For Immediate Release
Contact: Bailey Hurlbert, SD FFA
FFA Office Secretary
(605) 688-4380
sdsu.sdffa@sdstate.edu
**High resolution photos available at:
http://aged.sdstate.edu/SDFFA_home_files/communications.html
South Dakota FFA Charters Two New Chapters
BROOKINGS, S.D. – The South Dakota FFA Association officially chartered two new chapters – the Jones County
FFA Chapter and the Parkston FFA Chapter – at the final session of the 87th South Dakota State FFA Convention
in Brookings, S.D. on April 14, 2015.
The addition of these two chapters brings the total number of chapters in South Dakota to 81 with nearly 4,000
active members.
The FFA is an integral part of agricultural education by helping make classroom instruction come to life
through realistic, hands-on applications. FFA members embrace concepts taught in agricultural science
classrooms, build valuable skills through hands-on experiential learning and each year demonstrate their
proficiency in competitions based on real-world agricultural skills. FFA membership helps prepare
students for more than 300 careers in the agricultural industry, including business, marketing, science,
communications, education, horticulture, production, natural resources, forestry and many other diverse
fields.
Agricultural education prepares students for successful careers and a lifetime of informed choices in the
global agriculture, food, fiber and natural resources systems. The agricultural education program provides
a well-rounded, practical approach to learning through three components: Classroom education in
agricultural topics such as plant and animal sciences, horticulture, forestry, agrimarketing and more;
hands-on supervised agricultural career experience such as starting a business or working for an
established company; and FFA, which provides leadership opportunities and tests students’ agricultural
skills. What are the goals for agricultural education? The goals for agricultural education are premier
leadership, personal growth, career success.
Three-Circle Model
Agricultural education students are provided opportunities for leadership development, personal growth
and career success. Agricultural education instruction is delivered through three major components,
referred to as the Three Circle Model – classroom and laboratory instruction (contextual learning),
supervised agricultural experience programs (work-based learning) and student-leadership organizations
(National FFA Organization).
About the South Dakota FFA Association
The National FFA Organization is a national youth organization of 579, 678 student members as part of 7,570
local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. As part of the National FFA Organization,
the South Dakota FFA Association encompasses 81 FFA chapters with nearly 4,000 South Dakota FFA members.
FFA strives to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier
leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. To discover more about the
South Dakota FFA Association or the South Dakota FFA Foundation, visit them both at http://aged.sdstate.edu
or on Facebook or Twitter.