The Fall/Winter 2022 FFA New Horizons magazine cover proclaimed “1952 – Celebrating 70 years of FFA New Horizons – 2022.” The editorial on the inside cover (Riebel, 2022, p. 2) stated “What began as a motion during a National FFA Board of Trustees and Advisory Council meeting in 1950 has led to decades of stories…” The history of the magazine actually starts in 1929. In this Friday Footnote we will explore the actions (or inaction) that preceded the establishment of the FFA student Magazine.
Figure 1. The Fall/Winter 2022 FFA magazine.
In the Beginning
Shortly after the National FFA was established there were discussions about having a FFA magazine. The minutes of the 1929 National FFA Convention (the 2nd convention) contain a statement from Henry Groseclose, the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the FFA (p. 5-6) “Two publishers of agricultural magazines have asked to be allowed to publish a national magazine for boys to be known as the ‘Future Farmer Magazine’. While we believe that a national magazine is a thing greatly to be desired there is no tendency on the part of the Board of Trustees to rush headlong into such a project. This matter, however, will probably be settled at the next annual congress.”
So, was the matter settled at the next annual congress in 1930? No! There is no mention of a national magazine at the 1930 FFA convention.
There was considerable discussion of having a national FFA magazine at the June 1931 meeting of the Executive Committee of the National FFA Board of Trustees. The trustees came up with three ideas:
- Have a farm publication produce such a magazine. They would “do the editing, managing and the whole thing.”
- Have a person “thoroughly familiar” with FFA collect and edit materials and submit the materials to the farm publication.
- Set up our own machinery and manage it strictly as a FFA magazine.
A decision was made to have the regional Vice-Presidents write the state FFA advisors in their regions and request the advisors to write each chapter in the state and include a survey to determine “the actual demand for an F.F.A. magazine.” The survey consisted of six questions:
- Do you favor having an official F.F.A. magazine? _______
- The following number of individuals would subscribe for an F.F.A. magazine at $1.00 per year? ____
- Would you contribute F.F.A. articles and pictures to this magazine? Yes ____ No ____
- In addition to a special F.F.A. editor should a boy editor cooperate in preparation of material for the publication? Yes ____ No ____
- Should the F.F.A. section of the Agricultural Education magazine be continued and directed principally by advisors? Yes ____ No ____
- Is the F.F.A. section of Agricultural Education magazine sufficient at present for both advisors and members of F.F.A. organization? Yes ____ No ____
So, what were the results of the survey? We don’t know the exact results but the November 1931 minutes of the Board of Trustees indicate there was a lengthy discussion about a national F.F. A. magazine with the conclusion “It was the sense of the meeting that we were not ready for a national publication as yet and therefore would not recommend it to the delegates.”
However, the question of having a magazine did emerge during the 1931 FFA convention. The national FFA President asked W. A. Ross, the Executive Secretary to discuss the matter of having a magazine. After some general discussion (Proceedings, 1931, p. 16) “It was finally moved, seconded, and carried to dispense with any further consideration of a national magazine for the present.”
So did the previous motion settle the matter of not having a FFA magazine? Nope! Five months later, at the April 1932 meeting of the FFA Board of Trustees the issue emerged again. The meeting minutes state (p. 20), “A national F.F.A. magazine was a subject of debate for a short time. It seemed to be rather clear to those present that eventually the F.F.A. will have to undertake this proposition but at present it does not seem wise to attempt such an undertaking.”
But like the proverbial Phoenix, the issue of having a FFA magazine rose again. At the 1932 FFA convention the president reported (Proceedings, p. 15) that a company in the middle west had “outlined a definite proposition for editing, printing, and distributing such as magazine to be an official organ of the F.F.F.” However, the FFA trustees had concluded that “the financial situation did not warrant the starting of such an enterprise at this time.” So, for the second year in a row, the delegates voted to “delay action on starting an official publication at the present time.”
The old saying that the third time’s a charm did not prove to be true. The issue of having a FFA magazine surfaced again in 1933. Earl Cooper of The Country Gentleman staff met with the Board of Trustees in June and presented a proposition for printing a F.F.A. magazine. Again the Trustees decided that (p.4) “it was unwise to undertake the printing of a national magazine at this time.” The delegates at the 1933 FFA convention concurred with the decision of the Trustees and voted to accept the decision of the Trustees.
Curator’s Note: The Country Gentleman magazine started publication in 1852 and continued until 1955 when it was bought out and merged with the Farm Journal. At the time of the merger The Country Gentleman was the second most popular agricultural magazine in America with a circulation close to three million. The most popular magazine was the Farm Journal.
Not to be discouraged, Earl Cooper from The County Gentleman submitted a new proposal for publishing a FFA magazine in April of 1934 to the FFA Trustees. The proposal was distributed to the Trustees, but no action was taken on the proposal during the year.
Finally Some Action
Since the FFA seemed to be reluctant to start a national magazine, a FFA member in Utah decided to take action and start such a magazine. His name was Homer Paul Anderson. He had been president of the Utah FFA in 1932, was a delegate to the national convention that year, and was aware of the discussion concerning a national magazine. After seeing no action for a couple of years in regards to having a national FFA magazine, he decided to take matters in his own hands.
In March of 1935 he began publication of The American Farm Youth magazine. It was at first a little 6 x 9 magazine printed on inexpensive pulp paper. He and his sister made the illustrations using linoleum blocks. To promote the magazine and attract subscribers, 5,000 copies were printed and mailed to all the FFA chapters in the country. It started with 300 subscribers and grew to 13,000 subscribers in two years. To learn more about Homer Paul Anderson and the American Farm Youth magazine please refer to the August 14, 2018 Friday Footnote.
Figure 2. The American Farm Youth Magazine
Homer met with the FFA Board of Trustees in October of 1935 to discuss turning The American Farm Youth (p. 3) “into a Future Farmer of America Magazine.” The Trustees determined “it would probably not be wise at this time” but did draft a resolution of support for Homer and recommended cooperation with him.
At the 1935 FFA convention a rather lengthy resolution was passed by the delegates pledging support for the American Farm Youth Magazine. The resolution stated (Proceedings, p. 16)”
Whereas, one of our own Future Farmers of America, a former President of the Utah F. F. A., has launched a national magazine, ‘The American Farm Youth’, devoted to the interest of our organization, and
Whereas, its pages are open to our officers and advisors and inasmuch as the advice of the organization is sought in formulating the magazine’s editorial policies, and
Whereas, its advertising policy will be kept in conformity with F. F. A. ideals and objectives;
We do resolve that the National F. F. A. Convention go on record as being appreciative of Mr. Homer Paul Anderson’s efforts in launching the American Farm Youth and offer him our cooperation and further recommend support of the A. F. Y. by the various State Organizations.
It appears the publication of the American Farm Youth was a boon to the national FFA. Perhaps the clamor for a national FFA magazine would now subside.
Nope, I was wrong. The FFA leadership had a lengthy discussion at their April 1936 meeting about some concerns they had with the American Farm Youth magazine’s use of the FFA emblem, some statements made in the publication, and the advertisements (especially about the owl). Homer agreed to correct the problems.
At the October 1936 meeting of the FFA Trustees a motion was passed to “investigate the possibility of a national F.F.A. magazine published through the National F.F.A. office.” Accordingly, at the 1936 FFA convention the need for a publication coming from “within the organization” was discussed with the delegates. The Student Secretary read a motion that originated with the National Advisory Council (Proceedings, p. 21):
Recommended that the Board of Trustees consider the advisability of publishing through the national F. F. A. office a national magazine and report to the Regional Conferences for further consideration.
In 1937 it appears the FFA was getting serious about publishing a national magazine. At the Trustees meeting in April a motion was passed that “Mr. Ross and Mr. Linke draw up tentative plans for submission to the proper authorities and investigate the the possibility of publishing such a magazine through the present national office, making a report of progress at the next convention.” The minutes of the meeting contain 13 statements (see page 9) regarding the “fundamentals” to be observed in publishing such a magazine.
At the 1937 FFA convention a motion was passed to have the FFA Board of Trustees further investigate the possibility of publishing a magazine.
Deja Vu
At the March 1938 meeting of the FFA Board of Trustees the minutes read (p.3) “It was the general opinion of the Board that the national organization should not attempt to publish a national magazine but that we give our support to the American Farm Youth and encourage the reading of this publication.”
The Proceedings of the FFA Convention in 1938 were equally terse (p. 14) “Moved by Hartnell of Nebraska, seconded and carried, that no attempt be made to publish a national F. F. A. magazine at this time and that support be given the American Farm Youth magazine.”
An interesting motion was made at the FFA Board of Trustees meeting in May of 1939. It was (p.3) “Moved by Twitty to have the Executive Secretary investigate possibilities of taking over the American Farm Youth Magazine as the official national F.F.A. organ and report his findings at the next convention. Seconded and carried.” Wow!
So what was reported at the 1939 FFA convention? Nothing! No mention was found in the proceedings of taking over the American Farm Youth magazine but the new editor of the magazine, Bob Romack, brought greetings to the delegates.
A Period of Silence, Then Confusion
There is no mention of having a national FFA magazine in the official FFA documents in 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, or 1945.
However in July of 1946 a committee was appointed by the Chair of the FFA Board of Trustees to investigate the publication of a national FFA magazine and establishing a national supply service. At the 1946 FFA Convention the Public Relations Committee concurred with the Trustees and recommended a committee be appointed to look at the possibilities of publishing a FFA magazine.
At the July 1947 Board of Trustees meeting a motion was FINALLY made to have a national FFA magazine. The minutes (p. 5) state “It was moved by Mr. Nichols that a national F.F.A. magazine be started on or before January 1, 1949; motion seconded by Mr. Perky and carried.” However, we know that the National Future Farmer started in 1952, So what happened with Mr. Nichols motion?
The November 1948 Trustees and Advisory Council minutes (p. 2) states, “The problem of a national magazine was discussed. It was moved by Meier that the Board of Trustees and Advisory Council proceed with the investigation of the possibilities of a national magazine and if after a thorough investigation it appears the magazine can succeed they be authorized to go ahead in starting a magazine; motion seconded by Hansen and carried.” It is interesting the word “problem” was used in the minutes.
It appears the National FFA delegates at the 1948 convention were having trouble crafting a motion to support having a magazine. Motions about a FFA magazine were made, amended, voted on and then rescinded by the delegates. In a special session the delegates finally voted to give the Board of Trustees “full power” to consider a national magazine and “go ahead with its publication if they see fit.”
The Ball Starts to Roll, Then Stops, Then Starts Again
The National FFA Advisory Council recommended at their January 1949 meeting that a committee be set up to start the FFA magazine and that sufficient funds be budgeted to edit the magazine. It appears this group went to work. The October 1950 Board of Trustees minutes requested that delegates at the 1950 convention be advised that we are working on a national magazine and that it would be published soon.
The minutes of the January 1951 FFA Board of Directors indicated there was some type of emergency that impacted the FFA. On page 2 of the minutes we read “It was moved by Mr. Howard that due to the emergency that we table the consideration of a national magazine until the July meeting; motion seconded by Mr. Little and carried unanimously.”
Apparently, the emergency passed. At the July 1951 FFA Board of Directors Meeting a motion was passed to start a national FFA magazine beginning in September of 1952. But hold on! At the October meeting of the National FFA officers and Directors it was decided to poll the states concerning the start of a national magazine and the results would be submitted at the January 1952 Board meeting.
At the February 1952 Board meeting the national FFA officers went on record favoring the publication of a national FFA Magazine. The FFA Board of Directors voted 6-2 to start a national magazine beginning in the second quarter of 1952. Twelve thousand dollars was authorized to begin publication, a decision to accept advertising was made, and the name of the magazine was to be The National Future Farmer.
And as they say, the rest is history. The first issue of the National Future Farmer magazine rolled off the presses in the fall of 1952.
Figure 3. The first issue of the National Future Farmer magazine.
Concluding Remarks
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
Calvin Coolidge
For years I had this Coolidge quote framed sitting on my desk. We can be thankful the adult leaders of the FFA and the members heeded the advice of Calvin Coolidge and were persistent in having a FFA magazine.
This will wrap up our series of Footnotes that started in November in celebration of National Family Literacy month – an observance designed to promote reading. The FFA Magazine did promote reading, but it took some 20+ years after the initial discussions for the magazine to become a reality.