Virginia agricultural youth programs have evolved
April 2025
Sarah Gregory of Chesterfield has been involved with 4-H for over 60 years. (courtesy Alice Kemp)
by Kathy Dixon and Alice Kemp, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation
One began as an organization to help farm boys learn leadership skills. Another started as corn clubs that encouraged farm boys to grow high-quality crops. Today, the National FFA Organization and 4-H have evolved to keep up with the times.
(courtesy Virginia Tech)
Since its establishment in 1928, the FFA has promoted youth development and has become a nationally recognized standard in agricultural education. Black and other minority students began joining the FFA in 1964, and girls were admitted as members in 1969. In 1988, what was initially known as the Future Farmers of America rebranded itself as the National FFA Organization to better reflect diversity in its membership. Early 4-H programming emphasized agriculture and homemaking skills for rural youth. From the 1980s to the early 2000s, the organization expanded its curriculum to include STEM, civic engagement and the arts. Today, there are 4-H clubs in Virginia’s 96 counties and most cities, with about 160,000 members. Virginia FFA has 14,110 members in 227 chapters and boasts the country’s first FFA chapter charter — the Weyers Cave chapter in Augusta County.
FFA was modeled after Virginia’s Future Farmers of Virginia, which was started in 1925 by four Virginia Tech agricultural educators. “Farm boys didn’t have as much confidence in themselves as their city cousins did,” explains John Hillison, retired Virginia Tech agriculture education professor and curator of the Agricultural, Leadership and Community Education Department’s FFA Historical Room.
“So, the founders say ‘What if we had an organization where they learn leadership skills, win competitions and get awards for their work?’ That’s how it all got started.” Soon, several states had their organizations, and the national FFA was founded.
The national 4-H movement traces back to the late 1800s. In 1908, the Virginia Cooperative Extension established the state’s first corn club in Dinwiddie County. The next year, clubs were created for rural girls to learn about food preservation and gardening. “4-H uses experiential learning to help young people be better citizens and better individuals in the working world,” says Chad Proudfoot, Virginia 4-H organizational specialist at Virginia Tech.
In the 1910s, Virginia and other segregated southern states began 4-H clubs for rural African Americans and minorities, until the clubs were desegregated in 1964. Sarah Gregory of Chesterfield County has been involved in 4-H since before segregation. The organization offered education, community connections, and leadership opportunities for several generations of her family. Today Gregory volunteers and educates youth from all backgrounds. She leads multiple 4-H programs, and her 60-plus years of volunteering led to her induction into the National 4-H Hall of Fame in 2022.
In Rockingham County, Kern Houff has also turned FFA into a generational activity. He served as the vice president of the Montevideo FFA chapter, where he competed in parliamentary procedure and public speaking. Recognizing the value of communication, leadership and vocational skills you can’t learn in books, Houff nudged his children, Jeremy and Sonja, to join. Both served as FFA officers, and their children have joined the organization, continuing the family FFA legacy.
Future Farmers of Virginia began in 1927, near Weyers Cave in Augusta County, Va. (courtesy Alice Kemp)