Logan County Fair

FFA cultivates a passion for Agriculture in students at LCHS

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[August 12, 2015]  LINCOLN - At Lincoln Community High School Dr. Penny Wittler will be starting her fourth year as the Ag Instructor and FFA Advisor this fall. She recently said this year will be an emotional one for her personally because it will be the first year she is graduating students that she has worked with since the beginning of their high school career.

Known to her students as “Doc” or Doc Penny,” Dr. Wittler has been a teacher for several years. She began her career as a collegiate professor but felt that she was not really answering her calling as a teacher and advocate for agriculture. She wanted to open eyes to the importance of agriculture, and she wanted to cultivate the passion she feels for the Ag Sciences in the students she is teaching. Now, four years into high school instruction, she feels she has found the right place, not only on the age level of her classes but also in the geographic location of Logan County.

Ag in the classroom is growing in Logan County, and Wittler is pleased to be a part of that. She noted that she has approximately 140 classroom students this year and that approximately 80 percent of those students are also members of FFA. In some schools, Wittler said it is becoming a requirement that all Ag students belong to FFA. She said it makes sense for the students because the classroom study teaches the sciences, but it is FFA that incorporates other elements needed for success, such as leadership skills.

In the classroom, there are six classes students may take. The Intro to Ag is a freshman class, and Ag Sciences is a second-year extension of that class. Other classes available include Landscaping, Horticulture, and Ag Management. A new program recently introduced is the Veterinary Sciences and new for this school year is a Conservation class.

Wittler said the Veterinary Science class is an extremely popular one with the students because many come into it because they have a love for animals, own animals and are considering becoming veterinarians. She said that some do continue to pursue veterinarian medicine in their higher education, but not all.

As a teacher, Wittler said that working with the high school students imposes some interesting and fun challenges. She noted that in FFA only about ten percent of the students have an agricultural background.

In the classroom, that equates to two approaches.

She first wants to open the eyes of her inexperienced students and show them how that Agriculture affects every aspect of their lives. She said it is fun to see them come to realize that not only is it the meat they eat their parent bought at the grocery store, but it is also the clothes they wear and the homes they live in that are provided through some form of agriculture.

At the same time, she does have the students who have grown up on the farm. They know about crops, they know about animals, and her challenge is to find new ways to challenge them and expand their knowledge beyond what they already know.

Wittler said it was fun to watch both groups grow and learn. She noted that she related to the “city kids” because as a youngster she was not from a farming background. Growing up in Paris Illinois, she said as a kid she had a curiosity about agriculture, she loved animals and began exploring Ag Sciences through 4-H. She joined 4-H and had a friend who was in the club also that showed animals. She began helping with that, and her interest grew into a passion.
 


Wittler said that in Agriculture, 4-H and FFA marry well. She noted that the advantage of 4-H was that kids can start learning at a young age. The two programs teach many of the same concepts - leadership, science, and life experience, so when students in 4-H reach high school they are better prepared for FFA.

One of her students that stands out is Alyssa Summers, who qualifies as one of those “city kids.” She said Alyssa began as an Ag student, and then joined FFA. She has grown and become a vital part of the local organization, even serving as an officer in the group.

In addition, there are several of Wittler’s FFA members who are from agricultural farm backgrounds and also involved in 4-H. She noted in particular Sarah and Dawn Irwin, whose family has one of the very few dairy farms in Logan County; Reagen Tibbs, and Garrett Schreiner - all of these kids showed livestock this year at the Logan County Fair, and all of them did well.

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Reagen took Grand Champion Spotted Barrow, Champion Commercial Gilt, and Reserve Grand Champion Gilt in the 4-H Swine competition this year. Dawn Irwin took Grand Champion Heifer Overall Breeds in the 4-H Dairy Show. Sarah Irwin took Grand Champion Cow Overall Breeds and Senior Showmanship in the Dairy Show. Garrett Schreiner took Grand Champion Ewe Lamb, Grand Champion Ram Lamb, Grand Champion Pair of Lambs, Grand Champion Ewe, and Reserve Grand Champion Wether in the 4-H Sheep shows.

Looking forward, Wittler said that one area of understanding that she wants to promote in the classroom as well as in FFA is the devastation of poverty. The week before last Wittler accompanied Sara Irwin and Alyssa Summers to an FFA conference in Washington D.C. At that conference, one of the workshops the girls participated in was a demonstration of poverty.

Dr. Wittler explained the workshop was about food and what is or is not available to certain income levels and countries. The room was divided into groups and fed. Some ate what would be considered the food of the affluent - steak, potato, vegetables. Others had lower quality, less expensive cuts of meat, fewer vegetable, and one group had nothing at all. Wittler said the girls were touched by the experiment and it was Sarah who commented that as she ate great food, she was moved to give her food to those who had nothing, but she was not allowed.

Wittler said this was a lesson she wanted to drive home to her students. Farmers do feed the world, but not everyone is allowed to eat. Wittler said locally, she wants to do more with her students to support feeding programs such as the local food pantries. She has written a grant for additional funding to expand that outreach but doesn’t know yet if she will get it.

 

Another program that Wittler brought to the local FFA is the FFA Alumni Organization. Wittler said she was so happy with the group that is forming and taking ownership of local agricultural efforts of the FFA and Ag in the classroom. She noted the FFA Alumni provides assistance with the FFA fundraisers such as the annual pancake breakfast in the spring and schnitzel fundraiser in the fall. They serve as chaperones on FFA trips, and their membership fees support Ag scholarships for LCHS students.

She noted that even though it is tagged as an “Alumni” group, being a former FFA member is not required in the membership. All it takes is to have a passion for Agriculture and a desire to help. The FFA Alumni she said is continuing to grow in membership, and without them there are many things that she would not be able to accomplish with and for her students.

Wittler noted that there are many agricultural opportunities for high school grads. Going on to college, they can focus on many aspects of agriculture, and there are many careers out there that are underserved right now. It’s not just about growing crops and animals; there are needs for Agri-management professionals, scientists, and Ag teachers, just to name a few.

Anyone who spends even ten minutes with “Doc Penny” will see that with exception of her commitment to her family, her highest priority in life is to teach young minds the importance of agriculture in this world. It is not just a job for her; it is her passion and unbridled enthusiasm about agriculture that she wants every one of her students to acquire. In the classroom and FFA, she encourages her students to think outside of Illinois, to realize that agriculture is everywhere and comes in different forms. It is not just about corn, soybeans, and livestock; it is about food, clothing, and shelter. It is about being a leader in the community, in the state and the country through Agriculture and FFA.

[Nila Smith]

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