Secretary Perdue discusses the importance of communication during the National FFA Convention

Oct 30, 2017

He also encouraged future farmers to be active in agricultural policy development

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue challenged attendees of the 90^th National FFA (Future Farmers of America) Convention in Indianapolis, IN to communicate their ag pride.

And, with the world at their fingertips, that means communication can take on a number of meanings.

“We’re in the 21^st century and (we have) different communication techniques, methodologies and protocols,” he said Wednesday, according to the Ind ianapolis Star. “We’ve got to be more aggressive advocates.”

If there used to be a time when farmers kept to themselves and focused solely on their farms, that time is over, Perdue said.

“No longer can we sit behind our farms and fences and farm gates and think that everything is going to be okay because we’re just good guys and we just grow good, healthy food,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to persuade and I think these young people will be great advocates for consumerism.”

And six specific FFA members are tasked with representing tomorrow’s farmers and telling their stories.

FFA delegates elected the new National FFA Officer Team for 2017-2018 at the Convention.

Breanna Holbert, an agricultural education major at California State University of Chico, was elected national president. She’s also the first African American woman to hold that position.

Erica Baier, an ag education major at Iowa State University, will hold the position of national secretary.

Piper Merritt, an ag economics major at Oklahoma State University, steps into the role of central region vice-president.

Bryce Cluff, an ag technology and management: education major at the University of Arizona, will be the western region vice-president.

Ian Bennett, an agriscience and environmental systems major at the University of Georgia, will serve as the southern region vice-president.

Gracie Furnish, a career and technical education major at the University of Kentucky, takes on the role of the eastern region vice-president.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.