When Robb Creasey (IALP ’14) asked his daughter about pursuing a career in agriculture, she said she was interested—but there wasn’t an opportunity to experience ag education at Macomb High School and there was no FFA chapter.
That was in September 2012, about 25 years after Macomb closed its program during the downturn in farm economy and enrollment in the 1980s. But that was then; and many bushels have gone through the combine since that time. The ag economy is up, and ag-related occupations are skyrocketing.
Robb works at 1st Farm Credit Services in Macomb with fellow IALP 2014 graduate Michael Burns. Michael was a state FFA officer in his native Kansas and admits that he wouldn’t be working in agriculture without his FFA experience. Robb, Michael and a handful of others interested in bringing ag education back to Macomb formed the Macomb Agriscience Association (MAA), and work started to educate the community and school board about the benefits of ag education—and to raise funds to help with program costs at a time when cutbacks at the school are common.
One of the first hurdles was for the school district to establish a policy to accept money from third parties to support curriculum. That was accomplished in early 2014.
Through presentations and personal appeals, Robb, Michael and the MAA have received around $227,000 to start the program as early as fall of 2015. There are 39 donors, 24 of whom have made multi-year commitments. Half of the donors are in production agriculture, and 9,250 bushels of corn were pledged or donated toward the ag education program.
Macomb schools have been “exporting” their students to the nearby West Prairie District for a few agriculture courses. However, Michael points out that those courses are offered at inopportune times for students. Combined with the long travel, enrolling in ag education courses out-of-district was difficult. In addition, Macomb was exporting more than $70,000 to cover the costs of transportation and tuition.
In October 2014, the MAA surveyed 8th through 11th graders at the junior-senior high school and 55% responded that they would be interested in locating in McDonough County after they complete their education IF they had career opportunities. With agriculture the largest employer in the county, the MAA made a strong case to educate students to find employment locally. The school board vote to bring agricultural education back was unanimous.
The success of the effort to bring agricultural education back to the Macomb schools has taken perseverance, dedication of personal time, and leadership. While the initial challenges have been met, other challenges—such as the selection of a qualified ag ed teacher and facility space– lie ahead.