Indian Lake agriculture students have a new opportunity taking shape on campus this fall as the result of the Ohio Hi-Point/Indian Lake High School FFA Chapter’s receipt of a $15,000 America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education Grant from the Bayer Fund.
OHP-ILHS FFA Advisor Tanner Schoen explained that the money will be used to create a pasture space on campus for students to have the chance to raise larger animals.
“We have had so much success in the past few years with our chicken and turkey projects, we decided to go even bigger. This award will allow us to fence off a pasture and start the process of raising livestock, such as lambs or steers.”
In the past few years, the OHP-ILHS FFA Chapter has received several grants and community support to construct a chicken hutch on campus. The chickens raised won top awards at the Logan County Fair and were then donated to the local food banks to feed area families.
Students also raised turkey poults last year, sold half of the birds for Thanksgiving and donated the other half to feed local families.
Schoen said while some of Indian Lake agriculture students come from family farms, many other pupils who are interested in raising livestock do not. He believes this pasture project will expand opportunities for those students.
“We will be able to raise these animals right on campus and carefully watch their development for their entire lifespan. In addition, students will learn about pasture management, animal nutrition and more.”
The pasture area will be located on approximately three acres near the chicken hutch and Indian Lake Maintenance Building. The cross country running path has already been slightly rerouted to accommodate the pasture and the land is now being prepared for fencing.
Several area farmers nominated the OHP-ILHS FFA program for this grant, and they include David Strayer, Jerry Knief, Barbara Culp, Jerry Culp and John Hurley.
America’s Farmers, sponsored by Bayer Fund, is focused on strengthening rural America through three community outreach programs that partner with farmers to make an impact in communities where farmers live and work. The programs have given more than $57 million to rural America since 2010 and include: Grow Communities, Grow Rural Education and Grow Ag Leaders. To learn more about the three programs, visit AmericasFarmers.com.
The Bayer Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where Bayer customers and employees live and work by providing funding for food and nutrition, education and community development projects.