Agriculture Department
Agricultural Education provides students with a solid foundation of academic knowledge and ample opportunities to apply this knowledge through classroom activities, laboratory experiments and project applications, supervised agricultural experiences, and the FFA. The vision and mission of Agricultural Education is: that all people value and understand the vital role of agriculture, food, fiber, and natural resource systems in advancing personal and global wellbeing; and that students are prepared for successful careers and a lifetime of informed choices in agriculture.The goals for Agricultural Science and Business students focus on providing learning experiences that will allow them to:
- Demonstrate desirable work ethics and work habits.
- Apply the basic agricultural competencies and the basic background knowledge in agriculture and related occupations.
- Analyze entrepreneurial, business, and management skills needed by students preparing to enter agriculture and related occupations.
- Expand leadership and participatory skills necessary for the development of productive and contributing citizens in our democratic society.
- Gain effective social and interpersonal communication skills.
- Be aware of career opportunities in agriculture and set career objectives.
- Acquire job-seeking, employability, and job-retention skills.
- Advance in a career through a program of continuing education and life-long learning.
- Apply the basic learning skills in reading, writing, thinking, mathematics, communicating, listening, and studying.
- Recognize the interaction of agriculture with governments and economic systems at the local, state, national, and international levels.
- Recognize how new technologies impact agriculture and how agriculture impacts the environment.
It is important to understand and reaffirm that career-technical experiences do not preclude students from going on to higher education; in fact participation actually enhances the opportunity. A growing number of students are combining both college preparation and work-place experiences in their high school preparation. Agricultural Science and Business and the FFA programs have a long history of successfully preparing students for entry level careers and further education and training in the science, business and technology of agriculture. The programs combine classroom instruction and hands-on career focused learning to develop students’ potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success.
FFA
The FFA is the career and technical education student organization that is an integral part of the vocational program of instruction in agricultural education. The many activities of the FFA parallel the methodology of the instructional program and are directly related to the occupational goals and objectives. As an integral part of the instructional program, district and state level FFA activities provide students opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they have acquired through the agricultural science and agricultural business total program. Agricultural education students demonstrating a high degree of competence in state level FFA activities are highly encouraged to represent their local communities, districts, and state by participating in national FFA activities.
Instructional activities of the FFA require participation of the agricultural science and agriculture business education students as an integral part of an agricultural education course of instruction and, therefore, may be considered an appropriate use and amount of the allotted instructional time.
Courses
- Agribusiness Management (Dual Credit)
- Animal Science (Dual Credit)
- Advanced Life Science: Animals (Purdue University Credit Examination)
- Food Science (Dual Credit)
- Advanced Life Science: Plants and Soils (Purdue Uniersity Credit Examination)
- Introduction to Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources
- Horticultural Science (Dual Credit)
- Landscape Management (Dual Credit)
- Natural Resource (Dual Credit)
- Plant and Soil Science (Dual Credit)
- Supervised Agricultural Experience