The day after Christmas, state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg took to Twitter to share some good news. Three Eastern Plains FFA chapters are getting some appreciation and money from the Colorado Corn Administrative Committee.

Colorado Corn, as the committee is called, gave a combined $7,500 to students and advisers at Holly, Manzanola and Sedgwick County high schools to help with “projects ranging from greenhouse irrigation and fertilization systems to livestock facilities, and in one particular case, helping a brand-new chapter get off the ground.”

That chapter is at Manzanola High. The student body of about 80 is in Otero County, which has the third-highest poverty rate in Colorado. FFA, back when this reporter was an enthusiastic member, was called Future Farmers of America. In the Arkansas Valley, farming is a calling as much as it’s a paycheck. (The name was shortened to the acronym in 1988.)

Part of Manzanola’s award money will help provide new members one of the coveted blue jackets, which cost $50 to $75 each.

“Agriculture organizations like Colorado Corn understand the need to develop leaders in rural areas,” Sonnenberg said, after he was asked about his tweet. “There is no better place to begin than with our FFA students who train those leaders to advocate for agriculture. I applaud Colorado Corn for their commitment to training future leaders through grants to the FFA.”

Sonnenberg, the legislature’s only full-time farmer, chairs the Senate’s Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee. He grew up on the same family farm in Sterling where his father grew up. His wife, Vonnie, is a teacher at Merino Elementary School.

He spoke at the FFA state convention in Sterling in June, along with Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne.

“I always look forward to those blue jackets coming up and infiltrating out community.” Sonnenberg said on the “Inside the Barn” radio show in May. “Because those blue jackets not only mean that FFA is in town, but you’ve got classy, good kids that the community can be proud of in town.”

Since 2013, Colorado Corn has given  $28,984 to FFA chapters across the state.

“Our board members and staff view the Colorado Corn FFA Grant Program as one of our most worthwhile endeavors,” Colorado Corn CEO Mark Sponsler said in the Morning Ag Clips article that was tweeted out by Sonnenberg. “We believe any investments that assist the top-notch youth who make up our FFA chapters are always dollars well-spent.”

And so does Sonnenberg.