In the Hollywood-themed general session of the 94th Future Farmers of America state convention Tuesday night in Elliot Hall, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said he was glad the students were in “Hoosier-wood” instead.
His speech highlighted the advances in agriculture-related technology over the past few decades and in the last century.
“We’re not just growing plants, but we’re doing plant genetics,” Holcomb said. “We’re not just growing livestock, we’re making animals healthier along the way …. and it all traces back to what you’re learning today.”
The hall’s first floor was flooded with almost 1,300 Future Farmers of America students, almost all of whom were wearing their iconic blue corduroy jackets with yellow lettering on the breast and back.
“As you think about your next chapters,” Holcomb said, “think about discovering more in Indiana. Think about what you can contribute to where our state is and where our state — more importantly — is going.”
Indiana, he said, is home to career paths in every sector relating to agriculture.
“You would be just as likely to be forging your future, not just out of the forest or in a field on a farm, but you might be forging it out of a lab,” he said. “Or both.”
Throughout the two-hour event, the hosts, Indiana FFA Secretary Tobias Sturgell and Vice President Jenna Kelsay, spent much of it thanking their sponsors and former FFA members for giving them the opportunity to be part of the FFA.
Over the past year, Indiana’s FFA raised about $1.3 million, from individual and corporate donors as well as chapters’ fundraising events, Sturgell said.
A little past the halfway mark, Sturgell came onto the stage with a euphonium and played "Imperial March" from "Star Wars." Kelsay, dressed as Princess Leia, used a plastic lightsaber to fight someone dressed as Darth Vader.
The two pretended to argue about Kelsay’s costume, which Sturgell said should have been a Jedi costume.
Source: purdueexponent.org
Photo Credit: istock-shironosov
Categories: Indiana, Education, Livestock