Hatching New Curriculum

Core Connections

Hatching New Curriculum

By Bill Sampson and Jacob Falwell

With all of the changes in the world of agriculture over the past decades, and even over the past months here in Kentucky, there is an ever increasing need to revise and revisit the curriculum taught in high school agriculture programs. Gone are the days when all boys take agriculture and all of the girls take home economics. The establishment of vocational education in 1917 had that goal in mind. Today, the number of boys who intend to farm after high school is less than 5% of the student body, and only a slight increase of females plan to be the wife of their home. Other changes include the role reversals, since females are now more readily accepted as farmers. These monumental changes along with the changes in farming technology and practices have greatly altered the more traditional education methods. Previous generations enrolled in Ag I, Ag II, Ag III, and Ag IV as they worked their way through the high school. Today classes such as Small Animal Technology, Floral Design, Landscaping, Equine Science, Environmental Technology, and Ag Sales and Marketing compliment the more typical courses such as Farm Management, Animal Science, and Plant and Land Science. The world of agriculture has changed, and so too has the world of agriculture education.

 

Farming is not what it was 20 years ago. Conservation measures including no-till farming, set-aside acreage, and precision agriculture are some changes in the row crop industry. The animal industry has witnessed the introduction of embryo transfer, genetic research, and post-September 11th animal identification. Recently changes have occurred within the agriculture world as it relates to tobacco farming. Tobacco is still the largest legal cash crop in the state of Kentucky, and no county in the state grows more acres of dark fired tobacco than Calloway County. However, in the fall of 2005, President Bush signed an omnibus bill that completely ended the 70 plus years of the tobacco government program. Thus, tobacco farming is no longer the same. Tobacco farmers are now at the mercy of the tobacco companies, and can not look to the government for price support. These changes, along with the increasing number of individuals and institutions taking a stand against tobacco have altered the way many farmers now make a living. Alternatives to Kentucky's crop have been batted around for decades. Higher education institutions such as Murray State University, Kentucky State University and the University of Kentucky have worked tireless to research the effectiveness of various alternatives. In the end, it has been determined that the Commonwealth will never be able to replace tobacco. Other commodities can be produced to provide an alternative income to Kentucky's oldest crop.

At Calloway County High School, the agriculture department sees over 150 students a day, and over 300 during each school year. While the majority of students have an agriculture background, less than 10% actually come from a family farm. Thus it has been imperative for the department to teach agriculture skills and practices, but not to focus solely on farming. Courses such as Animal Science not only study feeding rations and weight gain expectations on cattle, but also on aquatic animals. The department has a 500 gallon fish tank in which students raise tilapia, an African fish. Outside of the school, the students work in a modern greenhouse and raise bedding plants and vegetables for Calloway County residents. Production methods include traditional growing methods as well as hydroponics production. Plant and Land Science students not only look at fertility requirements and balancing fertilizer ratios, but also the benefits of precision agriculture and global positioning systems.

With the rigorous state program of studies for each of the 12 classes offered by Calloway County's agriculture department, there is a great degree of difficulty in covering all requirements. The freshman agriculture class, Ag-Science Technology allows students to be introduced to the wide world of agriculture. Students are given a taste of Ag Construction with a welding unit. They wet their appetite for Environmental Technology with a water quality unit. Freshmen see the wonders of plant science as a preview of the Horticulture courses. A general overview of the largest student organization is also given in an FFA unit. Finally, students experience the excitement of the Production Livestock courses with a unit in poultry production. In this unit, students encounter cellular division with a 21 day waiting period between fertilization and hatching. Student are able to see the membranes and organs develop when they window eggs at day 7. The study of the poultry industry takes it all the way from conception to the dinner plate. Students even get to act as USDA graders as well as tour the chicken hatchery, growing house, and processing plant.

Courses such as this and units like the ones described offer just one example of how a new curriculum is hatching in agriculture programs around the United States, particularly the agriculture department at Calloway County High School. The days of all boy classes, a majority of students with a farm background and students planning to return to the family farm are gone. Students are now preparing for increasingly technical careers in the agriculture industry. In fact, over 20 students have earned three hours of college credit while enrolled in agriculture courses at Calloway County High School. As of the spring of 2006, four students have earned six hours of college credit as high school agriculture students, and this does not count the 17 Advanced Placement courses offered to all students at Calloway County High School. Agriculture has changed, and agriculture education has had to change as well. The department has met this demand head on. For more information regarding the curriculum at Calloway County High School visit the schools website at http://www.calloway.k12.ky.us/index.htm or contact either agriculture teacher (Bill Sampson or Jacob Falwell) for specific questions about any of the 12 agriculture courses offered at Calloway County High School.


Related Links

  • Ag Ed Links - This website is tagged as "the Agriculture Teacher's Time-saving Solution".  It give useful tools and information for the General Agricultural Education teacher.
  • Inquiry-Based Instruction in Secondary Agricultural Education - This is an informational journal article for the secondary agriculture teacher.
  • AG IN THE CLASSROOM -

    "Agriculture in the classroom is a nationwide program to help students in grades K-12 gain a broad-based knowledge of the food and fiber system. Agriculture is the number one industry in the state and over 400,000 Kentucky jobs are agriculture-related."

  • AGriculture in the Classroom - A resource website for the AG classroom teacher.

Related Lesson Plans, Activities, and Classroom Resources