National FFA Central Region vice president Brennan Costello, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student from Gothenburg, recently met with Monsanto Company executives in St. Louis, MO.

In addition to serving and representing more than 550,000 FFA members, national FFA officers dedicate one year of their college study to FFA.

Students travel 300 days out of the year, meeting with national leaders, including the U.S. president, the U.S. secretary of agriculture and members of the agriculture industry.

Three national officers, including Costello, recently made a stop in St. Louis to meet with Monsanto Company executives Brett Begemann, Monsanto president; Jerry Steiner, executive vice president of corporate affairs; and members of the U.S. business leadership team.

“As a long-time member of FFA, I have always understood the importance of agriculture,” Costello said. “My visit to Monsanto highlighted the many career opportunities in the ag industry and validated my choice to study agribusiness.”

National FFA Officer Partnership Visits, a National FFA training and outreach initiative, are conducted with diverse companies and enable officers to learn about business enterprises and broaden their understanding of agriculture and agribusiness.

Through the visits, officers learn about challenges facing the agriculture industry and give company representatives the opportunity to offer advice to the next generation of business leaders.

Monsanto is a longtime supporter of FFA and ag youth and partners with the National FFA Foundation to sponsor FFA Chapter Challenge, which distributed more than $80,000 to chapters across the country this year.

The Monsanto Fund also supports youth in agriculture through its America’s Farmers Grow Communities and America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education programs.