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January 2010
-Creature-Focused Careers
-Former Members Reflect: Dr. Dwight Armstrong
-Levy Randolph
-Safety on Speed Dial
-Preserving Their Culture
-Off and Away

November 2009
-Former Members Reflect: Emilie Bocker
-Turn That Down!
-Car Smarts
-So Much Cooler Online
-Laila Hajji
-The Water Way
-A Greater Cause

June 2009
-Stretch Your Summer Income
-Riley Branch
-Turn That Down
-Behind-The-Scenes Star

May 2009
-Welcoming Women
-Regina Holliday
-Job Interview Jitters
-So Much Cooler Online
-Questioning Your College Choices?

-A Can-Do Attitude
-Former Members Reflect: Michele Payn-Knoper

April 2009
-Hannah Crossen
-Cowboy Book With a Cause
-From FFA to 33Miles
-There’s Cash in Your Future
-I’m Angry…Now What?
-For the Love of Landscaping
-Perfect Balance
-Gardening For A Cause

February 2009
-Blue-Ribbon Banjo Player
-FFA as an Art Form
-Wild About Animals
-Nessie Early
-Be a PAL
-Full Throttle
-Living to Serve
-Special Invitation

January 2009
-All About National FFA Week
-Paul Moya
-Justin Floyd
-Partners for the Planet
-Finding Balance
-Swimming in Aquaculture
-Breaking Records
-Take It Slow

December 2008
-National FFA convention to rotate homes

November 2008
-Dr. Al Snyder
-Scholarship Secrets
-Gear Up for National FFA Week
-Kari Boettcher
-Resist Peer Pressure
-Good to the Last Crop
-All Creatures, Great and Small
-Sparking Interest

September 2008
-Agriculture Accuracy
-Crissa Fruechte
-Brady Revels
-Get Up!
-Proceed With Caution
-All in Good Taste
-Clutch Performance
-Step Right Up

July 2008
-Take It to a New Level
-Deep-Rooted Interest
-Take a Deep Breath
-Tyler Tenbarge
-Inspired by FFA
-On the Right Track

May 2008
-In the Vault
-Your Money: Keeping Records
-National Officer Q&A
-We’re All Unique
-Best in Show
-Grab Life by the Reins

March 2008
-Call to Order!
-Reality Check
-Turtle Power
-By the Numbers
-Dale Darling
-A Token of Appreciation
-National Officer Q&A

January 2008
-National Officer Q&A
-Back Talk: Paul McCutchan
-Building Bright Futures

November 2007
-National Officer Q&A
-Back Talk: Corey Flournoy
-Biofuels Mean Business
-Go, Team, Go
-A Tractor Tradition

October 2007
-National Officer Q&A
-Back Talk: Kristie VerMulm
-Give them an A+
-Cranberry Crazy
-Racing to Indy

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FFA Feature

Swimming in Aquaculture

One of agriculture's newest fields

January 2009

As a freshman at James Madison High School in San Antonio, Angela Garcia was an extremely shy, introverted teenager.

But all that changed when she became the head researcher in her school’s aquaculture lab, where she not only learned about fish and plants but also overcame her shyness by leading tours of the lab, training fellow students and teaching visiting elementary classes about aquaculture.

“I learned to be more responsible and how to manage my time,” recalls Garcia, now a sophomore animal science major at Texas A&M University. “I’ve definitely become more confident and a better speaker.”

You may be wondering what in the world aquaculture even is. That’s not surprising, considering it’s a relatively new agricultural field.

Sometimes called “the agriculture of the oceans,” the field of aquaculture involves the production of aquatic plants and animals such as fish, shrimp, clams and kelp through artificial cultivation techniques.

Though it hasn’t been around as long as traditional agricultural fields, aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the industry of agriculture. Already about 15 percent of the worldwide production of fish and seafood comes from aquaculture farms.

Angela got involved with her school’s aquaculture lab when her agriculture teacher, Joshua Anderson, suggested she focus her science fair project on aquaculture.

“My high school received a grant, and they used it to purchase two fish tanks and a filtration system,” she says. “My science fair project was to test two filters to see which kept the water cleaner.”

With Anderson’s help, Angela started both a research- and work-based supervised agricultural experience program that centered around her work at the aquaculture lab. She later competed in FFA aquaculture competitions at the state and national levels, winning four times at the state level and three times at nationals.

“Angela basically turned into an aquaculture guru,” Anderson jokes. “She competed in all different areas and won. And she initially came to us with no agricultural background, not even knowing what FFA was.”

He adds, “When she started, she didn’t talk much, but she blossomed into a real leader and developed into a chapter and district FFA officer who represented FFA all over the place.”

Angela’s day-to-day tasks at her school’s aquaculture lab included performing water quality tests, installing heaters in the tanks, introducing different species of fish, and helping stock her high school agriculture program’s two ponds with tilapia and catfish.

“I knew I wanted to either be a marine biologist or a veterinarian,” Angela says. “In college, I’m pursuing the vet route, but when I go back home, I still like to assist in the aquaculture lab at my high school.”

Angela spent the summer of 2008 interning at a vet clinic, which she loved for the “hands-on opportunities.”

“When pets came in, the vet tech would bring them in the exam room, and I would hold the animal while they took its temperature and weighed it,” she says. “I also got to walk the dogs that were boarding there.”

June of 2008 found Angela on a 10-day excursion in Costa Rica, thanks to FFA.

“I won the trip for my proficiency in aquaculture production. I got to go to Costa Rica to see how agriculture works there,” she says. “It was awesome. We got to stay with host families, and I was able to use some Spanish-speaking skills.”

The Texas FFA member says she would one day like to serve as an example to other young Hispanics.

“I’d like other young people to know there are so many aspects of agriculture. It’s not just farming,” Angela says. “And being in FFA is a great experience because you learn so much, you can travel and it helps you earn scholarships for college.”

Because it’s a fairly new field, few high schools offer courses in aquaculture. Anderson encourages students to talk with their teachers about incorporating a few aquaculture courses into their agriculture programs.

“Schools should at least have an aquarium where students can learn about it,” he says. “This year, we had one student raise albino frogs as a project. There’s so much opportunity with aquaculture.”

Story by Jessica Mozo

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