SAN GABRIEL VALLEYWIDE NEWS
Winston Chua

PASADENA - One of the taller floats in this year’s Rose Parade came from The National FFA Organization, otherwise known as the Future Farmers of America. The young people of FFA who helped make this year’s float a reality do not necessarily want to be farmers, but do want to be a part of a sustainable Earth. FFA members believe there is a societal misconception about what types of jobs agriculture can include. Through their float, they wanted to raise awareness across America about just how important agriculture is to a healthy society.

“Participating on float was the most memorable experience I’ve had. It was amazing walking through the Parade. The float blew my mind,” said Adrienne Bradley, the FFA representative of California.

The float itself was comprised of three people, a scientist wearing a white coat surrounded by members of FFA from California and Delaware. The California person represented the site of the Parade and Delaware was where the FFA began. The scientist represented one of the hundreds of career opportunities possible through agriculture, that members said often go unlooked.

Bradley said, “It’s about promoting agriculture, that we need agriculture.” She said many people take this for granted, not realizing that all the things from grocery stores or the very products we wear are made possible only through good water practices.

Products from lumber, forestry, cotton and textiles make up essential goods and foods people use in everyday life. Agriculture is an increasingly important issue in the Southland, as Californians face the problem of inadequate water distribution. Not having enough water for citrus fruits, for example, might drive prices up and create an unnecessary abundance of products already present among consumers. The FFA believe they can make a difference.

Bradley said that agriculturists sometimes spar with environmentalists in determining how water should be used, where it should be dammed and how much of it gets diverted to agricultural areas.
Bradley and others will be part of many conferences in 2010, teaching high school students and traveling around the nation. There are more than 300 chapters of FFA in the nation. She said she would like to go into water law, study agriculture and even hold office some day, to bolster agricultural leadership in the government.
Representatives of each of the 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands took part in the New Year’s Day celebration.