While agricultural classes are offered in many high schools across Kentucky, there has been a void of educating and preparing young individuals on in-depth step by step farming endeavors.  Furthermore, farming has often been considered a career where only minimal education is needed to take care of animals and/or the land, it has contrarily evolved into a very prestigious occupation that requires countless hours, enormous expenses, and great risks.  When managed efficiently, significant profits, sustainability and improvements to the land and its resources can be gained.  Furthermore, understanding the use of money management, loan operations, fundamentals of land and animal conservation practices and obtaining and applying education learned from school, college and agricultural services (Extension, Soil Conservation, FSA, etc.) have become nearly essential in successful farming.   In an effort to address the 4-H core curriculum area of agriculture on an advanced level; Pendleton, Harrison, and Clark County 4-H have teamed together on a multi-county program to educate high school Ag students about real life farming applications.  This program has reached over 350 male and female junior and senior students in agricultural classrooms over the past 5 years.

This week long event gives students classroom and hands on experience through student centered learning and student inquiry.  The first few days of the program are spent in the classroom helping youth select a farm from a selection of several scenarios.  During day 1 students are prepped for the Farming Game (the real life simulation event that students experience on Day 5).  This is followed by giving students the option of being a full time farmer or selecting an outside job to accompany their part-time farming endeavors.  Students then include income from occupation chosen (if applicable) to their budget sheets along with their cost of living.  Soil Conservation representatives come to the classroom and teach the students how to read soil maps, understand which soil types are best suited for certain farming practices, soil series profiles and crop yields, and tillable vs. wooded acres (with forest compositions provided). FSA representatives come to the classroom and educate on completing farm budgets with income and expense summary sheets.  Based on the above learned information and the students’ interest they are to determine what their farming endeavors will include and as well as research and be prepared to “farm” their operation on Day 5.  The final day of the program allows students to spend the day farming (determining income and expenses for the year) by visiting vendors who pertain to their farming operation.  Vendors include real life business men and women from local equipment dealers, crop insurance employees, loan officers, foresters, horticulture specialists, tobacco representatives, ADM Grain agents, livestock dealers (both breeding and market) and feed/supply stores.  This event provides an eye-opening experience to students on annual expenses (usually much greater than realized) and income (usually much less than needed) that are associated with different farming scenarios.  Students develop realizations about important farm management decisions when working with vendors. (Example: buying cows to sell the calves involves expenses such as pasture management, vet expenses, feed bills, fencing supplies, facility costs, calf death rates, market volatility, etc.).   

Evaluations responses from students averaged a rating of out 4.68 of 5 for program quality.  Individual comments included:

• Getting a feel for what I’m actually going to have to do to make a living farming
• I learned how to go about asking for loans
• Having a better understanding of just how much farming cost (I never realized the prices)
• It really gives me an idea on how to go about starting a farm
• I learned about the different programs that can help you out because it is hard to make it farming
• Presented students with real life farming scenarios
• Vendors treated students with respect as they would a real client
• Alerted young people to ag businesses they were unaware of
• Showed how frustrating farming can be and just how much must be thought about
• Showed how easy it can be to go in debt
• Enjoyed being able to actually try and run a farming business the way desired (the “real life” experience)
• It was really awesome to get out of the classroom and do an activity one-on-one pertaining to Ag production, loans, markets, etc.

Comments from vendors included:

• Helped kids understand what their parents deal with daily
• Good mix of industry/trade representatives and each situation/circumstance was different with each student
• Students were really involved and cared about their property
• Great real life experience
• Enjoyed interacting with students and challenging them with real scenarios
• I love the real-life application of this program and the connection of these kids to industry people and resources

While some of the Ag students do not plan to make farming a career, many others indicated that this activity will truly help them in their goals of farming as part of their future.  One evaluation question asked if they wanted to be involved in production agriculture in the future as a result of this experience.  Eighty-six percent of the evaluations said yes.  Several claimed they desired to be a part of hard work and responsibility while others exclaimed their love for farming.  Two great student quotes were: “high risk= high reward” and “It’s very challenging and I like a challenge.” Some students checked “no” because this experience opened their eyes to the financial burden that comes along with farming or that it was way too complicated for them to pursue.   Both “yes” and “no” responses indicate a successful impacts from the Farm Inc. event.