Byron-Bergen Students Celebrate Agricultural Tradition
The Byron-Bergen community’s agricultural heritage was celebrated on June 2 with the Junior/Senior High School’s fourth annual Agriculture Appreciation Day – better known as the bring-your-tractor-to-school-day. Brothers Garrett and Wyatt Sando were the first to arrive in their carefully restored and shining 1973 white tractor. They were soon joined by other students with their farm vehicles, large and small, including a classic 1952 Farmall.
Science teacher Jeff Parnapy is excited about the important role agriculture will play in education at the school next year. He is spearheading the new agriculture program, which will launch in the fall with an Intro to Ag class and a new Byron-Bergen chapter of Future Farmers of America (FFA).
“We’ve been working with our Advisory Council, a wonderful group of experienced people from the community, to plan and organize the program,” he said. “Our Superintendent, Mickey Edwards, and Principal Pat McGee, recognize the interest our students have in agriculture and natural resources. We already have 22 students signed up for the first class.”
Junior Garrett Sando is one of them. His family owns 75 acres and he has had his tractor license since ninth-grade. “I’m really interested in trying the program out,” he said.
Parnapy is excited to work with young people who are interested in building futures in agriculture. He taught agriculture in Albion schools before coming to Byron-Bergen in 2000, and sees similarities between the two communities.
“My hope is to launch the program and expand it every year. The FFA chapter will be open to kids in grades 9-12 for the first year, with plans to extend it to grades 7-8 when it is solidly established,” said Parnapy.
NY FFA Students Tour Agriculture Colleges
While most students are typically awaiting the start of a brand new school year in August, high schoolers involved in FFA and 4H were taking part in a traveling conference over the course of 5 days across New York State. The inTENse conference takes high school students in grades 10 through 12 on the road and exposes them to agricultural college and career opportunities within New York. Students learn about college admissions and a variety of career options through hands-on experiences. The goal is that every participant will clearly understand that no matter what sort of career they envision for themselves they can do it in agriculture - and that we need them to do it in New York agriculture. This year, almost 60 students took the opportunity to tour SUNY Cobleskill, Paul Smith’s College, SUNY Morrisville, Cornell University, and Alfred State College, in hopes of finding a college and career that would best suit them.
The first day of InTENse was spent at SUNY Cobleskill. With 57,900 high- skilled jobs available in the food, agriculture, renewable resources and environmental fields in the United States, students were exposed to several of these career fields. As the tour progressed, students got hands on and made pickles as part of the culinary lab as well as groomed horses during the equine experience. During the next leg of the experience at Paul Smith’s College, students participated in timber sports, driving horses, and the rehabilitation of wildlife. While in the Adirondacks, we made a stop at the Wild Center to learn about internship opportunities that are available in this career field.
Once students left the Adirondacks, they headed to SUNY Morrisville to see the dairy incubator, equine rehabilitation center and the ag mechanics program. Students also learned about Collegiate FFA before joining Farm Credit East for a tour of Holmes Acres and Cazenovia Equipment. Once at Cornell University they were able to see the weed/crop gardens, get an in depth look at the lab of Ornithology, and explore the rumen of a fistulated cow. Following a day of tours, the students got to enjoy a meal at Coltivare. Here they learned about how the food that was used to prepare the meal was locally grown at TC3, a community college with agriculture and sustainability options. The last stop of the experience was spent touring the dairy farm and Vet Tech program at Alfred State. Students were able to use an endoscope and conduct a sonogram on a dog, prepare blood smears, perform wellness exams on calves, and observe the operation of a robotic milker before heading back home. By the end of the week, group leaders heard the students expressing their excitement about the colleges they had seen and the opportunities they couldn’t wait to take advantage of. In fact, many students began the application process to join the class of 2021 at desired universities such as Justin Rodda who said “I tried to start the application process yesterday, but it just started today and I’m going to have it filled out before I leave”. The future of agriculture is bright thanks to the incredible students enrolled in agriculture programs across New York. We would like to take this time to thank the colleges, agricultural businesses and our sponsors for giving this amazing opportunity to future generations of agriculturalists.
FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career successful through agriculture education. For more information regarding FFA please visit either www.nysffa.org or www.ffa.org.
Respectfully Submitted By,
Kimberly Doyle
NY FFA State Reporter, 2017-2018
FFA milestone achieved for Cayuga student
AURORA, N.Y. — May 13th was the last day of the NYS FFA State Convention, and an end to a competitive season for most FFA members. However, for Brett Jillson, a student at Southern Cayuga Central School, and a member of the Southern Cayuga FFA Chapter, it was the day that he was elected for a year of service as the NYS FFA District 7 President.
The FFA, a national youth organization, once known as Future Farmers of America offers both leadership and career development opportunities for students interested in any agriculturally related career. One in five American careers is founded in Agriculture and students studying agricultural education in NY High Schools are preparing for careers that are essential (Food Safety), current (“Green” technologies and renewable fuels) and lucrative (veterinary science). As an elected District President, Brett Jillson will have the opportunity to promote these opportunities throughout the state to students, administrators, businesses and legislators.
As an FFA Member over the past 6 years, Brett Jillson has taken advantage of the many opportunities for leadership and career development training that the FFA offers. The leadership skills developed throughout membership in the FFA have led to a talent for speaking, knowledge of agriculture and the FFA, and a passion for serving his community. As a District President, Brett will receive numerous hours of training and will spend a significant amount of time promoting Leadership and Agricultural Education to the 12 schools in his district. He will be visiting local schools, facilitating workshops and giving speeches to groups interested in Agriculture and Education.
Brett has been in the FFA since fifth grade. He has held the office of Chapter Historian for the past year and in such capacity has promoted the Chapter’s activities and accomplishments on Facebook and Instagram, while also maintaining a collection of photos and news clips about the Chapter’s endeavors. His passion for serving his community has led to work with the King Ferry Food Pantry and volunteering in the Emily Howland Elementary classrooms. This year, Brett has led the FFA PALS fifth and sixth grade students in a program mirroring the Jr. /Sr. High FFA program, thus sharing his knowledge and leadership skills, and encouraging active participation in this excellent organization. His emphasis on Public Speaking, Team Building and Agricultural knowledge and skills, has given these youngsters a leg up on the many opportunities available through Agriculture.
“The FFA prepares young people to be successful and career driven young leaders,” Derek Hill, Youth Program Specialist at Cornell University said. “State FFA District Presidents are often the ones training their peers to become those very things…their responsibilities are both significant and challenging.”
Still excited from the honor of his newly elected position, Brett will begin his year of service with Blast-off training on Thursday, May 18th. Time Management, Public Speaking, Key Message Identification, and Character-driven Decision Making will be explored in depth throughout the four day conference at Oswegatchie Educational Center in Croghan, NY. The next day it will be back to school with essays to write and homework to submit. It is a whirlwind experience, but one that will be well worth the challenge. After all, any FFA member knows being elected a District President is the opportunity of a lifetime.
–Kimberly Davidson
Southern Cayuga Central School