LEAD2BigSky Day 5: Connecting Industry and the Classroom

Today, we began our fifth day in Montana at the Great Falls Development Authority. The focus of the morning was to connect industry to the classroom. We spoke with Barnett Sporkin-Morrison, the director of Food and Ag Development Center. Barnett discussed his experiences working for UDSA and USAID. He provided insight to us about how connections to government agencies and entities can impact students interests. Our second speaker for the morning was Mark Black from Malteurop. He spoke about barley processing in Montana. As pre-service teaching candidates, it was interesting to hear about a section of agriculture not common in Pennsylvania. Malteurop has 23 locations, which would be an excellent opportunity for students interested in international and domestic internships.

Our second stop for the day was to Broadwater High School where we met Jemma Loughery. She spoke with us about work-life balance, the importance of perfecting a few classes at a time, and using grants to grow a program. We were given a tour of the agriculture facilities by a student. He showed us the metal shop, wood shop, chickens, composting area, and garden space. Mrs. Loughery emphasized the importance of making connections in the community and placing students with experts for SAE projects.

In the evening, we met with students majoring in Agricultural Sciences and Extension Education at Montana State University. We had a great time eating hamburgers, line dancing and conversing with the Montana State University faculty. One of the students shared how he was involved with the Young Farmers and Ranchers Club and has written legislation to forgive loans for students returning to the                                                                                 farm or ranch after college.

Food for thought: What federal, state, or local organizations could be used as a resource in the classroom?


Nicole Guise & Alyssa Landis

LEAD2BigSky Day 2: Diversity in Agriculture Education

LEAD Society at Penn State started off by jumping into learning about wildfires and the smokejumpers. There are 400 smokejumpers who jump into wild fires in the nation. At the base in Montana they have about 50 jumpers and 3 of them are woman! These jumpers get to jump out of the plane into the fire with about 80 lbs worth of gear on top of their suits and then get more supplies sent down to them! It is a hard industry to work in.

We came off that adrenaline rush and into our element when we visited Missula,Mt and their agricultural center. This high school just got a USDA certified meat processing lab. Urban students get to raise beef, lambs and hogs from insemination to table on site. Students own the animals and are responsible for its well being. The meat processing plant is a great fundraiser for the students to make money off of their SAE projects at the end!

The last stop was to an Indian reservation. We met with faculty from Salish Kootenai College were we got to see how art, agriculture and culture can be combined. We started by talking about the research being done on the reservation about an invasive grass that is threatening the bison heard. From there we went on campus and got to make mini drums from deer hid. This was taught to us by an art professor at the college. This was a full circle idea of how the Indians are mindful about using the full animal in their lives.

Food For Thought:
What are some unique aspects of your high school?
What would you like to see so far from our trip implemented in Pa?
How can we diversify our programs to learn more about other states agriculture better?