Enterprising FFA Officer Helps ‘Create A Future’ For Youth
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
WESTFIELD. N.Y. BUI
Catania wants to convert his love
of landscaping into a project that
will show youth in the country that
there is a future for them in
agriculture.
The newly installed national
FFA eastern region vice president
said that while a third of the
nation’s students are from a farm
background, two-thirds don’t real
ize how vital agriculture is to the
livelihood of many.
During FFA Week, his team of
national FFA officers have
devoted themselves to their theme.
‘ ‘Create A Future.’ ’ In the coming
National FFA Week, they intend to
reach out to today’s youth, many
of whom believe there is no future.
And while Catania intends to
use his experiences to shape a
future for himself in agricultural
education, the New York state
FFA president has big plans after
college.
Catania, 19, grew tip on his fam
ily’s 30-acre grape orchard. While
working for his father and grand
father, Catania took care of the
Concord and Niagara grapes, help-
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ing to tie and prune them, in addi
tion to other chores, including
pulling brush. He also worked on
his Westfield High School farm, a
one-acre grape farm that involved
work such as pounding in posts,
applying herbicides and pesti
cides, and harvesting.
The work was hard. According
to Catania, growing one acre of
grapes is equivalent in labor to
growing 10 acres of com. “It
keeps us really busy,’’ he said.
“Harvesting is something I real
ly enjoy,” he said, noting that the
harvest season is a “really special
time of year. "Harvest season lasts
from Sept 1-Oct IS.
In the past three years, Catania
has worked for a landscape com
pany and wants to continue work
ing there after his duties with the
national FFA are complete.
In a telephone interview this
week with Lancasttr Faming,
Catania spoke about his plans as a
national FFA officer and about his
future after college.
Catania noted that while many
high school teachers have a three
month break during the summer,
high school ag science teachers
and FFA instructors must be
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Bill Catania, aaatam region
national FFA vica president,
wants to convert his love of
landscaping Into a project
that will show youth In the
country that there Is a future
for them In agriculture.
involved in projects. One project
that is alluring to the eastern region
vice president involves setting up
contracts between FFA members
and regional firms to install
landscaping.
This provides a “veal world”
approach so FFA members can
develop sales and public relations
skills that can prepare diem in a
vital way for what they face after
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Fabruary t7,1M6-A27
school. This is accomplished
through supervised agricultural
experience (SAE) programs
through the chapter FFAs.
“We tty to educate die whole
person.” said Catania. “We look
at how the students, once they
leave the educational setting and
get through college, function in
society.” FFA prepares a code of
ethics that puts a lot of emphasis on
service and integrity.
Catania’s adviser is Phil
Baideme.
Next week, when Catania visits
Washington, he will be part erf
“shadowing day” when he will
meet employees of USDA and
work at their side to see if FFA
members would enjoy a career in
that aspect of agriculture. He also
plans to meet with other FFA offic
ers. Several of them will also visit
many states in the Northeast in the
coming weeks.
Catania is one of six national
FFA officers who begin a two
week series of business and indus
try visits from Feb. 26 through
March 8.
Catania and the officers of FFA,
accompanied by representatives of
the National FFA Foundation, will
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Delaware
Georgetown
Baxter Farms
Maryland
Dayton
J.D. Mullinix
Lineboro
Wertz Farm Equipment
Rising Sun
Biggs Inc
New Jersey
Bridgeton
Leslie G. Fogg
Columbus
Reed Brothers
Shioh
Farm Rite
Pennsylvania
. Airville
Farmers Equipment & Supply
Bechtelsville
Miller Equipment
Bethel
Zimmerman’s Farm Service
Bloomsburg
William F. Welliver
Carlisle
Carlisle Farm Service
Chambersburg
Chambersburg Farm Service
Cochranville
Stoltzfus Farm Service
Dover
George N. Gross
Easton
Fancy Furrow Farm
Greencastle
Meyers Implements
Honesdale
Marshall Machinery
Jersey Shore
Thomas 1.. Dunlap
Klingerstown
Stanley’s Farm Service
Lebanon
Umbcrgcrs of Fontana
Mahaffey
Hutton Farm Supply
Mifflinburg
B, S&B Repair
New Bethlehem
Hetrick Farm Supply
Oakland Mills
Peoples Sales & Service
Quarryville
A..L. Herr
Somerset
Lincoln Supply
travel to Connecticut, Delaware,
Illinois, lowa, Michigan, Missour
i, Nebraska, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania. Tennessee,
Texas. Wisconsin, and Washing
ton. D.C.
“The best way for our national
officers to learn about current
issues in agribusiness and the food
industry is to talk to leaden in
those areas,” said Larry D. Case,
national FFA adviser and coordi
nator of agricultural and rural edu
cation, U.S. Dept of Education, in
an FFA release. “By the same
token, the best way for industry
leaden to leant about agricultural
education and the FFA is to meet
our national officers who represent
our members across the nation.”
The tour begins in Chicago for a
meeting with Allan R. Johnson,
president of Farm Progress Com
panies, Inc. The officer* then will
divide into three teams to visit a
variety of FFA sponsors’ busines
ses across the country to learn
more about the agriculture
industry.
Other officers partici
pating in the business
and industry tour are
Seth Demer, national
president from Bartlett,
Neb.; Clara-Leigh
Horn, southern region
vice president from
Ashville, Ala.; Joe Caf
fee, central region vice
president from Geneva,
Ind.; Andy McCall,
western region vice
president from Houston,
Texas; and Cody Wag
ner, national secretary
from Banner. Wyo.
ThcU.S. tour follows
the national officer
team’s return from a
recent two-week visit to
Japan to provide the
officers with a better
understanding of inter
national trade relations
and the importance of a
global marketplace to
American agriculture.
• The national FFA
officers will take a year
off from college to rep
resent FFA members to
officials in government,
education, business, and
agriculture. They will
meet with members at
the chapter, state, and
national levels.
A LESSON
WELL
LEARNED...
LANCASTER
FARMING'S
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