Vision For Ag Ed
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Duiphin Co.)
A statewide program to
improve ag literacy for students in
kindergarten through high school
and to provide work skills for high
school graduates and adults who
enter the agricultural and related
Adds begins the first of several
“field tests'* this month.
In its third year, the program.
Vision for Pennsylvania Agricul
tural Education, was funded this
year with a $55,000 grant from the
Pennsylvania Department of Edu
cation. The project is being con
ducted in partnership with Penn
Stale University, the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture, and
the Pennsylvania Vocational Agri
culture Teachers Association.
The project is being adminis
tered through the Solanco School
District and is coordinated by
Mimi Lufkin, project director from
Christiana.
The program was envisioned
three yean ago to “impact all stu
dents and their understanding of
agriculture and food systems,”
noted Lufkin. This “ag literacy” is
sorely missing, according to many
proponents in grade and high
schools.
In meetings conducted in the
past three yean with teachers, stu
dents, and industry representa
tives, many agreed that programs
are limited and don’t address the
need to improve all students*
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understanding of where food com
es from.
And that’s important to Pen
nsylvania’s multibillion dollar
economy that depends on the driv
ing economic force of agriculture.
“Two percent of the population
in the country are involved in pro
duction agriculture,’’ said Lufkin.
“But a much broader, larger sec
tion —20 percent —ate involved
in some field related to agriculture.
So we need to design school-based
programs that serve that broader
base.”
Lufkin noted that one of the
driving forces behind the Vision
program was the School To Work
reform movement begun half a
decade ago to better prepare stu
dents for die everyday work world.
Many students weren’t receiv
ing the proper work and life skills
to survive in a world with many ag
related enterprises.
One program being conducted
at Chambersburg High School
examines service-oriented, people
skills involved in sales and market
ing. The program used its annual
FFA citrus sale as an application of
ag business skills. Students exa
mine all aspects of marketing fruit
from advertising and inventory to
cash flow and profitability.
This program has been formu
lated to assist schools in designing
programs that help students “apply
what they’re learning in an exper
iential way,” noted the project
director.
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Program Begins Field Tests
Lufkin said that field testing at
several sites begins this month and
will continue through the
1998-1999 school year. Those ini
tial field test sites are Chambers
burg Area School District, Gettys
burg Area School District, Ship
pcnsburg Area School District,
Berlin Brothersvalley Area School
District, Crawford Central School
District (Cochranton Junior and
Senior Hijgh Schools), and Conew
ago Valley School District
Lufkin was instrumental in
helping to coordinate the research
and write up,a curriculum develop
ment and program planning hand
book that serves as a guideline for
ag educational supervisors in
elementary, high schools, and
adult education settings. In addi
tion, the handbook is designed to
such a way that it can be used by
community groups to design non
formal agricultural education
programs. The book outlines a
12-step process to “design an ag
education program to meet stu
dents’ needs,” she said.
The handbook was written
under the guidance of students,
teachers, industry representatives,
and others to take into account the
real-world needs of the communi
ties in which the programs are
based. The handbook “provides
local schools and community
groups with a step-by-step process
for developing new or redesigning
existing agricultural education
programs that meet their commun
ities’ needs,” according to a Vision
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Ag educational programs vary
tremendously throughout the state,
according to Lufkin. “A lot of it is
driven by the teachers them
selves.” according to Lufkin, and
depends heavily on their personali
ty and their style of teaching in
addition to individual program
goals.
Importantly, the Vision prog
ram puts these questions in the
minds of students even in kinder
garten. “Kids should start to learn
something about ag when in kin
dergarten,” Lufkin noted.
Lufkin is familiar with similar
projects conducted nationwide. A
former high school agriculture
teacher and a consultant for die ag
education unit with the California
Deportment of Education, Lufkin
lives in the Solanco School
District
Serving on the project steering
committee at Solanco are Arfaa
Henry, ag instructor, and Dr. Eli
zabeth Logan, superintendent of
Lehigh Marketing Club
To Hold Classes
The Lehigh Valley Grain Mar
keting Club will be taking a new
marketing class this winter.
"Agricultural Marketing in a Mul
tinational Environment", a class
that builds on your agricultural
marketing experience will start at
the end of January. This is an op
portunity to leant and discuss
ways to put all the pieces together
to get the most for your product.
Keystone Farm Credit will
host these sessions.
Through past study and experi
ence we all know that world
events affect the bottom line.
"Agricultural Marketing in a Mul
tinational Environment" will help
you evaluate what U.S. and world
economic and political events
mean to your operation. Almost
any event, in any country, that
has an impact on national, re
gional or global politics, mone
tary policy, agricultural produc
tion or policy affects U.S. agricul
ture revenues. In addition, the ac
tions of multinational firms play
an important role in the prices
you receive for your crops and
livestock.
Dr. Jim Kendrick, from the
University of- Nebraska, will be
teaching this r video taped class.
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the Solanco School District
In a paper entitled “The Perfect
Partnership,” Lufkin outlined
three things that must change if
educational programs are to con
tinue to grow in Pennsylvania:
one, that the state must broaden its
mission to include more nontrsdi
tknal students in ag education;
two, that the stale must build more
flexibility and rigor into the prog
rams; and three, feat educators
must “move our programs into the
mainstream of public education
and be sure they connect or lead to
outcomes perceived to be valuable
by our clientele.”
The Vision program serves as a
“rood map” into the 21st century,
Lufkin noted in the paper. “The
Vision for Agricultural Education
Project is the vehicle that will take
us into the next century ”
For more information, contact
Lufkin at (717) 529-6635.
"We will learn to identify and
track events that affect U.S. and
local agricultural marketing." says
John Berry, agriculture marketing
agent. Dr. Kendrick will show
how to analyze the beginning of
an event and how it might tte
velop. We will also discuss the
politics involved that might alter
the evolution of these events.
The meetings will start Janu
ary 19, 1998 at 6:oopm at Key
stone Farm Credit, Fogelsville
and continue every Monday even
ing for 15 weeks. In addition to
these classes, the Lehigh Valley
Grain Marketing Club will host
speakers that will give their in
sight into grain markets during
the monthly breakfast at the Star
lite restaurant, Fogelsville. The
breakfast meetings will be held
the second Tuesday of each
month, beginning at 7:ooam.
Everyone is invited to attend all
meetings of the Lehigh Valley
Grain Marketing Club.
Farm Show
Special Issue
Next Week
(Continued from Page 1)
been changed for the Janu
ary 9 Issue.
These deadlines are as
follows:
January 9th Issue
KEYSTONE GUN-KRETE
81 Poplar Street GordonviUe, PA 1752#
(717) 768-36*1