Special jackets for clubs aren’t super common, but across the country, members of the Future Farmers’ of America (FFA) club get just that. To compare, these jackets are the FFA’s version of a letterman jacket. For those that have heard of the chickens here at school, or any other farming practices, it all traces back to the FFA club.   

“We do any and everything that includes agriculture,” said member Japeth Bayes. “We judge livestock, we do things with mechanics, and we do plant identification”. 

The jackets have a lot of history behind them. According to FFA.org, FFA clubs across the country have been wearing them since 1933, when Fredericktown, Ohio FFA club advisor Gus Linter saw a blue corduroy jacket in the town’s hardware store window. The jackets were made public in that year’s FFA convention in Kansas City. During that convention, the official convention delegates named them a part of the FFA attire. Over the course of a year, there is 128,000 yards of corduroy that goes toward the making of the jackets.  

WPHS FFA currently have 10 jackets with 12 students in the club, though there are also other options for members to get a jacket. 

“[Students] can get their own jacket and have it personalized, or fitted to them specifically,” said FFA teacher Mr. Bloomfield. There are also certain ways they have to wear it. “We can’t wear it with it all the way zipped up”, said Mr. Bloomfield.   

 The jackets are synonymous with FFA clubs across the country, as they serve as a source of unity.