By Jennifer Elwell
Agriculture students in Harrison County are learning important lessons long before they turn a profit from the land. Farming is a business that takes planning, people and perseverance.
Those lessons come to life through Farm Inc., a two-week experiential learning program led by Harrison County 4-H Youth Development agent Shannon Farrell. The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service program blends classroom instruction with a culminating hands-on simulation known as the Farming Game.
“The Farming Game brought together over 30 agribusiness leaders representing a range of farming enterprises and business sectors to ‘do business’ with high school agriculture students,” Farrell said. “Students come prepared, having already spent days in their agriculture classroom learning about budgeting, finance, soil type, topography and farm management.”
Farrell said the program was created to help fill a gap she saw in traditional agricultural education, especially for students without experience in commercial farming.
“While agricultural classes are offered in many Kentucky high schools, there has been a void of educating and preparing young individuals on in-depth, step-by-step farming endeavors,” Farrell said. “Farming has often been considered a career where only minimal education is needed, but it has evolved into a prestigious occupation that requires countless hours, enormous expenses and great risks.”
Modeled after a similar program created in Ohio, Farrell has coordinated Farm Inc. in several counties in the last nine years, impacting nearly 470 students.
Source : uky.edu