When it comes to teaching agriculture students at Lockwood High School, classroom lessons in animal science, horticulture and ag mechanics are only part of the learning experience.
Last October, Lockwood FFA advisor Lindsey Harper worked with members of the Yellowstone County Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee to coordinate an educational field trip. The field trip included stops at Peak Genetics, Montana Equine and the Miller Coors Beverage Company, where students learned about careers in agriculture.
“Yellowstone County Farm Bureau wanted to show students the careers in our community that align with their learning pathways,” Harper says.
Yellowstone County Farm Bureau provided a grant to cover the cost of the field trip, and committee members ensured the stops corresponded with National FFA career development events. Students from six high schools in the Billings, Mont., area took part in the tours.
FFA members from six Montana high schools attended career pathway tours at several locations, including Peak Genetics.
Making Connections to Career Pathways
Lockwood FFA member Esther Richardson appreciated learning more about dairy and beef cattle management, research and development at Peak Genetics. During a tour of Montana Equine, Richardson met horses receiving veterinary care and asked questions about classes she’d need to become a veterinarian.
“[The veterinarian] had students do an exercise on a whiteboard to calculate the dose of painkillers a horse needed based on their weight,” Harper says. “She showed us a trick to use in the field to do calculations and helped us understand why many math classes are needed to become a vet.”
Billings Career Center FFA members examine barley found at Miller Coors Beverage Company.
For 16-year-old Lockwood FFA member Wyatt Hoy, the highlight of the tour was a stop at Miller Coors Beverage Company. The plant purchases malt barley, which is then stored in grain elevators and shipped to other Miller Coors plants nationwide on rail cars.
Hoy, who has an interest in mechanics, learned about the processes used to perform quality checks on the grain, machines used to filter contaminants and the drones that fly over the fields to assess the crops.
“One of the people who works there told me to study the trades at one of the more mechanical-sided schools,” he says. “It was a really cool experience.”
Looking ahead, Harper hopes the tours will become an annual event that will introduce students to careers in agriculture pathways. These range from plant and animal science to power systems and natural resources.
Diving Deeper
AgExplorer, which was updated in 2023, is the perfect place for you to dive into more than 65 careers in agriculture. Regardless of where your interests lie, get started at ffa.org/career-success/new-ag-explorer/.
