HAMILTON COUNTY — At Hamilton Southeastern High School, there is a greenhouse where students can get introduced to agriculture.
However, people with the Future Farmers of America say students think that production in agriculture is the only option in the industry.
"I just viewed it as a club for farmers,” Dupree Henry, a Junior at HSE and FFA member, said. “However, I soon realized it's not at all that. It's more so a club of diversity is how I like to put it."
Henry is talking about the Future Farmers of America. He was first introduced to the idea of the club when he took a principals of agriculture class his freshman year. He was hesitant to join the club at first, but once he learned the club had more to offer than traditional farming, he joined and hasn't looked back.
"It has introduced me to a whole bunch of different careers,” Henry said. “That has made choosing a career much easier and has helped me narrow down what I want to do specifically."
According to the national FFA organization, there are currently around 240 FFA chapters across the state. They serve about 15,000 students.
The national organization has now launched the Grow With Us Initiative. Its goal is to create more agricultural education opportunities in the state of Indiana.
"Whether schools already have a program, or they don't currently have an agriculture program,” Ambra Tennery, the Associate Director of Educational Programs at FFA, said. “Grow With Us is something for everyone to learn about the opportunities in AG education while also getting resources and information."
The initiative aims to show there are more than just traditional farming jobs like production. There are also STEM opportunities, business opportunities, and much more.
FFA says there are a lot of people needed to do those jobs.
"It's really in demand for individuals to come into this industry that might not have ever even thought about agriculture before,” Tennery said.
Grow With Us is an open-source website, with resources for schools. They can learn how to start an FFA chapter and find materials to expand their agricultural education options to learn more, click here.
