Ag Advocacy

KIEL FFA ALUMNI MAKES DONATION

Ross Westphalen, Alumni President, presents Julie Maurer, Board President of WAEC, a check for $2,500. (photo to left)

Funds  from the Alumni's "An a'FFA'ir to Remember" held this past November, were donated to Manitowoc County WAEC. This makes the second substantial donation to the WAEC for the Kiel FFA Alumni. Last year, the Alumni donated $5,000 to this amazing and worthy project of teaching everyone the importance of agriculture!

The Kiel FFA Alumni is a support group which advocates for agricultural education in schools. FFA Alumni play a very important part in keeping agricultural education and FFA programs in our local schools. Construction on the new Wisconsin Agriculture Education Center will start this coming Spring.

The center, called WAEC for short, will be located off I-43 in Manitowoc County. It’s going to be visible right from the interstate and people are going to pass by and want to stop. The 29,000 square-foot center will have educational and hands-on displays. It will have a birthing barn, where visitors can watch calves be born, and a 300-person conference center. This is a site that a lot of people will want to come to. The purpose of the center is to teach people where their food comes from--everything from dairy, to corn, to cranberries and all the great products produced in Wisconsin. The entire project costs $13 million, and so far 80 percent of that has been raised through grants and donations. Construction is expected to be completed in the spring of 2018.

Adam Kolb Credits Kiel FFA & Ag Ed Program For His Success

Meet Adam Kolb - AFBF’s Entrepreneur Challenge Semi-Finalist (Click to read article - pdf format)

Kiel Ag Department Hosts Coalition Meeting

Kiel Agriculture Department faculty members held a farm to table coalition meeting and tour on Monday, February 29. Approximately 30 residents, business and agriculture leaders, and students joined the event to showcase improvements that were enabled by a successful referendum. Added to the Agriculture Department were a small and a large animal lab, a chicken coup, a greenhouse, a vineyard, raised vegetable beds, hydroponics systems and an aquaculture area. Consumer Science improvements included an industrial kitchen that helps prepare students for careers in the food industry, along with seven remodeled home labs.

Pat Sampe, a Manitowoc County registered nurse and the current facilitator for the Farm to Table Coalition of Manitowoc County, was excited to help organize the event. “We are here at Kiel High School to see just what a commitment the taxpayers of Kiel have made to both the Agriculture Department and the Family and Consumer Science departments,” she said. “It is truly amazing to have this opportunity to tour and take in what an investment they have made to their school district and their students.” Kiel Agriculture teacher Art Vanderwaal led the tour, showing and explaining the numerous ways students are learning about various aspects of agriculture including harvesting and planting using water instead of soil.

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