• 51% live in rural residences
• 49% live in town/city residences

Agricultural Education students are...

Leadership Development?

• 99.4 % of FFA members were classified as involved in their local chapter activities.
• 60.4 % of FFA members attended an organized leadership development training or conference.
• 21 % of FFA members served in leadership roles as chapter officers.

    Examples of Leadership Development Activities:

• 2058 students participated in Freshmen Creed Speaking training and competition (local through National)
• 1734 students participated in Parliamentary Procedure training and competition (local through National)
• FFA members participated in an average of 2 CDEs per member

Personal Growth?

• 19,084 = combined CDE participation by all FFA members  
• From 2002 to 2006, the number of Agriscience Demonstrations or Experiments conducted by FFA members has increased by 13 %
• 4618 students were entrepreneurs
  • 743 students owned and operated agribusinesses
  • 3875 students owned and operated agricultural production enterprises
• 6425 students were involved in placement or internship experiences
• $ 14,719,682.14 = dollars earned by agricultural education students through their Supervised Agricultural Experience programs
• Agricultural education instructors are actively involved in a students experiential learning program.  Instructors conducted an average of 1.3 supervisory visits per student.

Career Success?

• 86% of Agricultural Education program completers were FFA members, and FFA members were more likely to complete the educational program sequence than non-members.
• 89.7 % of the students classified as occupationally proficient were FFA members.  FFA members were more likely to be classified as proficient than non-members.
• FFA members were more likely to score proficient in science than non-members. (Based on the Iowa Test of Educational Development scores.)
• FFA members were more likely to score proficient in Math  than non-members. (Based on the Iowa Test of Educational Development scores.)
• FFA members were more likely to score proficient in reading than non-members. (Based on the Iowa Test of Educational Development scores.)
• Juniors that completed 2.5 or more units had a higher average science % than students that completed less than 2.5 units.
• Students with career experience programs (SAE) were almost twice as likely to score proficient in math than students without career experience programs.
• FFA members completed more units of Agricultural Education instruction than non-members.
• FFA members complete the sequential program at rates 50-60% higher than non-members. (Based on juniors and seniors.)
• In all academic areas, students with career experience programs were more likely to score proficient than students without career experience programs.
• FFA members are more likely to pursue postsecondary education than non-members.
• Based on a cohort group comparision from 8th to 11th grade, students that were FFA members appeared to show more growth in science than ag ed students that were not FFA members. 

(Gruis, D. (2006) The FFA Difference: Annual FFA Report Summary FY06.)