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Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Eichelberger Farms to construct Agricultural Science Center
WACO AG and FFA education will benefit from plans to build an AG Science Center later this year or early next
WAYLAND — Eichelberger Farms has announced plans to construct an Agricultural Science Center for the WACO AG program and FFA Chapter.
Plans are to start construction in the fall of 2024 or spring of 2025, and the building will be located on the current high school campus in Wayland. The new facility will feature two classrooms, tow locker rooms, a kitchen, specialized rooms for rabbits, poultry, and swine, pens for other large animals, as well as greenhouse.
There also will be a conference room to facilitate meetings with community partners who provide valuable real-world experience to the students. This would include guest speakers, land lab partners, and volunteers to train FFA contest teams.
The goal and vision of the facility is to create realistic work-related opportunities for students that are not present in a typical school setting. The new ag center will allow the program to continue its education of agriculturally related topics with industry standard lab spaces and experiences.
The WACO AG program was reinstituted in 2021 when Ethan Fetzer was hired as the Agriculture Instructor and FFA Advisor. The popularity of the AG program is evident as the current enrollment has grown to include 135 students in the three short years it has been in existence.
The WACO AG program provides opportunities for students in three different areas — classroom instruction, the Nation FFA Organization, and Supervised AG Experience (SAE). Classroom instruction includes the areas of plant science, animal science, and mechanics. The FFA chapter offers leadership opportunities within it and participates in state and national events that help promote students’ potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success. The SAE projects consist of jobs where they work with livestock, entrepreneurship opportunities, and other agriculturally related projects.
Eichelberger Farms realizes the importance of agriculture to our community and are excited to create an opportunity for more hands-on learning for the WACO AG/FFA students. This learning center will create a much-needed chance for the students to experience some different aspects of agriculture so they can gain a better idea of what they want to do after graduation.
