FFA Students Told Jobs Abound in Agriculture

Between 2010 and 2015, there will be more jobs in the agriculture industry than qualified people to fill them, according to a recent study by Purdue University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That was a message that Stan Ray, chief administrative officer of the Farm Credit Bank of Texas, shared today with more than 12,000 people attending the 2010 Texas FFA Convention.

“It’s an exciting time to be in agriculture, and FFA is doing a great job of preparing young people to fill those positions,” said Ray, who also is a Texas FFA Foundation board member and a former Texas FFA state officer.

“Regardless of what you end up doing in life, your chances of success are greater because of your involvement with this organization,” he told participants. “Farm Credit is proud to be a part of that.”

Farm Credit and Justin Brands are title co-sponsors of the convention, which is being held July 13-16 in Corpus Christi. This is the fifth consecutive year that Farm Credit has been a title co-sponsor of the event.

In addition to the sponsorship, four $2,000 scholarships, which are funded by participating Farm Credit cooperatives in Texas, also were presented during the convention. Scholarship winners were: Kathryn Barber, Morton Ranch FFA; Laura Ehlers, Riesel FFA; Andrew Gresham, Garrison FFA; and Allison Sestak, Weimar FFA.

Established in 1916, Farm Credit is a nationwide network of borrower-owned lending institutions that provide loans and services for agriculture and rural America.