Farmers donate for FFA State Convention in Medina
Photo by Sarah Martin – Two local farms, Dunham Family Farms in Knowlesville and Meadowbrook Farms in Shelby, each donated 500 bushels of corn to help pay for the FFA State Convention from May 8-10 in Medina. Pictured, from left, include: William Martin, Zack Blackburn, Benjamin Martin, Chantelle Kidney, Erin Dunham and Brian Dunham.
By Sarah Martin, Medina FFA
MEDINA – It is not a rare sight to see the farming community come together. The annual FFA (Future Farmers of America) State Convention is no exception.
This Thursday through Saturday the Medina FFA Chapter will take on the responsibility and honor of hosting this year’s convention. Chapter advisor Todd Eick has been hard at work all year along with his FFA students and Medina FFA alumni.
From planning meetings to emailing and sending out letters for donations, there hasn’t been a dull moment in the 2013-2014 school year. The convention is an expensive event due to the meals and activities that are provided to the 1,200-plus students and staff that are participating.
“Our first task was to send out letters to alumni, business owners, and anyone in the farming community for donations and support,” said Chapter President Benjamin Martin. “We received an overwhelming amount of donations and not just monetary. People have been so generous with their time and willingness to help we will never be able to say thank you or express our gratitude enough.”
Two local farms, Dunham Family Farms in Knowlesville and Meadowbrook Farms in Shelby offered a unique donation: 500 bushels of corn each.
“I didn’t just want to hand them a check, I wanted to make it a learning experience for our future farmers,” said Brian Dunham.
“Watching the commodity market is an everyday occurrence and more than just one time a day,” said William Martin. “It’s important that our future farmers learn how to market their crops and know when to price and contract.”
The students did watch the market and saw how the price would change day to day with some days increasing and decreasing. Both Martin and Dunham are alumni of the Medina FFA Chapter and both expressed how proud and excited they are to have the convention coming to Medina.
“I know it’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of long hours for all of the students but I can’t imagine a better opportunity for these young adults to learn how to work together and communicate with others under such stress and pressure,” said advisor Todd Eick.
