Spring has barely arrived, but FFA is already blossoming in Nebraska in remarkable fashion.
Consider what’s happening in Gibbon, a town of 1,878 in Buffalo County. The high school started its first FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) chapter in fall 2023 as part of the dramatic increase Nebraska has seen in its number of FFA chapters.
From 2010 to 2025, the number of chapters has jumped from 133 to 218 — an increase of 64%.
That surge is responding to local demand for the kind of broad-based, ag-focused youth development FFA is known for, said agricultural educator Kealey Widdowson, adviser for the Gibbon chapter.
In Gibbon, creation of the chapter “filled a gap that had been there for a long time,” said Widdowson, an alumna of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication.
“In just a few years, I’ve watched students who were once quiet and unsure stand up and give speeches, lead meetings, run fundraisers and represent our school at the district and state level," she said. "That kind of growth is powerful.”
Read more in the Nebraska Today.
