Farm Bill Discussion - Question #1

[kimhenry]

How can USDA help strengthen the capacity of agricultural education to produce more students with an interest in pursuing production agriculture (farming) and other agricultural related careers?

[cwhite]

Ideas developed by the State Officers attending the 2011 State Presidents’ Conference:

Internships and other educational opportunities
Incentive program

Transitional program

Ad campaign for educating the masses

[tlwxsoftballx7]

They can provide agricultural classes for students in not only high schools, but in middle schools as well.

They can start a summer camp or "club" for communities are across the nation for kids involved in the FFA or who are just interested in the agricultural experience.

They can give out more scholarships to kids who are interested in the agriculture field and who might want to go into a career involving agriculture or animals

[taylorganggswaggth]

The USDA could prove that not everything involved with agriculture is just farming, surely that is a large part but there's also all of the cemical, mechanical, and biological parts of AG. The USDA could also provide fun camps over the summer for children and offerclasses at lower grade levels as opposed to just highschool aged students.

[Emily Corral]

I believe that you can't force anybody to be in Ag. but you may persuade them. The USDA should advertise about the different points of view in agriculture not just growing crops and wearing boots but that agriculture is in everything we do. I don't think some people know that. :o >:(

[hammysam]

I agree with the previous post, when people thing of ag they think of getting there hands dirty , the USDA needs to let kids know that's no what it's all about, there are many other aspects to agriculture and they all don't retain to a farm

[advocateforag13]

Children are often influenced most by their role models; when i was about 5 my biggest role models were my uncles, and their profession was agriculture. Whether we like it or not FARMING. Yes farming, "the sun up to sun down, in one hundred plus - to ten below weather, the risk, the passion, the blood, sweat, and tears work", is a dying career. These days kids want to be movie stars or professional athletes. Why? Because that's what they see on the television. The way kids spend their time has changed drastically in the past ten years. If you want a kid to believe something put in on TV. Living in a rural town isn't even enough publicity for agriculture anymore. The high school i attend has corn/bean rotated fields on two sides of it. There are only about two hundred kids enrolled in my high school, and yet every year there are kids coming into high school who know NOTHING about agriculture, some had never laid eyes on a combine before our annual FFA Tractor Day. (weird huh?)

It's hard to change a kids mind about agriculture if they didn't grow up knowing what it entailed. Some of the problem may be summed up in one word, and that word is publicity. RFD TV and my local channels are the only channels on which I have witnessed an Ag related commercial. Get our story out there. Plant the desire and passion for agriculture in the hearts and minds of this countries future generation.

Love for agriculture is more contagious than you could imagine.

you must take the time to plant and care for a crop, before you can unlock it's full harvest potential. That goes for everything.

[CA Ag Teacher]

How can USDA help strengthen the capacity of agricultural education to produce more students with an interest in pursuing production agriculture (farming) and other agricultural related careers?

Agriculture Education needs the USDA's help with fighting the changing climate of education. After the passing of "No Child Left Behind" a huge emphasis has been placed on going to college and the track to college is misinterpreted as being tied to core subjects. The truth is that English, Math, History and Science are essential subjects that provide essential knowledge but they don't provide guidance, direction and a feeling of support. These core subjects rarely answer the biggest question in a student's life "what am I going to do for a career?"

If the USDA wants to be a part of agriculture education we need their support in making Agriculture Education and Career Technical Education just as vital as the core subjects. We need another voice that is saying what so many Ag teachers already know; that the act of finding your place in school, in education or in this world is just as important as making sure you have the tools to succeed.

To many students are graduating from high school without a direction and they continue on to college hoping to find an answer. Many of the junior college around the country are seeing rises in career preparation programs like computer technology, welding, mechanics, and others because the students graduate with a diploma in a field that doesn't have a job and then the student goes back to a JC for career skills.

We need an educational plan that supports going to college without undermining career education.

I know this is not normally a part of any Farm Bill or a job the USDA would ever really tackle but this the the major concern facing todays Ag Educators and we watch FFA Chapters close their doors and any actions taking by the USDA need to keep this concern in mind, "Is this going to help change Ag Education for the better?"

[Leilani Powell]

USDA can help strengthen the capacity of agricultural education to produce more students with an interest in pursuing production agriculture by mainstreaming organizations such as FFA advertising it like others do to gain more members such as cheerleading and Drill Team. Many people as children adore animals but are not aware of opportunities they may gain working with them through FFA hopefully continuing in it making it their career

[midnightfarmer1]

I'm a high school student myself and I'm very involved in the FFA, i am also part off the new garden club in our school. Our new garden club is offering a section of a raised bed in the court yard to produce some kind of produce whether its flowers for mom or vegetables to donate to local food pantries. These are just some of many ideas we tossed around that the kids enjoyed.
A school garden can benefit a school and the kids involved in the program. They will learn that hard work pays off and its not just about getting down and dirty, but to help those in need. You'll be shocked at what kids can do when they put their minds to it. My mother is a single parent and I don't just get up and go to school everyday, but I get so involved in the FFA and other activities and stay so late sometimes its 9-10 o'clock at night that I'm leaving the school. I also have a few jobs, not just one, A FEW. And just to help support my mom sometimes I work 12 hour shifts. On top of all this i also do most of the yard work for my grandparents, who i live with. Whether its splitting and stacking wood for the winter to all the lawn maintenance. I also repair my moms car and do most of the maintenance on it too. And somehow between all these things I still find time for my family and myself.
Anyway, the farm bill can fund money to schools to establish projects, such as a school garden/ garden club, FFA program, or even a school farm to get kids involved and the kids in return can donate the money back to the farm bill or the schools or donate to fundraisers for those in need.

[lj2012]

As a senior, graduating as a completer in animal science, agriculture mechanics, and having taken plant science and greenhouse classes I feel that agriculture education could be strengthened by being more than the stereotypical "Ag Class". When many school officials hear this term they automatically envision "shop" or kids that are trying to 'get by' until graduation by taking an 'easy' class. But see, the issue is Animal Science frameworks are very close to Biology, Zoology, etc. and Plant Science frameworks are almost identical to that of Biology and Botany. If we could receive science credits instead of mere electives it would give the Ag department more respect within many school systems and encourage a wave of student to seek out the vocational department.

[farmforfood]

I agree with midnightfarmer. If the farm bill partitioned funds to help start gardens in elementary, middle and high schools, this would be a great step to increasing our nation's food security.

Some of the youth working in the garden will fall in love with food production and be more likely to pursue a career in agriculture. It only took me stepping onto my first organic farm when I as 20 years old to know I wanted to pursue vegetable production. If I had been exposed to a school garden growing up, I may have been introduced to that passion earlier on.

Of course, many students exposed to a school garden probably will not end up following a career in agriculture, but at least they will know where their food comes from. Their experiences growing food will educate them on how to grow, harvest, cook and eat diversified vegetables and any other goods the gardens decide to produce (eggs, fruit, etc.). This awareness of healthy, local food will lead to a healthier population, since youth will be as familiar with carrots as cereal bars (which is certainly not always the case now).

If we can come to appreciate food grown on local diversified farms from early on we will also hopefully continue to support those crops economically. Even if youth raised with a school garden don't go on to become farmers, their awareness of real foods (versus over processed junk food) will hopefully build a food economy where more people are buying from and supporting their local farmers. This is the kind of food economy we should hope to be creating.

[Cyndee Ross]

I was one of those kids that grew up in the city and had no exposure to agriculture other than the local "Safeway" farm down the street. As an adult I transitioned from a corporate job in the city to becoming an organic market grower in the country, my whole life changed and became better for it. What helped me change was:
1. I love to cook with good fresh food - it was hard to find in the grocery stores
2. I love to stay active - gardening is perfect for that
3. We have a local farmers market that has all that great produce, even organic
4. We had a small back yard in the city but grew more than we could eat so we took the extra produce to our farmers Market consignment booth and made a few dollars. We also stayed to help man the booth and talked with customers and vendors at length.
5. Our connections with the customers and vendors was so positive and the values and lifestyles of those people fit our goals in life so well, that we decided to find some small acreage so we could become full time farmers.

I agree with so many of the other statements mentioned prior.

I'd like to add that families should consider taking time to go to a farmers market regularly and taking time to talk with the growers. Learn how to pick out ripe produce, cook with it and be adventurous with new things they have never eaten before. Everyone should ask about the food they consume, where it was grown, how it was grown, harvested, and stored; and be given a solid answer even in grocery stores. You have a right to know all about what goes into your body.

Check to see if your local farms give tours or have seasonal farm school educational activities.

Schools could arrange for field trips to local farms and children could write reports about their experience.

Some schools are even creating garden plots on the school grounds as a hands on educational component for students in gardening and nutrition. Check into 'Seeds of Change' in Oregon

More cooking classes on using fresh food would promote looking for fresh produce and help make for a healthier more nutritionally balance diet for young people. Plus knowing how to cook is a lifelong survival skill of great benefit in so many ways.