Agriculture. A single word that is extremely impactful for many people. Currently there are over 22.8 million people working in agricultural fields worldwide. But here at MHS, hearing the word agriculture may not hold the same meaning and impact.
Muscatine is a sweet spot for Highschoolers in agriculture or interested in agriculture because of our FFA program. This is made possible by the hardworking advisors, teachers, and the successful and generous farmers, and businesses have the programs best interest at heart.
One of the reasons that our Muscatine FFA program is so successful and empowering is the Muscatine Agricultural Learning Center. The MALC is a Building at 3200 Lucas st. that works directly with Muscatine FFA and Agriculture classes at the Highschool. The MALC has many classrooms and opportunities that include; Vet Tech, Animal Nutrition, Soil Science, and many areas for student animal projects.
Recently there has been discussion of adding an expansion to the MALC to bring new learning opportunities. That idea is becoming more and more of a reality each day. Agricultural advisors in the district have already had the chance to get an inside scoop on the new expansion and have formed some opinions.
“The Main goal of the new expansion is to have more space for students animal projects, especially during the spring and summer months,” said Ashley Wiebe.
Ashley Wiebe is a current Agriculture teacher at Muscatine Susan Clark Junior High, and she is an advisor for the Muscatine FFA program. She teaches Intro to Agriculture classes at SCJH and helps kids take care of their various animals in the summer. These animals could be a variety of things like pigs, lambs, cattle, and much more.
“Our goal is to have all of the students able to use the same building and to have access to the same supplies,” said Sam Paul.
Sam Paul is an Agriculture teacher here at MHS and also an Advisor for Muscatine FFA, the classes he teaches include; Ag 1, Soil Science, Agricultural Sales, and a variety of animal nutrition courses. He also works with a lot of students on FFA leadership competitions and hands on projects at the MALC.
Overall, The Muscatine Agricultural learning center is an influential and helpful resource for students with a passion and interest in the world of agriculture. It is very apparent that Muscatine believes in the future of agriculture and hopefully with this new expansion even more students find their agricultural passion.
