FFA NEWS
Constellation Donates to Local FFA Chapters
Constellation participates in the Choice Gas program in Nebraska, a program that allows homeowners, businesses,
farmers and ranchers to choose their natural gas supplier each year. This year, Constellation dedicated a specific
amount to each FFA chapter in our Nebraska service area and also made an additional contribution based on the
number of customers who chose Constellation during the 2017 Choice Gas selection period this past spring. They
serve 60 counties in Nebraska. Constellation is providing over $17,000 to support FFA in their service area. The
Litchfield FFA Chapter received a check of $144 to be used towards citizenship and leadership development
programs. "Constellation is a strong supporter of the communities we serve and we are committed to finding ways to
invest in the families and young people of Nebraska and the future of our state. We believe that FFA and 4-H are
doing wonderful work and that's why we chose these youth-oriented programs for this initiative," says Donna Hughes,
Business Development Manager. Residents in this county will have the opportunity to support FFA efforts by simply
choosing Constellation Energy Marketing as their natural gas supplier during the 2017 Choice Gas selection next
spring.
Range Judging
This fall Litchfield FFA students had the opportunity to participate in 2 different range judging competitions at
Sargent and Ord. While no awards were received from these competitions the students showed progress. Range
Judging helps the students identify range plants, determine ecological sites and learn to determine stocking rates of
pastures. The students will now be preparing for the District Leadership Development Event to be held in Loup City
on December 13 th .
Blue Jacket Program
Two Litchfield FFA members were awarded gift cards in the Nebraska FFA Foundation Blue Jacket program.
Businesses and individuals around the state donate money to award FFA members with jackets. The students are
awarded jackets based on a questionnaire that they complete. The members of the Litchfield FFA club that received
gift cards this year are Tessa Shafer and Marrisa Zentz.
I Believe Program
September marked the official start of the eighth annual I Believe in the Future of Ag fundraising campaign. This
campaign serves as an outlet for local FFA chapters to raise money for innovative projects in their classrooms,
leadership programming, community service projects and field trips to advance agriculture education in their schools.
This year, Aurora Cooperative, BigIron Auctions, Central Valley Ag, CPI, Dekalb/Asgrow and Verdesian committed
$20,000 each to the campaign. Other sponsors, contributing $10,000 each include: Bayer CropScience, CoBank,
Country Partners Cooperative, GrainBridge, Farm Credit Services of America, Farmers Cooperative, Frontier Coop,
Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation, Pinnacle Bank, Producers Livestock, Valley Irrigation and Croplan by WinField
United.
These corporate partners provide support for an educational campaign for FFA and agricultural education in Nebraska
and support fundraising efforts at the local level. “Local FFA chapters and agriculture education chapters play an
integral role in growing and developing future leaders in agriculture and in our communities. I see this campaign as a
very important tool to help those chapters have the resources they need to grow leaders and build communities,” says
Stacey Agnew, Nebraska FFA Foundation Executive Director.
Donors to the I Believe in the Future of Ag campaign choose which chapter they support. 100 percent of each local
donation will be sent back to the designated chapter at the end of the campaign and a portion of the $35,000 challenge
matching pool will be distributed to participating chapters. If you have any questions or would like to make a
donation please contact Brian Johnson at the Litchfield school.
Pancake Feed & Labor Auction
The annual Litchfield FFA Pancake Feed and Labor Auction will be held on Thursday, November 2, 2017 in the
school cafeteria. The pancake feed will be a free will donation and will begin at 5:30 pm. The labor auction will be
held at 7:00 pm in the gym. If you have any questions please contact Brian Johnson at the school.
10