FFA Handbook
What are the official colors of the National FFA Organization?
What is National Blue and Corn Gold
Who wrote the FFA Creed?
What is E.M. Tiffany
What is the primary physical difference between Bos taurus and Bos indicus beef cattle breeds?
What is Bos taurus are humpless cattle adapted to cooler climates, while Bos indicus have a more visible hump over the shoulders, larger ears, and heat/parasite tolerance.
Which dairy cattle breed is black and white and produces the highest overall volume of milk per cow in the U.S.?
What is Holstein Cattle
What is the term for a female pig that has NOT given birth versus one that HAS given birth?
What is female before giving birth: Gilt; Female after giving birth: Sow.
Name the five symbols that make up the national FFA emblem and state what each symbol represents?
What is
Cross section of the ear of corn = Unity
Rising sun = Progress/a new day in agriculture
Plow = Labor and tillage of the soil
Eagle = Freedom and national scope
Owl = Knowledge and wisdom
How many paragraphs are in the FFA Creed, and what phrase begins every single paragraph?
What is 5 paragraphs; each begins with "I believe."
Name two major black- or red-hided British beef breeds known for high marble score and carcass quality.
What is Angus and Hereford
Which smaller dairy breed produces milk with the highest butterfat and milk protein content, often giving the milk a golden hue?
What is Jersey cattle
What is the average gestation period for a swine sow?
3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days (approx. 114 days).
What is the official FFA Motto?
What is “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.”
Recite or complete the opening line of the first paragraph: "I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words but of..”
What is "...deeds—achievements won by the present and past generations of agriculturists."
What is the term for removing the testicles of male calves, and why is this management practice performed?
What is Castration; performed to reduce aggression/improving safety, prevent unintended breeding, and improve meat tenderness and fat deposition.
How long is the standard lactation cycle for a commercial dairy cow, and how long is her dry period?
What is 305 days of lactation followed by a 60-day dry period.
Name four routine management processing tasks performed on newborn piglets within 1–3 days of birth.
What is
Clipping teeth
Iron injection
Docking tails
Ear notching / identification (and castrating males).
In what year were females admitted into membership?
What is 1969
In Paragraph 4, the Creed mentions "less need for charity and more of it when needed." What key trait or value does this line emphasize for FFA members?
What is Self-reliance, hard work, financial independence, and willingness to help others in honest times of need.
What permanent identification method uses a heated metal iron or liquid nitrogen to mark the hide of cattle?
What is Hot-iron branding or Freeze branding.
What is colostrum, and why must a newborn dairy calf receive it within the first few hours of life?
What is the first milk produced after calving; it is rich in essential antibodies that provide passive immunity to protect calves against disease.
Name two major white swine breeds known as "Mother Breeds" valued for maternal traits, and two dark swine breeds known for terminal meat production.
What is
Maternal (White): Yorkshire, Landrace, or Chester White.
Terminal (Dark): Duroc (red), Hampshire (black with white belt), or Berkshire (black with 6 white points).
Name the four degrees of active FFA membership achievable at the local, state, and national levels in grades 7–12.
Discovery Degree, Greenhand Degree, Chapter Degree, and State Degree
What overall theme is expressed in the 5th and final paragraph of the FFA Creed regarding the future of America and our role in it?
What is “American agriculture can and will hold true to the best traditions of national life, and that members can exert an influence in their home and community.”
What is the average gestation length for beef cattle?
What is about 283 days (about 9 months).
Describe the path milk takes from the cow's udder to the bulk tank in a modern milking parlor.
Teats are sanitized and dried -> milking unit attached -> vacuum pumps draw milk into stainless steel pipelines -> milk passes through a plate cooler to chill rapidly to 40∘F-> pumped into a refrigerated bulk storage tank.
What is the main difference between a Farrow-to-Feeder operation and a Farrow-to-Finish swine operation?
What is A Farrow-to-Feeder operation raises piglets only until they reach feeder pig weight (30–60 lbs) to sell to another producer, but Farrow-to-Finish operations keep and feed the pigs through their entire life cycle until they reach full market weight (270–300 lbs).