National FFA officers develop family ties

It’s hard to believe I’ve been serving as the National FFA president for close to three months. On one hand, it feels like just a day since I heard my name called and put on the blank jacket for the first time.

On the other hand, I’ve spent more time on a plane the past 80 days than I have in the previous 19 years — and it feels like I’ve lived a couple lifetimes.

After getting elected, I went back to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and had to wrap up my classwork — and final exams — by Dec. 1.

With help from the great faculty at the U of I College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, we were able to make it happen. But there were some interesting moments along the way.

There was an early morning interview with farm broadcaster Stu Ellis, hour-long phone calls in my dormitory room rolling chair and quick recording sessions in the library. I had to pack my whole dorm room into my car on a rainy afternoon and barely got everything to fit.

I said goodbye to everyone on my dorm floor and had to explain over and over that, “Yes, I am leaving for a year and a half.”

In December, I chaired my first National FFA Board of Directors meeting. In the virtual budget session and prior to the meeting, I got to learn more about the financial workings of our organization.

I may be a math nerd — that hasn’t changed from being a second-grader — but it’s inspiring to be a part of the processes that keep our organization running strong for not only my year of service, but all of the decades to come.

In January, I went from having a blank piece of notebook paper that was supposed to have my keynote idea on a Wednesday morning to giving a 20-minute talk that Saturday morning.

During those three days, I spent a lot of time writing, thinking about stories and trying to figure out the most important thing I wanted to speak with FFA members about. A tough, but incredibly fulfilling few days.

On the family farm back home, we operate mostly green machinery. When I met the CEO of AGCO, Eric Hansotia, I owned up to that fact — and we proceeded to have a great conversation about his time at John Deere, how AGCO is putting farmers first and the vision he has for the company.

I was impressed by his passion, his willingness to talk about life and work and the company culture that has been built. The conversation was a highlight of my year so far.

If you put six young people together, nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you start to end up with more than friends. You get a family.

We may still be early in our year, but I have loved getting to share goofy, fun, impactful and sentimental moments with Luke Jennings of Ohio, secretary; Caroline Groth of Kentucky, eastern region vice president; Abby Jacobsen of California, western region vice president; Jack Lingenfelter of Georgia, southern region vice president; and Mary Schrieber of Wisconsin, central region vice president. I feel lucky to have five such great teammates.

The next nine months are going to fly by, but I look forward to sharing the memories and moments with the readers of the AgriNews. Thank you for supporting agriculture, FFA and our future.

Thaddeus Bergschneider, a former member of the Franklin FFA Chapter in west-central Illinois, is the 2024-2025 president of the National FFA Organization.