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Students explore jobs of the future in FFA Blue Room

FFA members are getting a chance to explore jobs of the future at the 2019 National FFA Convention.

The FFA Blue Room exposes students to careers in agriculture and the solutions to some of the challenges facing the industry. The 17,000-square-foot interactive space is presented by AgriNovus Indiana and Microsoft.

Hunter Brennan, with the South Central FFA chapter in Indiana, says it was amazing to see the technology involved in agriculture.

“It was so impressive to see what is actually going on in the field of agriculture and my favorite part had to be the robotic tractors and how it can do everything by itself,” he says. “It can pick up a sprayer, or whatever it may be, and does it all autonomously- it’s amazing.”

FFA members can also experience this technology in the classroom through an initiative known as FFA Blue 365.

Mike Egan, senior director of TechSpark with Microsoft, says the company wants to make sure students have access to the digital skills they need to succeed.

“They’re mixing in technology with so many different industries and for us it was a way to explore how technology can be part of their curriculum,” he says.

Audio: Mike Egan, Microsoft

He says it has been a win-win because Microsoft is learning just as much from students and FFA chapters as they learning from the curriculum.