UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In conjunction with National Teach Ag Day, undergraduate students in agricultural and extension education in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences recently put their budding teaching skills to work during a pilot career immersion event for high school students.

Recruiting young people into the agricultural workforce is a priority for current industry leaders and universities. According to Team Pennsylvania’s 2021 Economic Impact Study, nearly 580,000 Pennsylvanians — or one in 10 jobs — are in the agriculture and food industries. Over the next decade, more than 75,000 new and replacement jobs will become available in these industries in Pennsylvania.

“Plant Yourself in Ag Day” served as a learning laboratory for agricultural education undergraduates while also exposing high school students to careers and research topics in agriculture. Ninety-five high school students from seven regional schools visited Penn State’s Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center for a full-day field trip.

Dom Carlini and Ben Fremer, two Brockway High School students, said the event impacted them greatly by showing them the future of agriculture and career opportunities that are available outside of traditional farming.

During the experience, the high school students rotated through stations to learn about various careers within agriculture. They also attended workshops with research teams, took a research farm tour and visited a hands-on tractor-driving station hosted by industry partner John Deere LandPro. During lunch, a college expo enabled students to learn more about majors in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Six senior undergraduates and 18 additional undergraduate volunteers played a prominent role in the logistics and management of the event. “Plant Yourself in Ag Day” was designed to engage the entire agricultural and extension education program and give students in the major experience in developing similar events for their future pupils.

“The program would not have been a success without the support of faculty and staff from several departments in the college,” said Rita Graef, director of the Pasto Agricultural Museum, who organized the program with Beth Mathie, education specialist with the Penn State Center for Professional Personnel Development.

“As we coordinated all the moving parts of this pilot program, we are already planning for scaling next year’s event,” Mathie added.

Research partners included Liana Burghardt, assistant professor of plant science; Adrian Barragan, extension veterinarian and associate research professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences; Francesco Di Gioia, associate professor of vegetable crop science; and their graduate students.

“The collaboration between research faculty is a critical element,” said Kevin Curry Jr., associate professor of agricultural and extension education. “It is through their disciplinary expertise and applied research that we were able to highlight the awesome career opportunities for high school students. We are actively recruiting faculty and lab partners for our 2025 event.

“Principal investigators and graduate research teams work with ag and extension education students to prepare and deliver programming that extends the research impact of their work,” Curry continued. “Our preservice teachers gain experience working with partners as well as thinking about all the things behind the scenes.”

This year, “Plant Yourself in Ag Day” was funded through Penn State’s Engaged Scholarship and Experiential Learning Seed Grant Program, offered through the University’s Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES). The Friends of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Foundation and industry partner LandPro, the regional John Deere dealer, also sponsored the event.

Organizers also thanked the College of Agricultural Sciences and its Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center farm management team, whose 2018 and 2019 programs were the inspiration for “Plant Yourself in Ag Day.”