Charles City FFA member Heyer attends national conference in North Carolina

To The Press

A Charles City FFA member recently attended the National FFA NextGen Power, Structural and Technical Pathway Conference.

Hayden Heyer, a Charles City High School junior, attended the conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, from June 27 to July 1.

Bret Spurgin, CCHS ag education teacher and FFA advisor, explained that the Next Gen Conference allows students to explore a specific pathway through informational sessions, panels and tours.

“Participants will experience new and emerging ideas, trends, and products; cutting-edge technology; sustainability; and more, he said. “In addition, they will delve into literacy and advocacy as well as diversity, equity and inclusion, all while exploring various careers in the pathway.”

Heyer called his experience at the conference “amazing, and interesting.”

“Our flights got canceled and delayed, which caused us to miss the first day of the conference,” he said. He arrived at the conference just in time to go on the first tour, at North Carolina State University.

“At the university, Case IH and New Holland Agriculture had their virtual experience of precision agriculture set up with lead engineers and interns from CNH Industrial. We learned a lot about new developments of tillers, planters, sprayers, and combines,” Heyer said.

“Our third day, we went to the John Deere Turf Care and a Caterpillar visitor and training center. We learned about the different careers and got to tour how John Deere makes their turf equipment,” he said.

“When we got back from the tours, we had our daily sessions about careers and how important it is to plan out our future,” Heyer said.

“Overall it was a great experience,” he said. “I would highly recommend Next Gen conferences to all FFA members looking for new, better, and greater experiences.”