FFA Advisors Help Soldiers' Mission in Afghanistan

The Indiana National Guard' Agribusiness Development Team is preparing students in Afghanistan to become the future leaders of their country's agriculture industry.



And, they're getting a little help from Indiana's agriculture teachers and FFA advisors.



The 3-19th agribusiness team requested lesson plans from each of Indiana's 186 National FFA Organization chapters to help provide Afghan youth with practical experiences in agriculture.



Financial management and record keeping are critical tasks for the Afghan students as they work towards establishing profitable, sustainable agribusinesses.



U.S. Army Maj. Jeremy Gulley, who oversees the program, explains the purpose of their mission:



"Improved education will illuminate the path to a future that thirty years of war has made impossible and unknowable."



We thank the 3 - 19th agribusiness team, and all U.S. soliders, for helping secure a better future for our country and for the world.



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For more information about the 3-19th and their mission, and agriculture in Afghanistan, check out these links:

• Press Release: Indiana Future Farmers Assisting Khost Agricultural Students


• Agribusiness Development Team's Website


• Agribusiness Development Team's Photo Essays
  
• Agriculture in Afghanistan (USDA)

Meet FFA's First Lumberjack Team

The Wamogo High School FFA Chapter in Connecticut recently started what is believed to be the first-ever FFA Lumberjack Team.

Before the invention of chainsaws, feller-bunchers and other modern logging equipment, lumberjacks were men who harvested and transported trees for processing into lumber and other forest products. Today, we usually refer to people who work in this industry as "loggers."

Today's lumberjack and lumberjill can be found at Timbersports competitions. These competitions acknowledge the rich history of forestry and logging and keep agricultural traditions alive.

The Wamogo FFA team participated in their first competitions this past fall at two local fairs in Goshen and Bethlehem, Conn.

Events included the axe throw, two person cross cut saw, and log roll.

The members are planning to add the Jack and Jill cross cut next year, and the Bow Saw in two years.

In this year's events, team member Erik Bagley placed 6th out of more than 50 participants in the axe through at the Goshen fair. And, the team placed in the log roll at the Bethlehem fair.

The lumberjack team got its start with the help of professional lumberjill Shannon Strong of Warren, Conn. Shannon was a participant in ESPN's "Great Outdoor Games."

The team's members are Patrick Lucas, Hunter Garlasco, Erik Bagley, Matt Squires, Devin Savoy and Kimi Sekorski.

Want to learn more about logging and forestry careers?

• Check out this cool 3-D tour of modern day logging from the History Channel's "Ax Men."
  
• Learn more about FFA's Forest Management and Products Proficiency Award and Forestry Career Development Event.