In America’s farming communities, Bayer proudly backs education to protect the future of farming, growing tomorrow’s leaders. Our close partnerships with youth organizations, colleges and universities allows us to reach both prospective workers interested in agriculture and young people who previously had not considered agriculture and STEM as a career path.  

One such partnership is with Future Farmers of America (FFA), and on Saturday, February 4, Bayer employees joined more than 160 students from 10 schools for the Oahu District FFA Conference. While each of Hawaii’s islands hosts its own conference, Oahu’s is by far the largest and best attended in the state, and Bayer is proud to have had employees on site volunteering their time to judge this great event.  

Among the students in attendance were Ynez Gaborno and Nicholas Nishimura, both members of the Waipahu Intermediate’s FFA chapter. They joined Rick Hamada for a recent episode of Sustaining Hawaii where they discussed their experiences in FFA and what they hope to achieve through their involvement with the organization. You can listen to that episode here. 

“We’re actually hosting the district competition at my school,” shares Ynez. “As someone who’s already competed, I’ve helped my 30 chapter members understand what they need to do to prepare.”  

 “The FFA has a lot of national competitions. They range from the district level to state and sometimes regionals. They include a very diverse range of competitions that really allow young agriculturalists in America to shine in their true form and fashion,” explains Nicholas. “I’ve been very involved for about a year and a half, and I’ve been able to do some amazing things like work with government officials and core business owners from across the state.” 

The winners for each of the district competitions are invited to compete at the State Convention, which will be held on March 30, 2023 at McKinley High School. Visit FFA.org to learn more or get involved.