By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

MUSCATINE, Iowa — When Dave Fowler started teaching at Muscatine High School in 1985, he had fewer than 40 students. But 25 years later, Fowler’s class has swelled to 250 students now enrolled in the MHS agriculture program.

Ninety-eight percent of these are from urban, non-farm backgrounds, which meant actively changing the curriculum at that time.

“When I got here we had 38 kids in the program, and when I looked around, I saw that there were no farm kids here,” said Fowler, who teaches agriculture education at MHS. “If we were going to increase the numbers, we’d have to do it with an urban population.

“Over the years, our numbers grew and grew,” added Fowler, who teaches alongside fellow MHS agriculture instructor Dave Tometich. “We were two teachers running a couple hundred kids, but the students were hesitant to get involved in agriculture at the university level.”

That’s when he and Tometich took their passion and enthusiasm for agriculture and made it a reality with the new Muscatine Agricultural Learning Center.

“To me, it came down to the fact that they had no actual background experience,” Fowler said. “We’ve got the building built, the classrooms and the kids come and meet here part of the day.”
The center, which had its grand opening June 20, is a cooperative effort between the Muscatine Friends of the FFA, the Muscatine Community School District, Muscatine Community College and several area businesses. The $3.5 million, 80-acre facility has a climate-controlled indoor arena, veterinary areas, 20 horse stalls, cattle pens and classrooms, where students can obtain college credit.

Both MCC’s and MHS’s agriculture programs can also use the center to host livestock shows, sales and many agriculture-related activities. In July, MCC’s veterinary technician program moved into the center.

The ultimate goal of the center, Tometich said, is to give students the practical, hands-on experience of running a farm and pursuing agriculture at the college level – and possibly later on as a career.
“The biggest thing to help get young people involved in agriculture is if they feel they can be successful at it, they will be drawn to it,” he said, “whether it’s growing a tomato, mucking some stalls at the ag center or planting and harvesting sweet corn.”

Case in point: MSH junior Michael Jenkins, a non-farm student who admittedly knew little about agriculture when he entered the MHS agriculture program as a freshman. But Jenkins said he has taken on the responsibility of managing farm operations, and now sees many opportunities in the industry.

“I didn’t grow up on a farm, so I didn’t really have any idea,” he said. “Since then, I’ve learned a lot about seed populations, how to plant correctly and make sure my rows are straight. It’s been a great opportunity.”

While the center primarily functions as an educational laboratory, Tometich said it still operates like any other farm. “The crop season this year has been off to a great start,” he said. “In the first part of April, we got some oats and some clover planted, and some baling for the livestock at the Ag Center.”

At the center, students plant about 27 acres: 12 acres of soybean plants and 15 of corn, which Tometich said can be a balancing act between work and class schedules.

“The fun part is finding the balance between the Agriculture Center, the greenhouse and the classroom,” he said. “We are unique in Muscatine and (in) our program. We have a more project-based education.

“It’s a tough job, but the kids make it a priority. I think they are more willing to put the effort in because they know it’s not something they can do other places. We try to be upfront and tell the students when we’ll need them, and they just get the job done.”

But along with the balancing act of work and class time, Tometich said the influx and turnover in students still makes it a learning experience.

“The most important thing for us is safety,” he said. “We want the students to learn and stay safe. There is no magic formula for us; it’s a juggling act. Some students are going to be better in the classroom and others are going to be better doing things and problem-solving on the farm.

“Like a corporation, you cater to your clients. It’s about what’s important to the students and giving them the experience in agriculture, so they know what’s available to them as a career.”