The Anticipation, The Excitement, and The PLANNING by Allison Barber

I didn’t have any part in planning the 2019 Summer Ag Tour, but the Hamiltons and several of the high school students on the trip worked tirelessly to plan our route, email, call, and communicate with many different farmers, research labs, agricultural offices, and many other exciting people and places we will visit over the next 10 days.  I’m one of the lucky chaperones that gets to reap the benefits of all the planning and hard work done by Dane and Karen Hamilton (Agriculture Teachers at Riverview High School, Riverview, FL). I believe planning for this trip began during last summer’s trip.  My favorite day was in early March when we received a very rough itinerary of possible places we will visit.  I am Allison Barber, a media specialist at Brooker Elementary School in Hillsborough County.  I enjoy reading children’s library books about each state we will visit.  The picture below is the list and several books I was able to check out.

When learning we were going to Ohio, my first thought was, “What exactly is a buckeye and why do Ohioans love them so much!  I found out that buckeye trees were made famous by our 9^th US President, William Henry Harrison. Ohio even has a “Famous 17” where there are Buckeye trees planted in the shape of the number 17 in remembrance of Ohio as the 17^th state to enter the Union.  It would be amazing if we could see them in bloom because I’ve read that the blooms are very “showy!”

Another interesting fact I learned is that New York state is second in apple production behind Washington State, who knew?  My fun reading allowed me to learn many things about each state but it pales in comparison to the many things we stand to learn during this amazing trip. 

We are going to visit research labs at Ohio State and Cornell University.  We will listen to people associated with agricultural media, apple farmers, buffalo farmers, mushroom farms, border patrol, lavender fields, salmon farms, and so much more. We will visit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, & Ontario, Canada.

In the first day we learned about bio products innovations, had a guided tour through the agricultural buildings and programs at Ohio State. We toured the Little Brown Jug where we learned about standard-racing and had a round table discussion with several board members of the Delaware County, Ohio Fair.

The students attending this trip will see things that many other students and adults have never been exposed to.  They are learning by listening, seeing, and doing.  I have heard many adults say, If I knew then what I know now, I might have chosen a different profession.  I’m certain some students on our trip will be influenced to enter a certain career path because of professionals we will meet during our travels.  Today, a representative from Ohio State spoke with our students about their future. She spoke about the how to get into college, encouraging students to seek and find scholarships She also spoke of technical schools and other options beyond the typical four year college degree. Some students already have their path in mind but they are all being exposed to a wide variety of professions and they are able to ask professionals questions about their specific job and the path they took to get there.

This trip is jammed packed. We will have early mornings, much travel, and late nights. It is a great trip to experience. I look forward to getting to know our students and watching them grow & open their minds to endless possibilities.