At the request of the Future Farmers of America (FFA), an analysis was conducted of reasons for a decline in membership in 1977-79 after a 40-year period of steady growth. Factors such as the vocational-agriculture teacher shortage, number of chartered FFA chapters, certification status of teachers, FFA membership costs, and contract length of teachers were studied to determine their relationships to FFA membership trends. Following a pilot study, questionnaires were developed and mailed to a 1 percent random sample of vocational agriculture students in the 15-state FFA Eastern Region, and to 5 percent of the teachers of vocational agriculture in the region. A total of 1,527 questionnaires were sent, with a return of 89.7 percent (1,367). Analysis of the data gathered showed that some of the factors which are generally thought to have a negative influence on FFA membership numbers did not prove to do so in this study. There did not appear to be definite relationships between FFA membership changes and the shortage of vocational agriculture teachers, the use of teachers without full certification, the level of FFA membership costs, nor changes in the length of vocational agriculture teacher contracts. However, there did appear to be a relationship between the decline in FFA membership in the Eastern Region and the numbers of chartered FFA chapters. Continuance of the study on a national level, repeated at five-year intervals, would provide the ongoing assessment which must occur if the FFA is to continue its successes and change to meet future needs. (KC)