The new crop
Fort Cherry students hold 2-week-old rabbits during their vo-ag class.
As part of the vocational agriculture program at Fort Cherry High School, students take care of a variety of fish, including mollies and tilapia.
Hunter Romanetti hands over fresh eggs to Fort Cherry High School teacher Jodie Hoover. Students check for eggs daily from the five chickens that reside right outside the school.
Fort Cherry students, from left, Karis Zafaras, Nikkie Coffield and Riley Carter hold newborn rabbits during their vo-ag class. The students take care of a variety of animals to learn veterinary science.
Hunter Romanetti, left, and Justin Mills feed the chickens beside the school for their vocational agriculture class at Fort Cherry High School.
Fort Cherry High School students, from left, Greg Csonka, Reagan Smith and Cole Zafaras work on boutonnieres during the floral arrangement portion of their vo-ag class.
Tom Ulrich sits behind the wheel of his tractor and follows a GPS screen that shows him where to fertilize a field at his family’s farm in Bulger.
Tom Ulrich is shown in the pasture with the cows at his Bulger farm.
Tom Ulrich strings line to fence off a new pasture for the cows to graze at his family’s farm in Bulger.
Washington and Greene counties have a long, rich history of farming.
So much so that vocational agriculture programs have remained popular since their inception in the area in the late 1920s to help foster better farmers.
While their purpose has changed, the interest in agriculture courses has not. Three high schools in Washington County offer vo-ag programs; Trinity Area High School, McGuffey High School and Fort Cherry High School. Avella Area High School is looking to reintroduce its program next year after students expressed interest. The district currently sends students to other schools to participate in vo-ag programs.
In Greene County, Waynesburg Central High School and West Greene High School have programs.
Robin Durila, a vo-ag teacher at Trinity Area High School, said people are often surprised to hear that students remain interested in the program despite the fact that the school is located in the heart of Washington.
“Kids are interested in more than they are given credit for,” said Durila, who participated in McGuffey’s program and in Future Farmers of American while in high school in late 1980s.
Durila grew up on a farm and received a degree in agricultural science from Penn State University in 1992. After working as a dairy nutritionist, Durila returned to school and obtained her teaching certificate. She was at Trinity for two years before being approached to lead the district’s now expanding vo-ag program. She currently has more than 70 students enrolled in the program and is looking to expand.
“It was an eye-opener,” she said. “Kids don’t want to be farmers. They are interested in other areas of study.”
Those other areas include public relations and the gas and oil fields, she said.
To prove her point, Durila provided an anecdote. At the beginning of the year, she started her introduction to agriculture class with a quick, eye-opening scenario. She passed out individual bags of potato chips, and asked the students to come up with as many ways as possible that agriculture played a role in the production of the product.
“We came up with 50 ways that those bags of chips were related,” she said.
Vocational agriculture programs have long been prevalent in Washington and Greene counties, but a recent resurgence in interest has spurred growth and changes. Durila said the program prepares students for potential careers whether they are college-bound or not. She hopes to add agricultural mechanics next year to the list of classes Trinity provides in order to meet the demands of the students. Currently, the district pays for several students to participate in McGuffey’s agricultural mechanics program.
Farming in the region dates back to the 1780s, and at one point, the area was one of the largest producers of Merino sheep wool in the world. Washington County still ranks first in the state in the number of sheep and lambs, and first in number of beef cattle and beef farms, according to the Washington County Conservation District.
Within each program, a portion of students are taking what they are learning in the classroom and applying it to their work on family or local farms.
Andrew Hobgood, a seventh-grader at Trinity, raises rabbits on his family’s farm along South Hewitt Avenue. He wanted to learn more about animals and farming and joined the vo-ag program the request of his sister, Ashlee Hobgood.
“We bounce ideas off of one another,” said Ashlee, a senior at Trinity and active member of the school’s vo-ag program. “We’ve always had a love for animals.”
Ashlee said she works with horses on her family’s farm and hopes to obtain a degree in either floral design or equine massage therapy.
“This program gave me access to knowledge I didn’t previously have,” she said.
Tom Ulrich, a 2001 Fort Cherry graduate and vo-ag member, still uses what he learned years ago. He currently works for Washington County Conservation District as an agriculture technician and runs his own farm in Bulger. He graduated from Penn State University in 2005 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
“Someone has to introduce students to agriculture,” he said of the programs. “It prepared me fore running my farm and the teamwork aspect that goes along with it.”
Ulrich said he returns to Fort Cherry to assist with the vo-ag program.
For the most part, classes for vo-ag programs are the same across the board. Fort Cherry has a more expansive program with seven classes. Those classes are introduction to agriculture; animal science; vet science; horticulture; floral design; agriculture leadership and communication and supervised agriculture experience, which is a project-based class. McGuffey is the only high school to offer agricultural mechanics, which draws in students from other districts.
Over 150 high schools throughout the state offer vo-ag programs to their students, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The department is currently working with agriculture teachers to develop curriculum framework. There are three components of vo-ag programs; Future Farmers of America, a supervised agricultural experience and classroom work. A framework for agriculture mechanics is in place.
“The state’s vocational-agriculture programs are critical to developing the next generation of leaders in a major Pennsylvania industry. Farming isn’t the only agriculture-related career field. Other careers include engineering and design, law, finance, environmental planning, and sales,” Nicole Reigelman, department spokeswoman, said in an email. “As one component of school agriculture programs, FFA programs help students around the commonwealth develop the leadership and public speaking skills needed to thrive in global agricultural economy.”
McGuffey High School Principal Mark Bonus said much of what is being taught in vo-ag programs is “directly related to the workforce.” He said he expects the district’s program to continue grow.
“It’s no longer just about farming and food science,” he said.