Can Schools Revive American Agriculture?

Work Based Learning Opportunities Preparing the Next Generation of Ag Laborers

The best option for addressing farm labor shortages could be closer to home than you think. In fact, it could be right down the road at your local high school. Despite the traditional storyline that younger generations care little for agricultural careers and rural living, all fifty states in the U.S. are home to schools with agricultural education tracks. These schools are not only preparing the next generation to be problem solvers when it comes to how we use resources to produce food, in some cases, they are reviving rural farm communities.

Kansas School Ag Program Draws New Students

Across America rural communities are in jeopardy primarily because fewer and fewer young people stay to raise their own families. Either because there just are not as many jobs in small towns anymore or because young adults are not sure they can make ends meet if they continue to work in agriculture they are migrating closer to the cities.

Most farm town residents will admit, there isn’t much to hold their kids to rural areas other than the daunting task of carrying on the family business. As fewer families stay it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain community infrastructure. Without good schools, community activities and amenities, it's tough to keep people around, let alone attract new families. And when things like schools and local grocery stores start to go, a town can quickly disappear.

It's a scenario that feeds directly into labor shortages in agriculture. And it raises a good question about rural infrastructure. If schools are the backbone of a community, can their educational choices play a part in addressing labor shortages in agriculture? At least one school district in Kansas believes it can.

Rather than watch their district decline to the point of shut down, a school in western Kansas opted to revamp their education experience. Instead of a traditional public school curriculum, the school filters all of their classes through an agricultural lens. The hope is that by pouring into students with hands-on agricultural experience from crop production, raising livestock, mechanicing and even financial planning and economics they will revive their community.

The school has already increased enrollment proving that the opportunity for project based learning is attractive to young people. The model includes the entire community with older students working paid internships and learning how to take over farm operations once town members retire. Will growing their own food, serving on student planning boards and working paid internships under local farmers give them and agriculture a leg up in the future?

Colorado Charter School is Ag Focused

An eastern Colorado school sees the potential to equip the next generation of agricultural problem solvers. In an area full of feedlots and farms local educators prepare students for the future with their own butchery where students can learn the craft as well as animal health, nutrition and anatomy. They now draw students from multiple communities interested in gaining work based experience they know they can put to immediate use through FFA projects, but also gain skills that can transfer directly into local jobs once they graduate.

It’s not just small towns aiming to build the next generation of agricultural workers. In the suburbs of Denver you can find schools offering agricultural tracts. Commerce City, Colorado is home to the STEAD Charter school which specializes in plant, animal, environmental and food sciences. Students primarily participate in project based learning formats such as, designing a farm, selecting and studying animal genetics for breeding, making decisions about how to use resources on the farm and balancing finances. Though they are not typical farm kids and most have zero family ties to farm operations, the school’s founders believe they will play an important role in shaping the future of food production and could be part of solving agriculture labor issues.

Addressing Labor Issues

Could it all be for nothing? Will the majority of these students go on to pursue degrees that have little to do with food production and land or resource management? It's possible that these young people raising their own chickens and constructing aquaculture farms today will see agriculture as less lucrative and prestigious than other professions in the future.

However, finding ways to get young people excited about agriculture again is crucial to solving labor shortages. It won’t solve every problem, but offering the next generation a fresh perspective of farming and ranching and encouraging them to think outside the box now could have a positive impact on ag in the future. At the very least, more middle school and high school aged students are learning that no matter what degree they get, they can use their talents in agricultural industries.