FFA members attending the 2018 National FFA Convention & Expo will have the opportunity to get a sneak peak at the Blue 365 initiative when they take a walk through the Blue Room.
Through the vision and commitment of AgriNovus Indiana, the National FFA is unveiling the Blue Room experience at the national convention and expo—the nation’s largest student convention—hosted in Indianapolis Oct. 24-27. The Blue Room is the organization’s comprehensive vision for Blue 365, an initiative that will bring this same innovation into classrooms and impact more than 650,000 members nationwide.
The 17,000-square-foot interactive Blue Room will center on the challenges facing our community—from respecting the planet to the urgent matter of feeding the world. This cutting-edge approach will focus on experiential learning and thought-provoking exposure to the convergence of agriculture, technology, human health, engineering, and more.
“Today’s FFA members are our future leaders in the industry,” said Mark Poeschl, chief executive officer of National FFA. “Through agricultural education and FFA, our members are bringing their skill sets to the 21st century; we know they will be the change in our industry. The Blue Room allows us to begin exposing our members to current innovations within the food and agriculture sectors and be the spark they need to create the next big idea in agriculture.”
Beth Bechdol, president and chief executive officer of AgriNovus Indiana, shares Poeschl’s excitement of bringing The Blue Room to FFA members. “Today’s food and agricultural industry is bursting with cutting-edge technology, science and research—from genomics and microbiology to artificial intelligence, robotics and informatics,” Bechdol said. “AgriNovus Indiana is committed to showcasing the power of these and other agbioscience innovations whether they come from a large company, a university or an entrepreneur. The Blue Room is just the place to bring together these real-world innovations, giving FFA members an experience to see and to understand how technology will help us feed the world, protect the planet and improve human lives.”
Gov. Eric Holcomb supports the initiative and says it makes sense that a partnership like this would happen right here in Indiana.
“Two of our finest organizations, The National FFA and AgriNovus Indiana have created an innovative way for young people to explore careers in the always-evolving agbioscience industry. Hoosiers are innovators and leaders in the agbiosciences, the life sciences, advanced manufacturing, logistics and tech, and we have been for over 200 years. The Blue Room will help inspire the next generation of agbioscience leaders.”
Corteva Agriscience, the agriculture division of DowDuPont, and Elanco are also proud participating sponsors of The Blue Room and supporting partners of AgriNovus Indiana.
