Jackson County High School will launch a new on-campus mini-farm, giving students more hands-on experience in agricultural skills.
Jackson County High School Principal Brandon Cross said the mini-farm is being created to expand the school’s veterinary science classes. He said the farm will be located on acreage behind the school and will give students hands-on experience while teaching valuable agricultural skills.
“It teaches them a lot of responsibility,” Cross said. “But also in our communities, you see a lot of those farms starting to disappear or go away, and we are hoping to show our students that lifestyle and how to grow their own food and produce things.”
Cross said the mini-farm will include animals for students to care for and may also feature a fruit orchard. He added that the school is working to secure funding with hopes of launching the farm this spring.
“It takes money to do anything, and we are gonna solicit donations here in the future, we are applying for grants,” Cross said. “Our first stage will be installing some fencing for those animals and some shelter. A lot of planning is left to go into that, and you know, as far as what the students are interested in raising and messing with in the future, that will determine a lot of the things that we look at.”
Cross said students in various CTE programs will use the farm. Cross said he is looking forward to creating this mini-farm.
“It’s exciting for our students, it’s exciting for our teachers who will be involved,” Cross said. “I think the community will be excited about this program. It’s really something we are looking to do to enhance the way of life for those students in Jackson County. You know, we are from a rural community, and if we are gonna have these programs, gonna have these vet science programs, and we see this as a way of really enhancing student education in those CTE areas.”
The school received approval from the Jackson County Board of Education.