last years to become involved in the organization and learn about it. And it's just, it's something I'm very passionate about because I think it's a great opportunity and had I had the opportunity wasn't when I was in school, I really think I would have wanted to take some classes.

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Yeah, I feel like they're probably really fun. So have you talked to any kids that have been through the classes and gotten any feedback from them? Yeah, absolutely. We have a lot of wonderful stories and testimonials from kids about how FFA's made a difference. We often have stories from members who talk about when they took the ag class.

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They were just taking it to get a class in, and then their advisor kind of pushed them out of their comfort zone. We've had a couple who talked about how shy they were, and then their advisor talked about, well, maybe you should try this public speaking class. And the next thing you know, they're competing at a state level and then a national level of speaking to a lot of people. So they really talk about how much those classes have helped them come out of their shell, but really how much their advisors have helped.

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can't say enough about our advisors and how much they help those students really find their niche and where they fit. And then we've had a lot of students talk about how they found their career path. And this is why they're gonna go down this pathway or this is why they're gonna go down another pathway. We also have quite a few students who often talk about wanting to go into agriculture education because their advisors have made such a difference in their lives. That's awesome.

15:48
So I was looking at your website this morning just to refresh my memory on what FFA is and does and all that. And it said something about that FFA has changed in the last, I don't know, few years from being just future farmers of America to encompassing more. So what was it when it began? What was FFA when it began? Oh, sure. Well, it began in 1928.

16:17
with the group of farm boys who really wanted to focus on farming and production agriculture. And so that's how it got its start, really talking on farming and just, you know, an opportunity for them to network with one another and focus on vocational education and agriculture. And then it just evolved over the years. It grew to also include women and let women be involved. And then it went, yeah, I know.

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In the 80s, our membership dropped. As your listeners may or may not know, the 80s were very difficult for farmers. It was a very trying time for them with all of their field issues and just agriculture as a whole was struggling. But then we saw a resurgence in the 90s of an interest in agriculture, agriculture education, and we saw our membership grow.

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And we really saw that people realized that agriculture was more than just production farming, and that there were so many opportunities in agriculture. Like I mentioned before, there's more than 350 careers. Careers that you may not think are agriculture related, right? So like veterinary science or forestry or food science. And we really talk about the fact that agriculture is around you.

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every day, every moment of your life, from the clothes you wear to the food you eat to the fuel you put in your car. You touch agriculture every day. Agriculture has a place in your life. So I think it really hit home with some of our students. And I think they saw that there was a potential. And that's why we just continue to grow. And we continue to share that message that agriculture is such a broad field and there's many opportunities. And we believe our members are going to feel that.

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talent pipeline that there's a real need for. Yeah. Did you guys see a jump in membership a couple of years ago after COVID went through and people started realizing they needed to know where their food came from and have a local source for it? Well, we did. It stayed pretty steady. Um, it stayed pretty steady through COVID. It increased a little bit more after COVID, but we had seen even before COVID, the interest of.

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people really wanting to know where their food came from. Especially with some of those urban settings too, a lot of them started doing greenhouses or urban gardens even before COVID. And then what we found is during COVID, when so many of the schools weren't meeting in person, they were still working on giving back to their community. One of my favorite stories is we had a couple chapters who on the onset of COVID, when so many food banks were really struggling

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have what they needed to provide for people. And then some local farmers were also struggling in terms of getting their stuff to market. We had students working with local farmers, getting the protein, right, whether it be the chickens or the beef, and then donating that to the local food pantries. So it was definitely a symbiotic relationship where those students were able to work with the

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farmers in the community to give back to the community. So, but yes, we definitely saw an increase during COVID and we saw a lot of things change during COVID of really being aware of where things came from and also trying to continue that community partnership. Awesome. I'm so glad to hear that. Okay. So I'm shifting from that to this. I keep hearing the term agritourism when I talk with people who have homesteads or farmsteads or whatever.

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when I talk with them for the podcast. Are you, is FFA teaching kids about that perspective of agriculture as well? Yeah, yeah. I'm actually glad you asked that. So I mentioned that there were a lot of different opportunities in FFA. So we have what we call a supervised agriculture experience. So it's a project, right? And so for some students, it might be raising cattle. For some students, it might be...

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teaching agriculture to elementary students and but there's always a different option of what you can do. So we have some who definitely do pieces of agritourism and it can run the gamut. We have people who do corn mazes or people who might have an orchard and then do tours of the orchard. So it's definitely an opportunity for those students to get creative but they absolutely share with us what they're doing and those supervised agriculture experience.

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projects also allow all of our students to learn how to keep record books and learn how to run a business Which dovetails perfectly in with those agritourism opportunities? Nice The reason I I brought it up is because I like I said I've been hearing that word a lot in the last month and a half and I figured it was probably something you guys at least Touch on but also because we here at my place are building a winter

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greenhouse, like a heated greenhouse right now. And it's a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. My husband told me it would be 18 by 40 or whatever it is. And I am spatially challenged. I have a hard time understanding how big that is until I'm standing in it. And the framing went up last weekend and the rafters went up on one side of it yesterday. And it's huge. And

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it's going to look really interesting from the road. And I have a feeling that when people stop to buy things at our farm stand, they're going to be like, can we see your greenhouse? And I think it may turn into some form of agritourism. I don't think we'll charge money for people to step into the greenhouse. But it's just one of those things that people are really interested in. Yeah, it's amazing. And it's really interesting.

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I think agritourism can be so broad, right? Because we immediately think of the greenhouses, the tours, the tours of the farms, the corn mazes. We have one young lady though, and we talk about outdoor recreation, and she was a white river raft guide. And she tied in the agriculture on her guiding of the white water rafting, because she would talk about

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all of the things that they would see, right? That related to agriculture. So I thought that was very unique, a unique way to make that connection. So there's a lot of creativity out there. Yeah, that is super cool. I'm gonna share a story with you that other people have already heard on the podcast, but I don't know if you've heard it. I was interviewing a young woman a couple of weeks ago, and she raises goats.

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and she raises them for showing them and for milk and for stuff. And I've talked a lot with a lot of people about goats on a tiny homestead podcast because it's chickens and then it's goats and then it's cows and then it's horses. And we're talking away and she was explaining to us about genetics and how you want to have the babies be better than the parents and all this stuff about goats.

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and she is going to school to become a veterinarian. And she said that she had applied for an internship with a local veterinarian clinic, but that she had to be 18 to be part of it, and she wasn't quite there yet. And I said, how old are you? And she said, 17. And I suspect that she probably had a hand in an FFA class or two. I don't know, I didn't ask, because I didn't think about it. But...

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As I have said a few times on this podcast, I think that young people like her are the light and the hope of the future. Because without these kids who are interested in continuing in the ag field, we are going to be in some big trouble when the farmers that are doing it now age out. Yeah, absolutely. And you know, that's one of the things that's really refreshing is we see this membership continue to...

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to increase is knowing that there are a lot who want to fill that need and the talent pipeline of agriculture, right? Whether it's production farming, whether it's more in the industry of like the technology piece of, you know, working with the agronomy, but it's good to see that there is an interest and especially an interest in where our food comes from and taking care of our earth and making sure things are still sustainable. That's one of the things we always talk about, you know, I don't think people realize that

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all of our people in agriculture and farmers are some of the first people to really be concerned about sustainability, because that's their livelihood, you know, to make sure that they're taking care of everything around them. Yeah. And it used to be that the farm families were farm families. It was a dynasty or a legacy. The farmer from 1850.

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had a farm and he had many children and some of those children continued to run the farm and then their children continued to run the farm and their children continued to run the farm. And that's not happening as often as it used to. Yeah, it's not. You know, we've noticed that too. We actually offer a conference that's called New Century Farmer and it's offered to our members who are interested in staying on the family farm continuing that legacy.

26:05
And we offer different pieces in that conference about succession farming and how that looks like and how can they be supported when they're taking over the family farm. Because it is changing. It's definitely evolving, but it is a very important thing for us to keep in mind and support those who are staying on the family farm. Yeah. I talked to a woman a couple of weeks ago. I have many, many episodes I need to get out over the next month. And she has a farm.

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And it's been in her family for a long time, and her kids aren't terribly interested in coming back to continue it. And the sadness in her voice about this was just palpable. She is very, very sad that that farm may no longer be a family farm once she and her husband are gone. And it was really hard not to cry.

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because she is a wonderful person and they have put their heart and soul into this place and it's just killing her that it may not be under their name anymore. Yeah, it's very sad. So when we hear those people who definitely want to stay on the farm, we try to do what we can to give them tools and skills that would help them as they move forward. Okay. So we've got like three more minutes before we hit 30 minutes. And I have...

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question that you may or may not know the answer to. How can the everyday person support these kids that are in FFA and support their local farms? Yeah, so that's actually a pretty easy question. One, I would encourage them to go to our website, FFA.org. Click on the alumni and supporters link. See if there is an FFA chapter in your area where maybe you can get involved, be a mentor to a student.

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or find out what those local events are and just support those students. And then, you know, if you see those fundraisers going on where they're selling those seedlings or those plants or maybe they're selling vegetables from their greenhouse, go ahead and purchase those. And that gives back to those FFA chapters and helps them too as they move forward. So there's definitely different ways that they can get involved. And then,

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I'm just going to do a very selfish plug for National FFA. Feel free to follow us on social media and just see all the different things that are going on and all the FFA chapters around the country. So you can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and of course X. Okay. Awesome. And how do we get people to support the local growers? Because we're local growers and we know local growers and marketing is always the hardest part for any small business.

28:47
And I don't mean I'm not saying commercial farms, I'm saying the smaller farms. Right, right. You know, I think the best way to encourage people to support is, you know, just look at those local growers and if you see them at the local farmers market, you know, have those conversations one with them, but then make those purchases and try and follow the different communities online that support the local growers, because it is important to really...

29:15
look at your local growers and support them because probably many of those are also FFA members and FFA alumni. So it's always a good thing to give back to your community and support your local community. Yeah. And I'm going to, I'm going to say something mildly controversial. It's really not that bad. Farmers are smart people. I just talked to someone last week who was saying that back in high school,

29:43
Kids were encouraged to not go into ag. The kids who were smart weren't farmers. And that is absolutely not true. Kids are smart, frighteningly smart. And I don't think that it matters what field they go into. They're going to take their love of learning and their curiosity and they're gonna direct it to being successful in whatever they choose. So don't assume that if someone is

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digging in the dirt with a shovel and putting things in the ground and growing not smart because they are smart. Yeah, absolutely. In fact, more than likely, they're probably some of the most intelligent individuals out there. I have a real quick story, Mary, to share with you before we go. Um, so we have a national convention where we do awards for different things that students have done. And one of them is called our star in agriscience. And.

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I think it was about 15 years ago we had a young man who was a finalist because he found a way to eradicate kudzu, which is an invasive species in the South that really kills a lot of plants. And not only did he find a way to eradicate kudzu, he worked with NASA and they were going to patent his formula. So never think that just because a student is taking an FFA class or an agriculture education class that they are not smart because they are probably some of the most intelligent

31:07
people that I have ever met. Yeah, and how old was he? Because I think I read something about him. He was, I believe, at the time when he won that award, he was 20. Nice. Yep, I just want people to think about their preconceived notions and maybe, maybe take a minute to reconsider them. That's all. So.

31:35
All right, Kristy, thank you so much for your time today because I really wanted to talk to somebody from Future Farmers of America. I also want to talk with someone from 4-H. I'm working on it because I think that, number one, people may not know how to get their kids involved. And number two, if a kid comes home from school and says, I want to take the FFA class, parents may not even know what it is.

32:05
Yeah, absolutely. And Mary, I just wanted to tell you, while we may not work hand in hand with 4-H, we have a lot of members who are both FFA members and 4-H members. So it is also a wonderful organization. Yeah, I'm working on trying to talk to you. I have sent an email, I have messaged on Facebook and I haven't heard anything back yet. So I'm trying to find my local 4-H chapter and I think I finally found them. And I'm going to email them today and be like, would somebody please talk to me about 4-H? Because I wasn't part of it when I was growing up.

32:34
So, hopefully they'll get back to me. But thank you so much for being with me today, Kristy. I really appreciate it. Yes. Thank you, Mary. I appreciate you letting us tell our story. Oh, absolutely. Have a great day.

32:49
Bye.