By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
Teachers throughout Kern County and beyond gathered at the Kern Agricultural Pavilion this week, receiving an education of their own through agricultural seminars, farm tours, and hands-on activities.
According to Scott Haner, Teacher’s Ag Seminar coordinator and Kern High School District teacher, this annual event provides a wealth of information to teachers, many of whom teach subjects outside of ag education, so they can provide their students with resources and career options.
“The value is just getting the knowledge out there and even if you don’t do anything with it, at least you know what’s going on and have an idea if a student is interested,” Haner said.
Roughly 30 teachers participated in the seminar this year, with several newcomers in attendance. Beth Noel, freshman agriculture teacher at Frontier High School, explained that teachers attended a tour of the Wonderful Pistachio facility in Lost Hills, allowing them to see behind the scenes of a major agricultural company.
“It’s really important to see the agriculture around Kern County — we are one of the top producing counties in California, so to see behind the scenes, and not just through pictures, but in real life, and then hear real people’s stories that we can talk about in our classrooms at school,” Noel said.
Six field trip locations allowed teachers to explore the multi-faceted industry, including South Valley Farms, the Arvin FFA, and Snedden Ranch.
Along with hands-on activities, teachers heard from various industry experts, including an agronomist, farrier, and deputy director for the Kern County Ag Commissioner’s office. Ryan Merkle, special education teacher at Erwin Owen High School — a facility run by the Kern County Probation Department — explained that the seminars provided valuable insights into the various sectors of the agriculture industry.
“The highlight has been the speakers and the field trips that we’ve been taking,” Merkle said. “It’s been very educational and informative, and it’s kind of opening my eyes to other opportunities that we could possibly give our kids.”
The general theme that emerged throughout the seminar centered on the dairy and beef industries with teachers attending a cattle auction, touring dairy and beef operations, and meeting the District 6 Dairy Princess.
“There’s a lot of bovine in Kern County, and it doesn’t always get mentioned when you talk about the top three or four or five commodities in Kern County,” Haner said.
Teachers were also supplied with resources and sample lesson plans to help successfully implement their newfound knowledge into the classroom. Noel explained that learning from real agriculture professionals and experiencing their day-to-day activities will allow teachers to provide tangible lessons to students.
“I think that, in the classroom, I can talk more about people’s experiences — it’s better than just saying, ‘here’s this’ from a textbook, or ‘this is off YouTube,’ and instead say, ‘I know someone who did this,’” Noel said.