Skyler Strickland, a third-grader at Bunnell Elementary School, grew the largest cabbage in her school’s 2018 Bonnie Cabbage Contest.
Skyler Strickland, a third-grader at Bunnell Elementary School, grew the largest cabbage in her school’s 2018 Bonnie Cabbage Contest.
The program is provided through a partnership with the school, Bonnie Plant Co. and Flagler County 4-H. Over the last few months of the school year, students worked with teacher Cathie Zanella to learn about agriculture and plant care in their school garden. The program was supported by Flagler County Farm Bureau, which provided a $100 scholarship.
This project is important to students in Flagler County and across the state because it improves agriculture literacy through a fun, learning environment. Agriculture can be defined as the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool and other products.
These types of projects are important because the nation is experiencing a time when most of the general public is several generations removed from the agriculture industry. Many students do not know the source of their food beyond the grocery store. This has resulted in fear and distrust of agriculture and a gap in qualified people to fill agricultural jobs.
In 1900, 40 percent of the U.S. workforce was involved in agriculture production, compared to 2 percent of the U.S. workforce today. Advancements in farming techniques and technology have allowed for growers to provide more food on smaller acreage with less inputs. Purdue University recently released a report showing that each year, 25,000 agriculture jobs go unfilled because there are not enough qualified applicants. There is also a 30-year trend that shows the average age of a farmer is on the rise, with the current average age at 58.
The population is projected to grow to more than 9 billion people by 2050. This will require a new generation of STEM-trained professionals to face the challenges of feeding the world and making agriculture more transparent, efficient and productive. Community partners invest in students like Skyler and projects like the Bonnie Plant Program at Bunnell Elementary School to increase agriculture literacy and introduce youth to the possibility of a future in agriculture: Learning to feed the world one cabbage at a time.
If you are interested in joining in or volunteering for Flagler County 4-H Youth Development Program, visit http://florida4h.org/flagler.ifas.ufl.edu, contact Amy Warwick Hedstrom at awarwick@flaglercounty.org, or call 386-437-7464.
The Flagler County 4-H program is open to all youth ages 5-18, regardless of gender, race, color, nationality, creed or disability.