Sparta — If there’s one thing the members of Sparta’s newly relaunched Future Farmers of America chapter want the world to know, it’s that FFA is not just for farmers.
After a soft relaunch in January 2025, Sparta’s FFA program is now back in earnest for the first time in nearly 50 years. Accompanying the program is a high school animal science course that helps drum up student interest.
Kerry McKinley, Sparta’s FFA adviser and teacher of the animal science class, said the program is drawing “all varieties of students,” from those who live on farms to those who have never owned a pet or touched a horse.
“It is agriculture based, but it isn’t just about agriculture,” said chapter President Melody Koopman, a junior. “There’s leadership portions, there’s public speaking portions. … It can be for everybody.”
‘Just the fact that we had this chapter and that we put forth the effort to restart it — it means a lot. I think we’re creating a bigger impact than we know.’
— junior Ashley Skipper
Melody herself is proof positive that the program’s reach extends beyond would-be farmers. She was the first student to sign up for the new FFA, and she was its sole member for the first few months of its existence during the 2024-25 school year. But she has no plans to go into farming or agriculture. She’s actually planning for a future in political science, but, in a farming community like Sparta, knowing about agriculture is key, even — and perhaps especially — for politicians.
“I originally joined because of the leadership aspect of FFA,” she said. “I really wanted to get involved in gaining leadership qualities that I really felt I needed. I wasn’t really big on the agricultural side and didn’t know what that meant or entailed, so I’m just kind of learning all about that, and all that agriculture does for us as a society.”
Though she wasn’t big on agriculture when she started out with the group, her appreciation of its importance to the world has grown, and she’s continuing to develop an understanding of and appreciation for agriculture that she hopes will benefit her in her political future.
Increasing Ag Awareness
The same is true for several of the other members of the Sparta FFA leadership team, many of whom Melody recruited during her days as the program’s sole member.
Juniors Ashley Skipper, Brooke Owens and Madalyn Schieffer are the FFA treasurer, secretary and reporter, respectively. None of them have much interest in becoming actual future farmers, but they saw in the program an opportunity to boost their leadership, communication and collaboration skills.
“I just think it’s important to have a knowledge and background of agriculture, because it can always be used,” Ashley said.
Brooke also joined to boost her leadership skills and to “learn more about working with a group of people and working together to build something.”
Madalyn has found that, as a result of her involvement with FFA, her communication skills have improved.
“I was really awful at public speaking, and now I’m the reporter, so this has done a great deal for me,” she said.
Kerry McKinley, Sparta’s FFA adviser and teacher of the animal science class, said the program is drawing “all varieties of students,” from those who live on farms to those who have never owned a pet or touched a horse.
“It’s a really diverse group,” McKinley said. “(We’re) just trying to open the interests of others and show them what’s out there and get them more aware of everything.”
‘Creating a bigger impact than we know’
McKinley said the Sparta community started beating the drum for the relaunch of the program around 10 years ago.
“It was really the community members that stepped on the gas, and were like, ‘We really need to get this back at Sparta High School,’” McKinley said. “Just look at our community, with the apple orchards, the dairy farms — it’s a very big agricultural area.”
Prior to relaunching the program, Sparta wrote grants and consulted with Michigan State University about the process. The district also worked with Kent ISD on the career and technical education aspects of the program.
The FFA purchased a goat from a local farm for the 4H youth fair in August, and plans to have more animals at the fair next year. The group is also raising funds for an outdoor learning area that may include a barn, along with other facilities.
McKinley said the program has already proven to be a huge benefit for students, exposing them to new experiences and developing a variety of skill sets.
“Some of them, they touched a horse for the first time, or stood next to a pig for the first time. … Just opening their eyes to the world that’s around them, not just staying in their lane of what they already know,” she said. “Also, it’s a more hands-on program, and a lot of students like that type of learning.”
The leadership group is laser focused on preserving the program, establishing an FFA foundation that will last.
“I think it’s just important that we’re starting this, not just for us, but for all of the future students who come to Sparta,” Ashley said. “Just the fact that we had this chapter and that we put forth the effort to restart it — it means a lot. I think we’re creating a bigger impact than we know.”
The FFA officers are doing their best to recruit younger students to take up leadership positions when they graduate in a couple years.
“I really hope that it doesn’t end with us, because this is a really great thing to be a part of,” Madalyn said. “You can learn a lot from it.”
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