MELBA β Students across the Treasure Valley are putting their agricultural skills to the test in both classrooms and workshops, as continued growth continues to replace farmland throughout the state.
Six chapters from across the Treasure Valley came to Melba High School on Wednesday for the District Greenhand and Ag Mechanics Competition, testing skills from tool identification to welding and electrical wiring.
Neither Alie Misenheimer nor Matthew Waite grew up on farms, but both found their passion through FFA programs and now serve as Idaho state officers at just 19 years old.
"I never really grew up on a farm. I did grow up very involved and invested in going and looking at the scenery of agriculture around me," Misenheimer said.
When Misenheimer moved to Star as a sophomore and enrolled in agricultural welding at Owyhee High School, everything changed.
"I found such a great community and developed such a deep love for Ag that I wanted to pursue and continue it," Misenheimer said.
Waite grew up in Melba and attended Melba High School all four years, making Wednesday's competition a homecoming.
"We didn't grow up on a farm," Waite said. "I grew up on a butte where, at most, my biggest connection to agriculture was we raised chickens, and we had a garden, and that's about it."
"FFA really gave me a chance to like gain agricultural literacy and to really experience agriculture in a different way," Waite said.
As development pushes farmland out of reach, both officers have observed significant growth in FFA participation that defies expectations about declining agricultural interest.
Waite says membership in his home Melba chapter, has more than doubled.
"We've seen membership jump from probably about 30 here in Melba to up to 76," Waite said. "So it's an impressive thing, and it really gives me hope for the future of agriculture to see all these new students get involved," Waite said.
Misenheimer has observed similar trends statewide during her time as Idaho FFA State Sentinel.
"I don't think I've ever seen such a huge influx of freshmen, at least in the past few years," Misenheimer said.
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Both officers believe innovation will help agriculture adapt to shrinking farmland.
"While we might be losing farmland, we can find more innovative ways and more people interested in finding these ways to continue farming with less land and continue to supply food and products for our new generations," Waite said.
Wednesday's competition featured two distinct events. The Greenhand competition tests freshmen on basic FFA knowledge, while the mechanics competition includes hands-on assessments.
"That's a decently new feature, right? So I don't believe there's a national competition for that. This is something that Idaho does, and it's something that changes from state to state," Waite said about the Greenhand test.
The tool identification portion requires students to name specific equipment, while an electrical competition tests wiring skills.
As Idaho FFA State President, Waite's role extends to legislative advocacy and stakeholder engagement.
"Agriculture is such a broad area, and people don't realize that. They think, oh, it's just farming, but no, there's so much more," Waite said. "Agriculture includes leadership, includes mechanics, includes almost every single industry you can think of."
He emphasizes the importance of Perkins funding for agricultural education programs.
"It gives us funding, it allows us to do what we're doing here today, and allows us to keep supporting agriculture and keep supporting all the CTE programs in high schools," Waite said.
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Misenheimer serves as a national FFA Speak Ag pioneer, advocating for agriculture at the federal level.
"We met with the governor of Indiana when we were in National FFA convention in October, and we also met with Secretary Rollins, which was really, really exciting," Misenheimer said.
FFA has significantly shaped both officers' career trajectories. Misenheimer found practical job experience through competition participation.
"I did this same competition last year, and I found a deep love for welding, and I even got a job working as a fabricator because of it," Misenheimer said.
She plans to study agricultural education at the University of Idaho.
"I really wanna be a welding teacher and continue the FFA legacy," Misenheimer said.
The Boise Valley District includes six chapters: Melba, Meridian, Nampa, Mountain Home, Rim Rock, and Kuna. The Meridian chapter, which includes Eagle High School and Star residents, is one of the largest FFA chapters in the nation.
Both officers encourage students to explore FFA opportunities regardless of their agricultural background.
"All I can say is if there's ever anybody out there who has the opportunity to join,100% take that chance because it's worth it," Misenheimer said.
The state officers will continue chapter visits this month before the Gem State Leadership Conference, starting Jan. 26 at the Boise Riverside Hotel.
