Hi Sisters!
I, alongside the National Leadership Team, hope that you had the happiest of holidays. We are excited to start 2025 with a renewed and refreshed optimism for the sorority and our future. We are looking forward to providing you with an impactful and empowering Leadership Seminar experience in February in partnership with Alpha Gamma Rho, working closely with our Education Foundation to grow our corporate partnerships, and we are hard at work planning our National Convention to be held in the summer of 2025.
There are so many opportunities to develop yourself personally and professionally, and we are hoping to provide more of those opportunities in the coming year. Please take advantage of all the opportunities and resources that we offer - we work hard to plan and facilitate those for you!
It is an absolute honor to serve as your president, and if there is ever anything that I can do to make your Sigma Alpha experience better, please do not hesitate to reach out. Have a great semester, sisters, we are so proud of you!
In Sisterhood,
Jessica Gray
National Sorority Board President nationalpresident@sigmaalpha.org
Happy New Year, Sisters!
My name is Nicole Wilson, and I am excited to introduce myself as Sigma Alpha’s Professional Assistant. I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday with their friends and family and is excited to kick off this new semester strong!
As we enter the new year, I like to choose a word to reflect on throughout the year. This year, I’ve chosen the word tenacity. What exactly does tenacity mean? Tenacity is “unshakeable focus and drive in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Persistent forward momentum with a well-thought-out plan of action. The determination to never stop striving to achieve a goal, even when all seems lost. believe this is a perfect word to share with all of you as we begin the new year and new semester. Let’s never stop working toward our goals, no matter how challenging or distant they may seem. After all, we are Sigma Alpha women veins!
The staff at Sigma Alpha Headquarters has been dedicating their time to supporting chapters with membership dues, roster updates, alumnae policy changes, preparations for this year's Leadership Seminar, the initial planning for Convention 2025, and so much more! We’re thrilled about this year’s Convention. There are so many exciting new resources in the works, and we can’t wait to share them with all of you and see how the Sorority will grow!
Thank you all for welcoming me in and I am so excited to see the future growth of Sigma Alpha and its members! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us staff members at Headquarters.
In Sisterhood,
Teresa Brandenburg
Professional Assistant
Nicole.wilson@sigmaalpha.org
Almost 100 years ago the first farm bill was signed into law. The Farm Bill is a package of legislation that is passed about every five years. The bill supports a variety of programs. The farm bill includes risk management tools for farmers, access to nutrition for low-income families, conservation programs and investments in agricultural research. Other relevant programs that are funded by the bill are 4-H and FFA. The bill provides stability to farmers and ensures we have a safe and secure food supply. Within the farm bill there are 12 titles that outline the framework of the bill.
: Supports commodity crops, including corn, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, rice, dairy, and sugar and includes agricultural disaster assistance
: Supports programs that help farmers implement natural resource conservation efforts on working lands
Covers food export subsidy programs and international food aid programs
Title IV: Nutrition Programs - supports the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other nutrition programs to help low-income Americans to afford food
Federal loan programs to help farmers access financial credit needed to grow and sustain their farming operations
Programs that help rural economic growth through rural business and community development including rural housing and infrastructure
Food and farm research, extension, and education programs designed to support innovation from federal labs and state university-affiliated research to training for the upcoming generation of farmers and ranchers
Covers Forest specific-conservation programs to help farmers and rural communities to better use forest resources
Supports programs that encourage growing and processing of crops used for biofuel and help farmers, ranchers and business owners install renewable energy systems. It also helps support energy related research.
Covers farmers market and local food programs, funding for research and infrastructure for specialty crops and other horticultural crops, and organic farming and certification programs.
Provides subsidies to farmers and subsidies to private crop insurance companies who provide federal crop insurance to protect against losses in yield, crop revenue, or whole revenue. It also provides USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) with the authority to research, develop and modify insurance policies
A catch-all title, covers six advocacy and outreach areas, such as, beginning, socially disadvantaged, and veteran farmers and ranchers, agricultural labor safety and workforce development, and livestock health.
The last Farm Bill passed was the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 and was set to expire in 2023. Congress then passed the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024, to extend the 2018 Farm Bill until September 30, 2024. Traditionally a bipartisan bill, disagreements over nutrition and conservation spending between Democrats and Republicans caused the 2018 Farm Bill to expire. During this past round of government funding negotiations, the 2018 Farm Bill was extended again. In the American Relief Act of 2025, passed and signed into law on December 21, 2024, the 2018 farm bill was extended until September 30, 2025. Looking forward, it may be easier to pass a new farm bill due to Republicans holding the majority in both the House and Senate. However, there will be roadblocks because Republicans do not hold enough votes in the Senate to pass bills without some democratic support. This means there still needs to be consensus when looking at a potential bill.
Written By:
Maddie Buzzeo Volunteer Writer & Chapter Consultant
Kate Schaefer was born and raised in Adel, Iowa, she grew up on her family farm raising Boer meat goats with her parents. She is currently a junior at Oklahoma State, majoring in Agricultural Communications. Schaefer runs her own livestock photography business and just last July, she was crowned 2024 National Miss United States Agriculture.
Though Schaefer has only been involved with Sigma Alpha for one semester, she says the organization has already had a large impact in her life. She had an unconventional start to her college experience, attending three colleges in just three years. In her second year of college, she had an opportunity to take classes at Iowa State University, located in Ames, Iowa. The connections she made on campus got her connected with Sigma Alpha. “I met a lot of great friends, obviously the ag community is a very close knit family. A lot of the girls I met during my time there were involved in Sigma Alpha, but since I was only there for one semester, I never got involved.”
After her time in Ames, Schaefer transferred to Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Once Schaefer landed at OSU, she planned to stay put longer and began searching for organizations to get involved with. “… I loved seeing my peers come together and continue to advocate and be an active member in a strong community. When I got down to OSU, two of my roommates were active members in Sigma Alpha. So from there I figured, why not?”
”Why not” has been a common theme for Schaefer. She says that she was inspired to compete for the Miss United States Agriculture title after seeing an Instagram ad. “When I was a sophomore in college I saw an ad for Miss Ag pop up on my Instagram. They had some scholarships available and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I thought “OK, why not? Count me in”. I turned in all the paperwork, and then on November 8, 2023, I went to Des Moines to compete in the Midwest District Pageant.”
After competing in several rounds of competition, she was unexpectedly crowned with a regional title. Along with her success came the opportunity to compete on the national stage. She explains that she never expected to win the national title “I went out to Alabama in July of 2024 to compete for the national title. So my mom, my grandma, and I walk into this event and there are all these girls with suitcases and suitcases of makeup and costumes. I was blown away. I immediately thought, “OK, this will be fun, but I won’t walk out of here with anything”. So I just stuck to my gut and did what I could while I was there. So I went through those same three steps that I did in Des Moines, and came out on top, somehow.”
Her role as Miss Ag has lead Schaefer into an advocacy role, something she had grown accustomed to during her time as a State FFA Officer for Iowa. “A lot of the work that I have done so far has been centered around education. The Miss Ag program is, I think, only about 10 years old. So there isn’t as much structure as you might think. When I had my regional title back in Iowa, I made sure to visit as many schools as possible. I mean, I was probably visiting a new school every two weeks doing everything from reading to preschoolers about where their food comes from to creating simulations to run with 8th graders. I have worked really hard to develop programs that will ignite
’s knowledge regarding agriculture so that they know as much as possible about where their food comes
She is content in her role right now. While she has many passions in her life, she has not decided on what the future may hold for her. “My life is chaotic. I own my own business doing graphic design, livestock photography, and livestock services. So right now I’m not really sure where that will take me, however it is consuming a lot of my time. …I will just be following the fact that God has created for me and eventually I’ll land some thing great.”
Written By: Jo Brahms Sigma Alpha Communications Intern
Are you interested in giving back to the sorority in the New Year? There are a number of ways to volunteer your time, ranging from a few hours of time to a two year term!
Chapter Consultants are alumnae volunteers who serve as a direct link to active chapters. Their primary roles are to conduct National Chapter Visits on chapters around the country, mentor and support collegiate chapter officers, provide consistent and timely review of chapter activities, and deliver resources and communications to active sisters. Chapter Consultants serve two year terms.
The National Sorority Board members are alumnae volunteers who provide strategic direction to the organization in line with our bylaws, policies, and procedures, They actively cultivate bonds of sisterhood between members, and service as Sorority representatives as industry and affiliated events, National Sorority Board members service 2 year terms.
Each year, a panel of alumnae judges volunteer their time score member activities and reports in line with our four pillars, and determine award winners across the nation. Award judges volunteer a few hours of their time!
As the highest degree achievable in the National FFA Organization, dedication to his or her chapter and state FFA association. supervised agricultural experience and community involvement they exhibited
This year 25 Sigma Alpha sisters shared with us Congratulations to this year's
Name Sigma Alpha
Adrienne Edinger Omega
Ashley Beta
Bailey Blacker Purdue
Chesni Simpson Beta
Claire Damien Walker Alpha
Emma Steele Alpha
Hannah Case Gamma
Jaynie Pillai Beta Theta
Justine Allyn Pi
Kelsey Lynne Miller Alpha
Kailee Cooper Beta
Kendall Berry Beta Sigma
Kyla Vann Nu Chapter
Laney Moore Beta Tau
Madalyn Denton Purdue
Marissa Linscott Beta Omega
Samantha Spolsky Epsilon
Sidney Liles Xi
Susannah Borduas Pi
Whitley Robey Pi
Organization, the American FFA Degree shows an FFA member's It demonstrates the effort that FFA members apply to their the outstanding leadership abilities and exhibited through their FFA career.
that they received their FFAAmerican Degrees. American Degree Recipients!
Alpha Chapter FFA Chapter
Omega Tully New York
Mu Plattsburg Mo
Purdue Rossvilee
Xi ROWVA
Chi Chillicothe FFA Chapter
Chi Adair County R-1
Delta Greenville, NY
Theta Wilson Central High School
Housatonic Valley FFA
Chi Warrenton FFA, Missouri
Beta Owen Valley
Sigma Crothersville High School
Chapter
Unmarried Charter Academy
Tau Southwest R-V
Purdue Blue River Valley FFA
Omega Quincy, WA
Epsilon N/A
Crater FFA
Alleghany High School
Logan County FFA
Organization, the American FFA Degree shows an FFA member's It demonstrates the effort that FFA members apply to their the outstanding leadership abilities and exhibited through their FFA career.
that they received their FFAAmerican Degrees. Recipients!
As the highest degree achievable in the National FFA Organization, dedication to his or her chapter and state FFA association. supervised agricultural experience and community involvement they exhibited
This year 25 Sigma Alpha sisters shared with us
Congratulations to this year's
Organization, the American FFA Degree shows an FFA member's It demonstrates the effort that FFA members apply to their the outstanding leadership abilities and exhibited through their FFA career.
that they received their FFAAmerican Degrees. American Degree Recipients!
Check out some of our sister in
action through FFA!
Interested in volunteering to write an article for the next issue of the Emerald Times? Have an idea for a story or feature? Reach out to editor@sigmaalpha.org
Share your career endeavors and life adventures with us here https:// sigmaalpha.org/sisterhighlight! We’d love to feature you right here in The Emerald Times.
