In late October, Marion FFA attended the 98th Annual FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, and had a productive, enjoyable trip. 

It started with a trip to the Wegmans Organic Farm to learn more about sustainability practices in addition to visits to the apiary, orchards and indoor growing spaces. Following that, students went to 5 Wits, where they grouped with students from other FFA District 8 chapters (the Finger Lakes region, all the way down to Elmira) to participate in live-action immersive experiences, such as space shuttles and dragon caves. 

Day 2 started with a trip to Lincoln Electric Headquarters where students got to explore the welding school, careers in welding, and a behind the scenes tour of the production facility where they make and assemble their welders and products! We saw massive 3-D printers, assembly lines, automated magnetic painters, and more! Students asked great questions about topics such as what they do with their waste materials, women in welding careers, and changes to the industry with increased robotic technology. 

After Lincoln Electric in Pennsylvania, we drove to Hord Farms in Bucyrus, Ohio. Hord Farms is a family-owned swine producer. While we were unable to go in the barns for biosecurity reasons, we got to do a live virtual tour of one of the piglet nurseries and learned about hog production from the moment the sow delivers her piglets to the processing that creates pork products we know and love. We also got to conduct a hands-on experiment to show how diseases can quickly spread between animals to better understand the need for strict biosecurity protocols. 

On Day 3, we went to Jungle Jim’s International market, a grocery store like no other! We were led on a guided tour by Jungle John (fully equipped with his jungle apparel). We saw giant animated displays such as a massive Robin Hood scene, a swinging and singing Campbell’s soup can bigger than us, and more! We were fascinated by exotic fruits, giant fish in a bath tub, exotic meats such as camel, and foods from around the globe. On our tour, we sampled a variety of unique foods and drinks, including some dried meal worms! Following the market and lunch, we arrived early to downtown Indianapolis and had time to explore a small piece of the city. 

Day 4 featured a trip to Tulip Tree Creamery, where we got to see how cheese is made from raw milk and turned into so many different types and flavors. We sampled award-winning brie, gouda, cheddar and watched a mozzarella making demonstration before sampling fresh mozzarella as well. 

When we arrived at National Convention, we attended Opening Session. Sessions at nationals are held in Lucas Oil Stadium (the Colts football stadium) and each session featured pre-session dancing and activities, National Officers, speeches, awards and more. It is incredibly powerful to see so many FFA members from all over the country gather together and mingle! This year there were over 74,000 people attending convention! The opening session featured the Governor of Indiana and keynote speaker, A’ric Jackson. 

Days 5 and 6 were all about exploring Convention! We had a great time in the Shopping Mall section, which includes an FFA Mega Store and many popular brands. The Expo Center is a whole experience! In a huge space, agricultural companies and colleges from every state have booths set up with giveaways, activities and lots of information. Free ice cream, hats, squishees, water bottles, shirts, custom bandanas, posters, and more had us getting a workout with all the goodies we collected! 

It is a Nationals tradition to try to collect as many pins as you can on your lanyard, and each year FFA has a set of pins you can earn by completing tasks related to community service, workshops, sustainability, good citizenship and more. Both the students and Mrs. Lachnor participated in a variety of workshops including topics such as entrepreneurship, growing yourself as a leader, welding certification pathways and getting GMOs to market. 

Additionally, we watched various competitions and explored student SAE research projects at the Agriscience Fair. In the afternoon, we attended another session and had the privilege of seeing our District 8 President win First Place for her Agriscience project on herbicide resistance! On Friday night, we did a tailgating dinner at the Indiana State Fair Grounds before heading in to see Three Hills Rodeo. Dylan assisted with the flag presentation to kick off the rodeo. We had a great time watching all of the animals and cowboys compete, including T. Parker, a famous social media influencer we had bumped into on the street and taken photos with the day before. It was a fun and memorable experience at the rodeo! 

Once we arrived back at the hotel, many students changed into costumes and participated in Trick-Or-Treating at the advisors rooms. In one group, we had a whole herd of farmers and livestock, including an inflatable cow costume, wandering through the hotel! It was a sight to see! On our last day, we attended the final session to see New York members receive their American Degrees and began the long drive home with all of the great items, friendships, and memories we acquired at convention.