By: TONY MARKS
Editor
King Cotton LXIX will be Louisiana Future Farmers of America State Advisor Eric Smith.
“I feel honored to have been nominated by the community,” Smith expressed. “It’s not something I applied for or sought. It kind of found me.”
Smith grew up attending festivals around north Louisiana, especially the Natchitoches Festival of Lights. Over the years, while attending the different festivals, he learned such events, as said, are opportunities “for people to learn and share information.”
Also, while attending the different festivals, his favorite part was always the food, and his favorite ride was the bumper cars. “The only time I ever got ride the bumper cars was being at the fair that had them,” he said.
Smith was born and raised on a small farm in the Black Lake community of north Natchitoches Parish. He grew up riding horses, showing rabbits, and exhibiting a general love for growing things.
Smith excelled in academics, loved 4-H and the FFA, and decided to stay in North Louisiana for college.
He paid for school by selling watermelons, peas, and tomatoes at the Natchitoches Farmers Market and at his family roadside stand. During his undergraduate days at Northwestern State University, he also worked at the local paper mill. After graduation in 2001, he worked for Cargill as a stevedore in New Orleans.
From 2003-2017, Smith taught agriculture and served as the FFA advisor at Lakeview High School. In his classroom career he trained 13 state champion FFA teams, six state FFA officers, and four American Farmer Degrees. He also had three of his students become Ag teachers. At the National FFA Convention, in 2013, the forestry team he trained won national runner-up.
In 2006, this year’s King Cotton received his masters degree in agricultural education from Louisiana Tech, and, in 2017, he received his Ph.D from LSU in agricultural education. As a graduate student, he conducted experimental research on teaching methods using smart phones. Since 2017, Smith has served as the state advisor for the Louisiana FFA, co-commissioner of the Agricultural Education Commission and the Executive Director of Agricultural Education for Louisiana.
During Smith’s time as FFA advisor, he has created five curricula for different industry based credentials (IBCs) including: agricultural technology, forestry, agricultural mechanics, agricultural career development, and agricultural leadership development.
Since 2017, student membership in the Louisiana FFA has risen 30%. Also, during his time as state FFA advisor, Louisiana FFA has six National Championships, one National FFA officer, and is ranked 15th in the nation overall. Smith has championed many innovations within the profession, including electronic scoring for contests, data driven PD, a mentoring program, and new teacher training.
Over the years Smith has worked with the legislature to appropriate additional funding for agricultural education programming and with BESE to create policy that benefits Louisiana students. In 2023 House Bill 561 passed to officially codify the Louisiana FFA within the LSU Agcenter’s youth development department.
Smith has taught countless students who are employed in the agricultural industry including: farmers, veterinarians, foresters, teachers, professors, global information system analysts, mechanics, millwrights, and production workers. Currently, his passion is making new Ag teachers successful and veteran Ag teachers sharp.
Even before being crowned King Cotton, Smith is already one of the festival’s biggest cheerleaders. “I had a lot of meetings and have taken the opportunity to let people know that I’ve been nominated to be the Cotton King,” he said. “I’ve actually spread awareness of the festival at meetings in Baton Rouge and Monroe. I also told my staff people I work with at LSU that I’ve been nominated for that distinction. For me, it’s something to really be proud of.”
He concluded, “It makes me feel appreciated for all of the work I’ve done in agriculture.”
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