President Signs Young’s FFA Bill into Law

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) today announced that the President has signed the National FFA Organization’s Federal Charter Amendments Act into law. This bill will update and modernize the charter for the Future Farmers of America (FFA) to better reflect agriculture education in the 21st Century. 

“Modern agriculture education is necessary to ensure our students are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow,” said Senator Young. “The President has now signed our bill into law to help our young leaders – including 11,000 Hoosier FFA students – succeed in the booming agriculture industry.” 

The National FFA Organization’s Federal Charter Amendments Act updates the FFA’s charter to allow for regional diversity among student officer vice presidents. Additionally, the legislation provides governing flexibility for national officers in order to reduce operational delays caused by vacant seats.

“This is an important step for the future of FFA. The law now specifically recognizes the integral nature of FFA and agricultural education,” said Mark Poeschl, Chief Executive Officer of the National FFA Organization and Foundation. “We’re thankful for the support we received and look forward to our student delegates and board members having new opportunities and flexibility to grow our organization.”

The amendments to the charter will better align FFA’s purpose with the innovative and hands-on approaches that over 13,000 agriculture educators are implementing across the country. The FFA has more than 669,000 members in all 50 states with over 11,000 members in Indiana. Collectively, FFA members earn more than $4 billion annually through their hands-on work experience.

Senator Young touted the re-introduction of the bill with Doug Jones (D-Ala.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.) last month. In the House, the bill was led by Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus (CTE) co-chairs Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA).