A2O-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, Daceinber 9, 1995
Ag Teachers In Spotlight At National Conference
(Continued from Pas* A 1)
learned that there are many bene
fits for agriculture instructors with
membership in NVATA.
“There are three components to
the agricultural educational
aspects of the membership prog
ram,” said Baker. “One is the
classroom aspect, providing work
shops and materials for the ag
teacher. Second is the FFA compo
nent. Third is the materials for
supervised agriculture experience,
which is very important to ag
education.”
A highlight of the membership
program is that, as technology
Carroll Shry of Woodsboro. Md., was one of six Individu
als who won an Outstanding Service Citation last week at
the NVATA conference In Denver, Colo.
Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Curtis with the plaque signifying
Honorary Life Membership In NVATA.
From left, Nancy and Bill Campbell, owners of Hoes’
Steak and Sea House, are congratulated by Merle Richter,
NVATA president, asihe Outstanding Cooperation Award
winners of Region VI.
changes rapidly, instructional
materials and coursewoik will help
ag teachers stay abreast of those
changes.
Also, workshops will cover
dealing with several hot issues in
agricultural education, including
the impact of animal welfare issues
and show ring ethics. There are
about 11 mailings per year to
members about upcoming work
shops and activities.
Baker said that now, about half
of the certified ag instructors in
Pennsylvania are members of
NVATA, for a total of 101. Goals
set three years ago by the NVATA
include having 12,000 members
by the year 2000. There were 800
new members at the beginning of
the membership year on June 30
this year. Cost per membership is
$155.
In Greenwood, which has a lot
of support from the school board,
according to Baker, 82 students
were enrolled in ag instructional
programs for grades 9-12. She is
assisted by Wayne Zeigler,
instructional aide.
Baker was graduated from Penn
State with a degree in ag education
in 1982. She taught in the Solanco
school district in Lancaster County
and then completed her master’s
degree at the Uriversity of Dela
ware in 1987. She began teaching
at Greenwood in 1987 and com
pleted her doctorate in ag educa
tion at Penn State last year.
Baker will work to strengthen
the work of the NVATA through
the state and six regional
associations.
At the conference. Bob Lauffer,
ag instructor at Garden Spot High
School, was appointed alternate
vice president for Region VI,
including the states from Maine to
Virginia and West Virginia.
Also, Roland J. Duperron, Jr.,
ag science instructor at Northern
Potter High School in Ulysses, was
honored with the Ideas Unlimited
Award for Region VI. This prog
ram recognizes teachers for deve
loping and sharing their innovative
ideas.
Duperron told Lancaster Farm
ing that the idea for ‘ ‘rent a plant’ ’
began in 1993, which involved
‘ ‘renting’ ’ potted plants for teach
ers and businesses in the area.
Each plant rental was SO cents and
higher per week. In 1994, the prog
ram started a “rent to own” plant
program, involving large, hanging
baskets. The program continues in
1996 and involves about 12 stu
dents from the 85 enrolled in the
school’s ag science program.
The purpose of the program,
said Duperron, was to involve ag
science students in the “learn by
doing” methods of growing the
plants as part of the startup horti
culture program and learning the
aspects of a business.
Duperron said that the enter
prise was operated as a business by
students, involving sales planning,
contracts, billing, and scheduling.
‘ ‘We even provided business perks
and breakfast meetings for the stu
dents,” he said.
Last year, at the school, several
Headwaters FFA members started
a “caged fish” aquaculture sys
tem. Several raised about 300 trout
and marketed them for stocking
and consumption.
Duperron has been teaching at
Northern Potter for 32 years.
Carroll Shry of Woodsboro,
Md., was one of six individuals
who won an Outstanding Service
Citation last week at the
conference.
Shry teaches agriculture educa
tion in Frederick County, Md. He
served as past NVATA president
and region VI vice president, in
addition to president of the Mary
land Agriculture Teachers
Association.
Shry has authored a horticulture
textbook called “Introductory
Horticulture" and is writing an
accompanying lab manual. The
NVATA awards the Outstanding
Service Citation to' individuals
who have contributed to the
advancement of agricultural edu
cation on a regional or national
level.
Dr. Samuel Curtis was pre
sented with Honorary Life Mem-
Region VI Ideas Unlimited Award winner was Roland
Duperron, Northern Potter High School, left. He Is congratu
lated by Merle Richter, NVATA president.
ber recognition at the conference.
Curtis was recognized for his out
standing leadership and contribu
tions to ag education on a state,
regional, and national level.
Curtis served as a professor and
eventually was named department
head of the agricultural education
department at Penn State. He has
served as a distinguished visiting
professor at Ohio State University.
The Outstanding Cooperation
Award was presented to Nancy
and Bill Campbell, owners of
Hoss’ Steak and Sea House.
Performance
DAVE SLUSSER
General Manager
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) Do you want to track BST
on a per-cow basis, and a group
basis?
Do you want to know what it
cost you to produce 100 pounds of
milk on a monthly basis?
Do you want to know the indivi
dual cow’s profitability?
Do you want a 12-month rolling
net income for your herd and per
cow?
The Pa. DHIA Performance
Economics Program will do this
and much more and it is confiden
tial, simple and FREE.
Pa. DHIA Performance Eco
nomics is the Erst of its kind in the
nation. It was developed jointly by
Pa. DHIA, Dr. Steve Ford, farm
management specialist at Penn
State, and George Wilcox, senior
extension agent, Erie County.
The program consists of a five
page instruction sheet, a one-page
worksheet, a sample farm to fol
low, and a replica of the Pa. DHIA
technician’s laptop computer feed
screen. You need to get Herd Sum-
Bill and Nancy Campbell attend
and purchase project animals at
dozens of local fairs each year.
Nancy Campbell, serving as co
chairperson of the Pennsylvania
FFA Association board of trustees,
has helped to orchestrate Hoss’s
Fore FFA Golf Tournament,
which has become the Founda
tion’s most successful fund
raising event, raising more than
$20,000 last year.
The award honors Hoss’ com
mitment to the support of today’s
youth and the agricultural leaders
of tomorrow.
Economics
mary I to get the full benefit of the
program.
Pa. DHIA has requested time on
Dairy Day activities to present this
program to you. We are also
requesting our county DHIA com
mittees to schedule county meet
ings on Performance Economics.
Dr. Steve Ford or Dave Slusser
will conduct these meetings.
If you cannot wait for a meeting,
contact Judy Walker at Pa. DHIA.
Our address is Orchard Road, Uni
versity Park, PA 16802, or call
1-800-DHI-TEST and Judy will
send the program out to Pa. DHIA
members free.
Pa. DHIA has embarked on a
multi-step plan to help our mem
bers fight back in these .troubled
times. The first step was MUN
(Milk Urea Nitrogen) analysis to
control feed costs. The second step
is Performance Economics.
Our goal in performance eco
nomics is to get 10 percent of our
membership on the program. If we
get that many or more* we plan to
redesign a portion of Herd Sum
mary I to give you an 8, 10 or 12
month cash flow projection. Stay
tuned!