When you think of agriculture, what comes to mind? Sheep? Pigs? Corn? Old farmers? Technically, all of those answers are correct, but they are just the base level because agriculture is so much deeper and meaningful.
Agriculture is the field that feeds us all. Without agriculture, we would not have food to consume, clothes to wear, or the nutrition to be strong and capable individuals. FFA is an extracurricular activity associated with agriculture classes in schools. This means that when you enroll in an agriculture class, you are automatically an FFA member.
FFA used to stand for Future Farmers of America, but now it stands on its own as FFA, but the acronym speaks so much silently. FFA has Career development events to study and compete in parts of agriculture like meat judging, poultry judging, ag sales, etc. This program is meant to break kids out of their shells, get them to speak and stand up for themselves, and find love in the future of agriculture.
Muscatine is blessed to have a large and powerful FFA program. It is led by five advisors, two at the middle school and three at the high school. These advisors spend all of their time believing in these students and providing them with the materials and motivation to make them successful.
Muscatine FFA success isn’t surprising because of the program’s secret weapon, Mr. Tometich. A running joke about Tometich is no one knows how long he’s even been teaching, because he is such a staple and has been here for so long. Tometich has many passions like shearing sheep and farming, but it’s clear that recruiting and teaching students is what he is meant to do.
At the 2025 FFA banquet to celebrate the awards and officers of the past year, another staple of the program Mr. Paul, made the statement of “raise your hand if you have had Mr. Tometich as a teacher,”. To the audience full of students’ parents and family, and almost half of the room filled with over 4oo people raised their hand. Think that alone shows the impact Mr. Tometich has had on Muscatine, and educating everyone on agriculture.
With educating at least 1/4 of Muscatine on the importance of agriculture and leadership, Tometich has taken the leap to make more time for himself by retiring from his position as an ag teacher. But with how much of a busybody Tometich is, and with how much love he has for the program, it’s clear that Tometich will still be seen quite frequently. He has even said that with his free time, he will work on his dessert recipes and bring even more treats for the students.
Mr. Tometich’s retirement is going to leave a huge gap in the Muscatine FFAs Chapter, as he has been such a prominent leader and pillar to the program. Although it is hard to not be sad in the moment, moments of celebration should still be taking place as he has made his everlasting impact on the future of agriculture.
Muscatine FFA is going to miss his go-gettingness, his positive attitude, his teaching style, and everything he brought to the table. Next year is going to be an adjustment, but it’s important to believe in the future of agriculture, and how far the program has come because of his impact.
