National FFA’s SpeakAg Pioneers from across the United States gathered in Washington DC on March 24th to celebrate National Ag Day.
“The SpeakAg Pioneer program is only open for state officers that are serving in the current year. It’s an application based process so in June you get elected and learn about the program you can apply.” shared Lauren Argotte, Indiana FFA State Secretary and National FFA SpeakAg Pioneer.
Last week, Argotte along with three other SpeakAg Pioneers had the opportunity to attend National Ag Day in Washington DC to meet with legislators and advocate about agriculture.
Argotte added, “In Ag Day we had a large range of opportunities. The theme was together we grow so it was a super amazing experience because the FFA was there, but we also had a couple different organizations. We were able to become a real close-knit bond over the couple days that we were there. We had never met before hand but then we were all in DC. We were able to grow with each other. Were all young professionals either about to enter college or entering the workforce so we were able to talk to each other about our experiences and then go on all of these ag day opportunities together. So, going to the Capitol and talking to legislators was an amazing experience and we were able to learn from that as well.”
Other organizations attending included Agriculture Future of America, 4-H, Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources and Related Sciences, and Tribal Ag Fellowship. In addition to attending Ag Day, SpeakAg Pioneers work alongside Wrangler while creating videos and social media posts to advocate and promote the message, agriculture is everywhere.
“I like to remind everyone that everyone has a seat at the table of agriculture. For me, I didn’t grow up in an ag background or with livestock but I was able to find my roots through FFA and my passion for advocacy so for young FFA members, I recommend them finding what makes them passionate about agriculture,” Argotte shared.
Members of all ages have the opportunity to advocate for agriculture whether that be on social media or in day to day conversations.
