Amid forkfuls of his vegetable omelet breakfast, David Townsend could barely hide his excitement over December’s and January’s rigorous National FFA officer training. He already knew the cardinal rule of official FFA dress: That blue corduroy jacket could be worn zipped up and only in full uniform — with white shirt, FFA tie and black slacks, socks and shoes.

One of his first official public duties as National FFA president will be attending the 2017 inauguration of our nation’s 45th president on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. — just a two-hour drive across the Chesapeake Bay from his hometown of Townsend, Del.

HIGH-TUNNEL FUTURE: Townsend is already steeped in how high-tunnel tech boosts produce productivity.

This 20-year-old’s career journey was detoured in high school from culinary arts to being a food producer. “While many FFA members have grown up on farms, a majority haven’t,” he explained. His first interaction with agriculture came after being randomly “drafted” for an animal science class as a freshman at Middletown High School.

Then, FFA Advisor Jeff Billings encouraged him to join a Career Development Event team along with dairy farm friends to study milk quality and products. “FFA made me get involved,” he added with a wide grin. Townsend was firmly hooked on agriculture as the nation’s most vital industry and on its farm-to-table opportunities.

Today, Townsend is a busy University of Delaware junior working toward a plant science degree. His future career goal is to operate a large-scale produce operation. With that in mind, he has honed his know-how working summers at a nearby produce farm and interning with Delaware Farm Bureau.

4 secrets to his success
Townsend talked at length about key influences on his life. His parents, Rebecca and Matthew Townsend, and 10 siblings played pivotal roles. And there were other influences that fed his infatuation for food production agriculture.

• Learn from mentors. “They help you learn and gain career perspective,” noted Townsend. FFA Advisor Billings was one of them. “His passion for youth development and seeing others succeed is inspiring. He had life experiences and perspectives that broadened my own.”

He also soaked up much working on Phil and Muriel Sousa’s produce farm. “I’ve learned so much about specialty crops from them, including that there’s a lot work in their best-selling blackberries.”

• Learn with friends. “On your own, it can be a challenge to find opportunities you might develop,” he conceded. “It’s easier to do with friends. Don’t be afraid to pursue something just because it’s difficult.” For him, showing boer goats might fit this category.

• Learn from every experience. This is how you gain invaluable perspective, he insisted. “Life isn’t just about you; it’s about those around you — even those who are different from you,” stressed the young man. “Every single person you meet has learned something you don’t know.”

• Leverage opportunities. “Agriculture is very diverse with small and large opportunities for product development, marketing and production,” he noted. “There’s a huge push for urban food and organic production. Internships provide great experience — and contacts for the future.”

A much bigger table is set for the FFA leadership team in 2017. They’ll soon travel internationally to broaden their ag experiences and perspectives. Japan is already on the agenda. There, Townsend might even learn how vegetable omelets are made and taste.

How National FFA officers are picked
While national officer selection isn’t exactly a gauntlet, there are similarities, suggests Keisto Lucero, leadership education specialist for the organization. It begins with one candidate selected by each of 52 FFA associations. Townsend was state FFA treasurer in 2014-15.

A trained nominating committee of nine FFA members interviews them in eight rounds, scoring them on eight competencies over five days at the national convention. Then candidates undergo two more phases of interviews.

Phase 1: After a 10-minute one-on-one interview and a 60-question test on agriculture, FFA and U.S. education, they get 90 minutes to draft a written response to a question. Then they get 20 minutes to create a five-minute speech that they deliver. The top 50% in each region advance to the next phase.

Phase 2: Candidates have 50 minutes to prepare a 10-minute leadership workshop delivered to other FFA members. Next, they undergo 10-minute round robin conversations with three industry professionals. Then they have 10-minute final round interviews with the original nine-member committee. With all scores compiled, that committee picks six national officers.