including tax
Volume 142, Number 07 — Locally-owned since 1884
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, March 19, 2025
EXPRESS
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FFA programs shape future leaders in agriculture and beyond By Angela Underwood Express correspondent When it comes to farming, it’s all about the future. Next-generation Golden State farmers are California’s future. California FFA advisor Charles Parker said the fruits of all the statewide groups are rooted in local community members who love their land. “It’s not about the officers, it’s not about state officers, it’s not about the association — it’s about the local members, that’s the value,” Parker told the Winters Express. “And particularly in those small communities.” Like any good crop, after it is produced and benefits the community, local FFA leaders must pass the leadership baton to ensure “the future” remains just that. Winters native Kent
Benson, 2024 Georgia State FFA Honoree, knew when it “was time to move on” after his 26-year career teaching agriculture and leading the Winters FFA at Winters High School. Benson’s unprecedented FFA career exemplifies what it means to dedicate one’s life to local land. As a high school, Benson walked away with the FFA Member of the Year two years in a row. Though his college career in Chicago was successful, he said he “ always wanted to come back to Winters.” However, like a seasonal crop, career timing is everything. “When I graduated from college, there weren’t any job openings,” Benson said. That’s where Jack Graf came in. The two-term Yolo County Superintendent of
See FFA, Page 9
Express file photo
Winters FFA programs give students the opportunity to learn about all things agriculture and to get hands-on experience in raising and marketing livestock, planting and harvesting crops, ag mechanics, public speaking, business management and more.