FFA & Agriculture Statistics

Quick Facts

Organization Name: The National FFA Organization

Year Founded: 1928

Number of Chapters: 7,429

2008 FFA Membership: 506,199

Largest Annual Event: The National FFA Convention

2008 National FFA Convention Attendance: 53,473

Membership

At the end of the 2007-2008 school year, the National FFA Organization has 506,199 FFA members, aged 12-21, in 7,429 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. This year marks a 31-year membership high for the National FFA Organization.

Demographics

  • 41% of FFA members are female; women hold more than 50% of state leadership positions
  • 77% of our membership is Caucasian; 17% is Hispanic and 4% is African-American
  • 89% of FFA members are in grades 9-12; 6% are in grades 7-8; 5% are high school graduates
  • 27% of FFA members live in rural, farm areas; the remainder live in rural non-farm (39%), urban and suburban areas (34%)
  • FFA chapters are in 11 of the 20 largest cities, including New York, Chicago and Philadelphia

Education & Career Prep

Classroom and FFA activities include math and science, as well as hands-on projects and work experiences encouraging the development of life and career skills.

  • More than 12,000 FFA advisors and agriculture teachers.
  • Agricultural education curriculum ranges from agriscience, biotechnology and agricultural mechanics to horticulture, animal science and environmental science – and much more.
  • Collectively, FFA members earn more than $4 billion annually through their hands-on work experiences.
  • Members can learn advanced career skills in 51 national proficiency areas based on their hands-on work experience. These areas range from food science, technology and agricultural communications to wildlife management and production agriculture.
  • Through 23 national career development events and activities, FFA members are challenged to real-life, hands-on tests of skills that prepare them for the future.

Helpful Info

Industry Support

FFA prepares members for more than 300 careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture.

  • National FFA Foundation has raised more than $187 million for the National FFA Organization since 1944.
  • More than 2,500 sponsors provided over $14.5 million for FFA and agriculture programs and activities in 2008.
  • Each year, the National FFA Organization awards about $2 million in scholarships benifitting more than 1,600 students.
  • The national FFA convention, the Agricultural Career Show covers 300,000 square feet and attracts more than 400 exhibitors.

Agriculture Statistics

Agriculture is the nation’s largest employer, with more than 21 million people working in some phase of the industry. This represents approximately 15 percent of the total U.S. workforce.

  • U.S. consumers spend just 10 percent of their disposable income on food each year.
  • 98 percent of all U.S. farms are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations.
  • Nearly 1.2 billion acres in the United States are devoted to farming – either as cropland, timberland or for fish farming.
  • Each U.S. farmer produces food and fiber for 143 people in the United States and abroad.
  • In 2006, $68.7 billion worth of American agricultural products were exported around the globe.

07-08 Membership Statistics

Top 5 Largest Membership States

1. California (66,225)

2. Texas (63,274)

3. Georgia (28,157)

4. Missouri (24,105)

5. Oklahoma (23,555)

Top 10 Largest Chapters

1. Florin HS (Florin, CA)

2. Central HS (Fresno, CA)

3. Madera HS (Madera, CA)

4. Hanford UHS (Hanford, CA)

5. Clovis HS (Clovis, CA)

6. Chicago HS for Ag Science (IL)

7. WB Saul HS for Ag Science (Phil, PA)

8. Palmdale HS (Palmdale, CA)

9. Galt UHS (Galt, CA)

10. Ceres-Central HS (Ceres, CA)

100% FFA Membership of Ag Ed Enrollment

1. California

2. North Dakota

3. Oklahoma

Largest Membership Growth by Total

1. Georgia

2. Arizona

3. California

Largest Membership Growth by Percentage

1. Virgin Islands

2. Puerto Rico

New Chartered Chapters

117 new chapters in 2007-2008