Author: Michelle Simon
Planning Unit: Campbell County CES
Major Program: Sustainable Agriculture
Plan of Work: Youth and Adults Agriculture and Natural Resources Education, Adaptation, & Sustainability
Outcome: Initial Outcome
It is an echoing response from all agricultural communities- youth need to learn about agriculture to appreciate agriculture, we need to do our part to educate youth and involve them in agriculture to secure the future of farmers. The majority of Scott County youth are separated from the farm by three generations. These youth don’t have the opportunity to spend the weekend at their grandparents farm to learn the responsibility of caring for livestock and crops or even raising vegetables in their backyard. Some of these youth are still drawn to agriculture though and are interested in the science, laws, and education but they are lacking the experience to allow them to enter the workforce in an agricultural career. Scott County Extension ANR Agent worked to eliminate this struggle by hosting a summer intern for two consecutive summers and hosting a co-op student to job shadow. Claire Waggoner fits this example perfectly. She has grown up in town, only visiting a family friend’s farm minimally, with no real experience in agriculture. She was drawn to agriculture and became involved in FFA during high school and is pursuing an Agricultural Education degree in college. I took Claire under my wing for two summers as the Agriculture & Natural Resources Summer Intern and taught her the workings of Extension and what the day to day life of an Extension Agent was like. She learned how to write fertilizer recommendations based on soil tests and agr-1 recommendations, how to test hay, diagnose pathogenic diseases in tobacco, and most importantly how to work with farmers and appreciate their contributions to agriculture. Claire’s summer project was the “Opening the Barn Doors” event- an avenue to invite urban community members to a traditional, yet diversified, farming operation to learn about the progression of agriculture in Scott County and the importance it serves today. The participants noted they did not realize the financial impact tobacco still had on farmers and how crucial it was for them to stay in business. Casey Whitlock, another Agriculture Education student, shadowed me on several occasions as a co-op student to learn more about Cooperative Extension. Casey assisted me at several committee meetings and evening programs and learned a new perspective to Extension. Casey’s background differed greatly from Claire, in that he had family actively farming but worked there in his youth and was working at the UK Dairy Unit as well. Casey was familiar with the diagnostic and agronomic sector of Extension, but learned the research and education portion by shadowing me during the Farm Series for Women program and Ag Development Board meeting. Both of these youth ag students had an opportunity to gain experience in an Agricultural career to help them for the future.
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