The Heart Inside a Navy Corduroy Jacket

So in the fall of 1993 I heard the below words for the first time as a young greenhand in FFA.  In that same fall I memorized the whole creed and competed in that event at contest.  What do the words mean?  Why are they so important?  I don't know, but reading those words again, I hear myself practising it with my Dad (oddly enough it hadn't changed so much that he didn't remember it as well), and saying it in front of judges in a navy corduroy jacket.  I do believe in the future of agriculture and creed for what it stands for.  I believe that the farm life that J and are creating and have is a wonderful vibrant thing...and a small part of the greater good.  Through our combined efforts, we provide not only for ourselves but feed others.  That may sound idealistic--but I do believe with in the words below, and what they stand for.

I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words but of deeds - achievements won by the present and past generations of agriculturists; in the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles of former years.

I believe that to live and work on a good farm, or to be engaged in other agricultural pursuits, is pleasant as well as challenging; for I know the joys and discomforts of agricultural life and hold an inborn fondness for those associations which, even in hours of discouragement, I cannot deny.


I believe in leadership from ourselves and respect from others. I believe in my own ability to work efficiently and think clearly, with such knowledge and skill as I can secure, and in the ability of progressive agriculturists to serve our own and the public interest in producing and marketing the product of our toil.


I believe in less dependence on begging and more power in bargaining; in the life abundant and enough honest wealth to help make it so--for others as well as myself; in less need for charity and more of it when needed; in being happy myself and playing square with those whose happiness depends upon me.


I believe that American agriculture can and will hold true to the best traditions of our national life and that I can exert an influence in my home and community which will stand solid for my part in that inspiring task.