Jefferson County 4-H Introduces Jefferson County Teens to M.A.N.R.R.S. and Agriculture Related Careers

According to the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, agriculture and its related industries provide 11 percent of U.S. employment. Unfortunately, many youth are not aware of the opportunities that agriculture provides. This is true for many of the students that attend Fern Creek Traditional High School in Jefferson County, Louisville, KY. A number of Fern Creek’s students participate in the Fern Creek Gardening Club where Jefferson County 4-H assists with teaching the students gardening techniques. Many of the participants had never considered careers in agriculture and expressed interest in learning more about what opportunities a career in agriculture may provide. To help facilitate this interest, Jefferson County 4-H took 6 of the gardening club participants to the Jr. M.A.N.R.R.S. Leadership Institute at the University of Kentucky. Jr. M.A.N.R.R.S. (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences) is an auxiliary group to the M.A.N.R.R.S. society. M.A.N.R.R.S. is a national society dedicated to the professional development of it student memberships, and facilitates their development through agriculture and agriculture related fields. Jr. M.A.N.R.R.S. is for students, grades 7^th-12^th. This organizations serves as a vehicle to facilitate interest in agriculture, and serves as a pipeline from Jr. M.A.N.R.R.S. to M.A.N.R.R.S on the collegiate level.

While attending the Jr. M.A.N.R.R.S. Leadership Institute, the Fern Creek Gardening Club members immersed themselves within the activities. They went to various workshops that were led by University of Kentucky professors. They also participated in the Quiz Bowl, which tested their knowledge on agriculture related topics, and the Opportunity Fair, where students got to interact with various professionals in agricultural related fields such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Forestry Department.

After the entire event, the 6 Fern Creek Gardening Club participants were highly interested in agriculture, and were even interested in starting a Jr. M.A.N.R.R.S. chapter in Louisville, Kentucky.