Edited from Submitted Material
Northern Tier Industry & Education Consortium’s (NTIEC’s) Agriculture & Leadership Summer Career Experience had a phenomenal first two days. Pairing with Northeast Bradford High School (NEB), NTIEC was able to give 13 students from NEB, Athens High School and Montrose High School interested in pursuing agriculture as a career an immersive experience.
State representatives Tina Picket and Clint Owlett, Secretary of Agriculture Russel Redding (above), members of Bradford County’s Conservation District Kevin Brown and Nate Dewing, and Liz Vollman, a constituent specialist from Senator Yaw’s office, visited with the students on opening day. Retired FFA state officers Emily O’Brien and Cheyenne Bastian-Brown also attended on Monday, giving the students a day full of leadership and career preparation activities.
On Tuesday, the group visited the Sunset Ridge Creamery/Warburton Farm in New Albany, where Ilene Warburton gave them a schooling (and a taste test) in A2 milk and the cows and humans behind its production. After their visit at the creamery, the students toured Endless Mountains Vet Center’s Rome location, where Dr. Benjamin Luksic gave them a truly immersive experience, dissecting and observing five bovine reproductive systems in different stages of pregnancy.
To round out the week, the students will be spending time in Northeast Bradford’s greenhouse making hypertufa (plant) pots, learning about seed starting, transplanting, and visiting a nearby farm where Kevin Brown and Nate Dewing of the Bradford County Conservation District will show them how to measure, mitigate and manage soil erosion and the impact water has on farmland.
NTIEC looks forward to motivating students toward bright futures in agriculture throughout the week and hopes to continue to hold agriculture programs for students in the future.