With new staff in charge of Wakefield’s Future Farmers of America (FFA), this year’s spring plant sale brought new challenges and successes. The sale, which took place from May 1-3, is organized by the FFA and displays plants grown by students in agriculture classes. The success of this annual event is vital to preserving agriculture programs within the school environment.
After getting a later start on preparations for this year’s plant sale, students and teachers had to show more persistence and dedication than in previous years. Cheyenne Schmele, one of the advisors for Wakefield’s chapter of FFA, recently transitioned into her role as a Horticulture teacher. Schmele comments on how her students worked to overcome challenges they faced while organizing plants for this sale.
“We learned to turn challenges into learning experiences for both students and teachers,” Schmele said. “I’ve never run a greenhouse before, so a lot of things were trial and error, but we figured out how to move forward and overcome these new challenges.”
Aside from learning how to overcome challenges in plant production, students involved with this year’s plant sale also learned vital marketing skills that will assist them in their future careers. From planting the first seeds to organizing sales tactics, students practiced a variety of entrepreneurial skills in preparing for this event. Kathryn Piercy, an Animal Science teacher and FFA Advisor at Wakefield, reflects on how students practice these skills within the agricultural classrooms.
“All of our students must complete a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) project,” Piercy said. “They usually start with a basic foundation idea and learn how to turn that idea into an actual business and learn to promote it.”
The Future Farmers of America organization relies heavily on funding generated from fundraisers such as the spring plant sale. The club uses these funds to promote career development for students both inside and outside of the agricultural sphere. Senior Katie Scannell, the current president of Wakefield’s chapter of FFA, remarks on the importance of hosting events such as the plant sale to preserve the club.
“All of the money we make from our plant sales will go back into funding our FFA program for the next year,” Scannell said. “So if we don’t have a plant sale in the spring, we don’t have any funds for the next year and we won’t be able to do competitions or career development events.”
The success of this year’s plant sale shows the strength of Wakefield’s FFA and agriculture programs. However, across the nation, many schools have seen a shift away from agricultural education. Due to this, students have begun to advocate for programs like FFA to increase awareness of the importance of agriculture. Senior Irelyn Tange, a Student Advisor for Wakefield’s FFA, speaks on why it is important for other students to get involved with agricultural programs at school.
“[The importance of] agriculture is starting to get lost with people,” Tange said. “So having more people join FFA is essential to getting people engaged in learning about agriculture and why it is important in all aspects of life”.
Wakefield’s spring plant sale brought to light the hard work and dedication that both students and teachers have shown towards preserving agricultural education in schools. Fundraising events like this sale serve a crucial role in encouraging diverse extracurricular programs to thrive in the high school environment. Overall, these annual sales work to encourage members of the community to engage with agricultural programs within the school.
“[The plant sale] helps to drive students to learn about our program,” Scannell said, “but it also encourages people in the community to engage with the program and hopefully support us in the future.”
