The future of U.S. agriculture would appear to be in good hands if you had the chance to meet members of the Lockney (Texas) chapter of the Future Farmers of America last month in Lubbock.
The chapter was honored at the Plains Cotton Growers annual meeting as the winner of the FFA West Texas Cotton Video Contest.
The chapter produced and promoted a video highlighting the importance of cotton yield and the impact cotton farming has on the local community.
Representatives from Deltapine presented the Lockney FFA chapter with a $2,500 donation. Four other FFA chapters received cash awards: Second place (Plainview, $1,500), Third place (Wellman-Union, $1,000), Fourth place (Plains, $1,000) and Fifth place (Floydada, $1,000).
Ten different West Texas FFA chapters submitted videos to the contest. The winners were selected by factoring in the number of online votes and Facebook “Likes” each video received, along with judging from a group of Deltapine representatives.
Learning About Cotton’s Impact
Dave Rhylander, Deltapine marketing lead, says one of the goals of the video contest was to help young people understand the value of cotton in small communities of West Texas.
“It gave these young folks an opportunity to learn more about cotton,” he says. “It’s also a way to reach out and get them involved so that they’ll eventually come back to agriculture.”
The winning video presentation has been viewed on-line by interested parties in 34 foreign countries, as well as 48 states.
Leadership Development
Dallan Maas, Deltapine area business manager in Texas, says he continues to be impressed by FFA members and their commitment to excellence.
“FFA develops great leaders,” he says. “I’m not just talking about agriculture, but for other industries, as well. These young people make us all proud.”
Perhaps the comment of Lockney FFA president KaCee Armstrong summed up the reaction of the entire winning team.
“My knowledge of cotton production increased greatly,” she says. “And we were able to reach students as far away as New York about cotton farming and where their clothes come from. The best part was that it was fun and educational at the same time.”
Monsanto and Deltapine contributedinformation for this article. To view the top five FFA videos in the contest, go to www.cottonvideocontest.com. |
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