FFA national officer: Chelsea Doss’ unexpected journey
What’s unexpected – and what is keeping her so engaged as 2009-10 National FFA Southern Region vice president – is then traveling to Japan and touring a ship loaded with corn from our shores.
“I’m actually putting my hands on some of this stuff that before I’ve only been able to conceptualize,” she said. “I’m learning first hand what agriculture really is in America, who the leaders and key players are in business and government. I’m gaining amazing new perspectives.”
Doss was named FFA vice president during the organization’s national convention in Indianapolis last October. A junior, Doss is the first national FFA officer from Tennessee since 1988 and the first TTU student ever elected to a national office of FFA, formerly known as the Future Farmers of America. A former FFA state president from Eagleville High School, she is the daughter of Jeff and Beth Doss of Christiana.
During her tenure, Doss will travel more than 100,000 miles to 40 U.S. states and Japan to meet top leaders in agribusiness and government. She’ll even meet President Barack Obama this July.
“The primary responsibility we have as officers is to serve as ambassadors for agriculture within our own country and abroad,” she said. “We met with Japan conglomerate Mitsui, which sponsored the trip. We also met with American representatives at the U.S. Embassy and discussed international agriculture, trade and trade barriers.”
Doss says she was interested to learn that Japan imports 60 percent of its food, which presents both challenges and opportunities for American farmers.
“The genetically modified crops produced in the United States are not desired within the country due to safety concerns,” she said. “I was also interested to learn how highly they value everything they produce. When a family sits down to dinner, not a single grain of rice is wasted.”
Some aspects of Japan took some getting used to, she said. For example, space is at an extreme premium.
“There are approximately 13 million citizens in the Tokyo area. Tokyo is 844 square miles. The state of Tennessee has approximately six million citizens and is 42,169 square miles; you do the math!” she said. “Because of this, they make the absolute most of everything they have and capitalize on their strengths.”
Doss visited farms, trading ports, chemical companies, the Tsukiji Fish Market, schools and stayed with a family. Miki Tokemoto was her host “sister” and the Tokemoto family welcomed her to their home above a café they own.
“The Japanese live in small homes, eat small amounts of food, and typically have small families. The Tokemotos were no different. In fact, they live on the second story of their café, which is right on the ocean in Handa City on the Chita Peninsula in southern Nagoya,” Doss said.
In the weeks and months to come, Doss will travel to more states visiting businesses in the industry and FFA members. In April, she travels home to Tennessee for Tennessee Ag Day in Nashville. In July, she’ll have the opportunity to meet the president. After the officer tenure wraps up in October, she’ll have three months to work in a business or government office of her choosing. She then plans to return to TTU in the spring semester 2011 to finish her degree.
The experience is exhilarating and Doss says she’s excited about the months ahead.
“I’ve learned that America really is powerful when it comes to agriculture, but it’s also a big responsibility to feed the world.”
The National FFA Organization is a student organization with 506,199 members and 7,429 chapters nationwide. From urban to rural schools, FFA is found in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The 2009 National FFA Convention had 53,473 attendees and is considered the nation's largest annual youth gathering.
