Guest Commentary

Of the clubs I belonged to in high school, my favorite was perhaps the Future Farmers of America. Growing up on a wheat farm that had been in my family for four generations before me, I had a strong love for agriculture and farming. FFA allowed me to learn even more about agriculture and become friends with other students who liked ag and wanted to go into farming.

While attending Spokane Community College, I continued with FFA, becoming a state officer. Back then, I really respected the national FFA officers. I held them in very high esteem for how they handled their responsibilities and because I could tell they had what it took to become leaders and successful.

I’m bringing this up because someone in our 9th Legislative District recently became the first person from Washington to be elected as national FFA president. He’s Cole Baerlocher, an agricultural-education major at Washington State University. Cole is from Colfax.

Cole’s selection as president means six Washingtonians have been elected to national FFA positions in the organization’s history, three of them from Whitman County.

Another Pacific Northwest native, Josiah Cruikshank, a business-administration and mechanical-engineering major from Oregon, was elected western region vice president. He attends Oregon State University.

Cole and Josiah were among students from around the U.S. who were elected by National FFA delegates this past Saturday to serve as 2021-22 National FFA officers. You can read more about Cole‘s selection as a national FFA officer in this story in the Capital Press. From the story:

Throughout their year of service to the National FFA Organization, the officers will interact with business and industry leaders; thousands of FFA members and teachers; corporate sponsors; government and education officials; state FFA leaders; the public; and more. The team will lead personal growth and leadership training conferences for FFA members throughout the country and help set policies that will guide the future of FFA and the next generation of leaders.

Congratulations to Cole and the other new officers!

It’s time for state to help 4-H

FFA has done much for high school and college students who are interested in agriculture, and it’s got company: 4-H has been equally important for many kids throughout Washington, especially rural communities. In fact, 4-H touts itself as the largest youth development program in the world. And if you think this organization is just about sewing or raising cows or other animals, think again. There are over 150 “self-determined projects” that cover a wide range of topics, from traditional things to high-tech areas like robotics.

However, many others and I are concerned that the decrease in 4-H volunteers and extension personnel, due partly to COVID vaccine mandates, will mean fewer 4-H chapters, which will hurt kids interested in participating in this worthwhile organization.

In the 2018-19 school year, 54,664 youth participated in 4-H programs in our state, but that figure dropped nearly in half a year later, as only 29,265 kids took part in programs in 2019-20. Meanwhile, the number of enrolled 4-H club members fell from 12,487 in 2018-19 to 11,100 a year later. (2020-21 4-H youth participation and enrolled club membership figures won’t be finalized for a few more weeks, according to a state 4-H official.)

Here’s an idea that might help sustain 4-H here in Washington: The state could subsidize 4-H membership fees, usually at least $25, to attract more kids and retain those who already belong to 4-H. There are more than 11,000 kids belonging to 4-H clubs in our state. If the Legislature provided $225,000 in funding to subsidize the enrollment fee, this could help lower the fee to only $5. When you consider how large the state operating budget is and how many items are funded in it, providing $225,000 to help 4-H seems pretty reasonable. Besides, the state provides money to entire schools, including staff, get free breakfast or lunch. When you think about that, it seems fair to me to provide a little state funding for 4-H.