NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — As technology expands and touches every aspect of today’s society, agriculture is affected just as much. Students at the new Jessamine Career and Technology Center (JCTC) in Nicholasville, Ky. are getting a first hand look at agri-related biotechnology through an innovative program that is bringing more than just farm kids to the lab table.

Dexter Knight is the principal of the school and has worked with ag students on the state level as an FFA state executive secretary and agriculture education program consultant for the Kentucky Department of Education. He opened the doors of the center in August of this year and will see approximately 800 students pass through those doors by the end of the school year.

“Our school actually has six program areas, one of which is agri-biotechnology, and I don’t know of any other school with a program like this,” he said. “Our class size is small right now, but we’re building the program working with experiments dealing with gene mapping and DNA extraction.”

While this all sounds a bit like science fiction, the school has brought science programs together with the agri-biotech courses in an effort to show the relationship between the two and to help the students better understand the concepts of both study areas.

“The labs here are set up like science labs and that’s what we want, to merge the two,” said Knight.

Peggy Welch teaches advanced placement biology, anatomy and physiology and agri-biotechnology at the school and said the new trends in biotechnology relate well to traditional science.

“To me, agriculture is science in action. I think students will be able to see that what we are teaching relates to real life just from what they watch on the news or read,” Welch said. “My students are learning from the textbook but also from the lab. I think there is a real marriage between the traditional core classes and agri-biotech.”

The learning environment in the school is reaching beyond the boundaries of the school with the help of a partnership with the University of Kentucky.

“The agri-biotechnology class here is doing a collaborative project with the UK College of Agriculture and while the students will be mentored by faculty from UK, they’ll be doing research here in the county,” said Welch. “It’s a win-win situation because the farmers here will see how research and farming work together and they will welcome this learning from our children, while the kids will have an opportunity to do real research without going on campus.”

Ryan Thomas, who is the local FFA advisor, teaches agricultural-related classes at JCTC, as well as the two local high schools, and collaborates with Welch in the agri-biotech program, echoes her philosophy about the relationship between science, agriculture and students.

“Students at JCTC have an excellent opportunity to see science in motion and realize the real life situations-careers, that agri-biotechnology and other classes offered, give them,” Thomas said.

Katie Bailey is a senior at the school and while she doesn’t live on a farm, the idea of agriculture appeals to her.

“I didn’t know agriculture was so cool,” she said. “I hope to get a further understanding of applications for everyday life and while some things are complicated, I can understand this.”

“With the facilities we have here, it’s easier to understand the concepts of agriculture,” said Knight. “I think this environment will draw nontraditional students into the field of agriculture. They love the benefits of seeing something from start to finish. There is a reward in planting something in the ground, seeing it all the way through and harvesting it. The students get a lot of satisfaction from that. We’re going to show them agriculture through a whole new light.”

With a dedicated staff and a state-of-the-art facility, the agri-technology future in Jessamine County looks promising but there is a component that rises above all these things, according to Knight, that being the students.

“Every student is looking for a place to belong. Kids shouldn’t go through school with blinders on, they should experience a little of everything,” said Knight. “They could participate in athletics, they could be a part of a student organization, it is good for them.”

Knight admits he is passionate about developing the whole student and thinks student organizations, like FFA, help to do just that. “I’m a little biased, but I think FFA is one of the best student groups,” he said. “There’s something for everyone to be a part of in the organization. It’s kept a lot of kids in school and has given them a lot of reasons to stay involved. I want to get other student organizations started in this school and my model is going to be FFA because it’s what I know best and I know it works well.”

This farm news was published in the Oct. 18, 2006 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.