Dallas is hosting Texas members of Future Farmers of America, providing a vital opportunity for exchange between industry professionals and high school students from around the state.
The 95th Texas FFA State Convention is taking place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. It started on July 10 and will run through July 14, with an estimated 15,000 students expected to attend.
In 2022, Fort Worth hosted the convention, which saw high schoolers from all over Texas competing in contests like the agriculture science fair and rodeo and participating in various speaking events, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Graduating seniors of the Class of 2023 will have the chance to earn over 140 scholarships worth a total exceeding $2.3 million, according to NBC 5 DFW.
In addition to the opportunity to secure some money to pay for college, FFA student members can connect with leading professionals in the agricultural industry and agricultural science field.
According to its website, as a youth organization, the National FFA — of which Texas FFA is a chapter — strives to shape new future professionals, experts, and leaders through agricultural education.
“FFA develops members’ potential and helps them discover their talent through hands-on experiences, which give members the tools to achieve real-world success,” the website states.
For instance, students from Dubiski Career High School in Grand Prairie spent more than 1,500 hours restoring a 70-year-old tractor for the Chevron Tractor Restoration Competition last October, as covered by The Dallas Express. The competition’s finalists were invited to the National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis later that month.
“If you were to think about the definition of agriculture, a lot of people just think about the production of animals and crops for food, right? Agriculture touches every single thing that we eat, every single thing that we wear, what we drive, what we live in, what we build,” explained Jennifer Jackson, Texas FFA’s executive director, according to NBC 5.
With high schoolers hailing from both urban and rural parts of Texas, Texas FFA aims to make the convention a unique opportunity for shaping the young minds of today and empowering them to solve real-world issues through agriculture.
Dallas is slated to host the Texas FFA State Convention six times over the coming decade. The 96th iteration be held next July at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center.