For nearly 1,200 FFA Organization members, their experiences at summer camp might be a deciding factor for the jobs they will assume in Ohio some day. Throughout June and July, FFA members and their advisors came from across the state to Carroll County, in eastern Ohio, to spend five days at one of six summer camp sessions at Camp Muskingum, located at Leesville Lake.

While attendees probably had a great time at the many activities and learning opportunities planned for them, including  leadership workshops, one event that really got their attention was a bioproducts awareness workshop. That happened because one of the program organizers, Dustin Homan, specifically talked about career opportunities during the presentation.  His message focused on the younger generation’s responsibility to begin purchasing bioproducts to combat our oil dependence.  

Probably most of the students knew something about bioproducts. Some of them live or work on farms where part of the harvest is being sold into the bioproducts marketplace. Yet there was real enthusiasm for the workshop where they had some fun while gaining an in-depth, hands-on understanding about bioproducts and how they are being used. Thanks to a program sponsored by The Ohio State University (OSU) Extension, Univenture, and the Ohio Corn Growers Association, each student received an ice-cold bottle of water and a clear plastic shrink sleeve made from polylactic acid (PLA), a corn product that has become one of the real dazzlers in the bioproducts industry. Utilizing hair dryers, the students shrink-wrapped the PLA material to their bottles of water to display the potential of corn plastic packaging. Campers also witnessed a demonstration of soy foam, after which they congregated into groups to brainstorm some new niches for the soy foam. Then they created a mock advertisement for their soy invention. What did these future bioproducts entrepreneurs envision for novel soy foam products? Some of the more creative ideas included using the soy foam in flip-flops, to patch holes in boats, as paintball chest protectors, the insides of buoys, and in mattresses.

This exposure of bioproducts information was very successful in spurring some of the students to express a serious interest in bioproducts as a part of their career plans, whether as a farmer or an inventor/entrepreneur or manufacturer.

The FFA bioproducts workshop was planned and developed by the Education Projects & Partnerships, Ohio Corn Growers, Univenture, and the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center.

    
The FFA Organization is an agriculturally related youth organization that strives to make a positive difference in the lives of its students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.  

The Ohio BioProduct Innovation Center is a Wright Center funded by Ohio Department of Development. OBIC focuses on enhancing Ohio’s leadership position in bioproduct commercialization. A novel market pull model integrates academia in support of comprehensive supply chain collaborations across agriculture, specialty chemical and polymer industry sectors. For more information,  bioproducts.osu.edu.

Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC)       
Ohio FFA