The National FFA Organization announced this week a record-high student membership of 700,170, up from nearly 670,000 in 2018.

National FFA Organization CEO Mark Poeschl says the membership growth “reflects continued enthusiasm for agriculture as well as agricultural education.”

The top six student membership states are Texas, California, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio and Missouri.

Interest in FFA and agricultural education continues to grow as membership continues to increase.

This year, the organization has more than 100,000 Latino members, 45 percent of the membership is female with 52 percent of the membership being male.

Females hold more than 50 percent of the leadership positions. FFA chapters can be found in 24 of the 25 largest U.S. cities.

The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to student members who belong to one of the more than 8,600 local FFA chapters.

The organization is also supported by more than eight million alumni and supporters.