Students Get a Hands-on Lesson in Agriculture at Chenault Center
agriculture, chenault center, education, students, wesley hiatt,
Montgomery County High School students take the usual course load of algebra‚ English‚ history and cattle vaccination.
Cattle vaccination?
The Chenault Agriculture Center in Mt. Sterling is a 174-acre‚ fully operational farm that works closely with schools throughout Montgomery County. Located two miles from the high school‚ the facility is visited by thousands of area students each year to supplement agriculture lessons taught in the classroom.
For example‚ a high school teacher might instruct students about vaccinating beef cattle. Later‚ those students will travel to the ag center to vaccinate calves.
“No courses are actually taught at the Chenault Center‚ although those of us who work here call it the school farm‚” says Joe Myers‚ farm manager at Chenault Agriculture Center. “The Montgomery County School Board purchased the facility in 2000 to enhance learning‚ and students now enjoy a hands-on agricultural experience whenever they visit us.”
Montgomery County High School has four full-time teachers - plus Myers part-time - who instruct students on veterinary practices‚ crop rotation‚ horticulture and other agricultural subjects. Students then take frequent trips to the ag center to put what they’ve learned into practice.
“Many of the things we demonstrate here at the farm can be used in everyday life‚ including gardening practices‚ soil sampling‚ small engine repair‚ electrical wiring in barns and more‚” Myers says. “Those who are planning actual careers in agriculture can also learn how to repair fences‚ perform veterinary procedures on some of the animals‚ participate in livestock sales and so forth.”
The ag center also hosts field trips for elementary school and special education students. Those outings allow youngsters to visit animals in a petting zoo and pick blueberries‚ among other things.
“We grow tobacco here along with hay‚ nursery crops and Christmas trees‚ and we also have an orchard‚” Myers says. “There are ponds for aquaculture studies‚ and we have a 60-cow beef herd as well as horses for equine studies.”
Although the farm works closely with the vocational-agriculture department at Montgomery County High‚ the spacious facility is also open to anyone in the community who wants to visit.
“Montgomery County is a rural community that is still very agriculture-based‚ and the vo-ag program at the high school is one of the largest in the state of Kentucky‚” Myers says. “As for the farm itself‚ future plans here have us building a large arena for horse and cattle shows. In addition‚ we hope to someday move the vo-ag department from Montgomery County High School to here - right down on the farm.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by David Mudd
