A study investigated whether Future Farmers of America (FFA) members and non-members differed in their perception of the overall image of FFA and whether their perceptions were influenced by social and demographic characteristics. A questionnaire was administered to 404 first-year students enrolled in the Agriscience Applications course in 27 high schools in North Carolina. Participants responded by indicating the strength of their agreement or disagreement with 18 statements regarding FFA's image. Statistical analyses included the Pearson Product Moment Correlation and descriptive statistics. Findings indicated FFA members reported higher mean scores for every image item; both members and non-members agreed FFA is not just for those students who wish to become farmers; a student's decision to join or not join FFA was influenced by his/her perception of FFA's image in his/her school; a student's gender, ethnicity, enrollment choice, prior enrollment in an agriculture class, block scheduling, grade level, and extracurricular activities did not influence perception of FFA's image; students tended to join and participate in FFA when they believed it was able to meet a student's need for a sense of belonging; and social aspects of FFA were motivating factors in the desire to be members. The researchers concluded that FFA may need to work toward providing more sophisticated methods of instilling that sense of belonging and comradeship that FFA has enjoyed in its long history. (Contains 13 references.) (YLB)