Bibb County’s agriculture programs shepherd students beyond high school

In Rutland High School’s agriculture education program, students do everything from growing plants in the greenhouse to carving detailed wooden plaques with a computerized cutter.

The school partners with local farms to house and care for dairy cows that are shown off at the Georgia National Fair. There’s a coop nearby with goats and several varieties of chicken.

Students have ample time to get their hands dirty in the Bibb County School District’s agriculture program, but their education will continue after they graduate thanks to the new chapter of the Young Farmer Program.

Robbie Bartlett, an agriculture teacher at Rutland High School, is spearheading the new Young Farmer Program in Bibb County, which is operating as an adult agricultural education program within the Future Farmers of America system.

Future Farmers of America has chapters nationwide dedicated to agricultural education, but the Young Farmer program keeps learning going after students graduate and serves as a place for graduates to network and find job opportunities.

Through the program, Bartlett brought a class about urban gardening to Rosa Jackson Recreation Center. The group also plans on teaching a class about hydroponics at Hartley Elementary School later this month.

“It ties the school and community together,” Bartlett said.

State legislators approved Bibb County’s application to the Georgia Young Farmer Program last year. The county joins more than 50 other programs in the state.

Cassandra Washington, director of the district’s Career, Technical and Agricultural Education department, said the new program will help the community understand the demands of urban agriculture.

Bibb County’s program will focus more on the industrial nature of agriculture when compared to programs in rural counties, she said.

“You’re looking at industries coming into a community, you want to make sure that you can meet the need and that our students have the academic ability,” Washington said.

The school district also has agriculture programs at Northeast High School, Appling Middle School and Bruce Elementary. 

The Rutland school zone is one of the few in the state that has a Future Farmers of America program in its elementary, middle and high schools. 

The school’s FFA chapter works in tandem with its agricultural education program, which began in 2018. 

After completing basic agriculture courses in high school, students can pick a pathway like animal science, horticulture or agricultural mechanics. 

“There’s a lot of choices and a lot of different pathways students can take that are geared toward hands-on industry that teaches them the life skills based off of what the industry needs are in our area,” Bartlett said.

Addison Colbert, vice president of the Rutland High School FFA, joined the Young Farmers program in sixth grade. Now she’s a senior.

She won the state competition for floriculture, the craft and science of cultivating flowers. She works in the school’s greenhouse to keep plants watered and curates her own floral arrangements.

Colbert and her classmates are certified under the Georgia Green Industry Association. Membership to the larger plant club got Colbert thinking about careers in agriculture.

“We’ve learned a lot, not even just about agriculture,” she said. “It definitely feels like we’ve grown mentally and emotionally.”

Macon will host the state’s FFA convention in April. With it being the first year of Macon’s Young Farmer program, Bartlett said he hopes to bring in greater community involvement.