Ag Champions: Helping students become Advocates for Agriculture

Most will agree, American farmers are in the minority when it comes to our nation’s population. At the same time, the rest of the country is three or four generations removed from the farm. That means the average American lacks the general understanding about where their food comes from and the important role agriculture plays in all of our lives and our country. In many cases, these consumers are unfortunately exposed to an endless flow of misinformation in the media and on the Internet. So our challenge as an agricultural industry, is to give them the information to make educated choices.The Nebraska Corn Board realizes FFA students identify and understand agricultural issues. Our intent, by offering the Ag Champions Program, is to encourage FFA students to “agvocate” (agricultural advocates) for agriculture by sharing their story with consumers and accurately representing agriculture.

 The Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska FFA are partnering to offer the newly revised 3rd Annual Ag Champions Program where FFA students can be champions for agriculture and accurately represent their industry online! The purpose of the Ag Champions Program is to help FFA students find their voice and become agvocates by building their own social media platform online to tell their story. The use of today’s technology and social media has taken the opportunity to share agriculture to a whole new level and as the future of agriculture, we need FFA members to lead this conversation. Our hope is that the platform the students build will become a foundation that they can build on for the rest of their ag-loving life!

How do I get started? 
It is up to the students to make their own unique online presence. They can create an ag-focused website, blog, or vlog (video blog). These platforms must be visible to the public and must feature a minimum of six entries, including the topics outlined in the “contest rules” on page 2. The top six students, judged to have the strongest agvocating platform, will each receive a $500 scholarship.

Click here to download a copy of the complete overview