Massachusetts Ag Education Cultivates the Next Generation of Agriculturalists

In partnership with: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources

Thanks to school and youth programs providing agricultural education and training, a skilled and enthusiastic generation of agriculturists is ready to contribute to the Massachusetts economy.

Ready to Work

Massachusetts has 18 schools offering instruction in agriculture, with two – Norfolk County Agricultural High School and Bristol County Agricultural High School – devoted entirely to ag and environmental education. In addition, Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School and Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School offer numerous agricultural programs.

“What these high schools do so wonderfully is produce students who are trained and workforce ready. Demand for slots is very high,” says Katie Rozenas-Hanson, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources ag education coordinator.

High school administrators report they typically receive 1,000 applications for 400 spaces. Many students at the ag-focused high schools do not necessarily come from farming or farm-adjacent backgrounds.

“It’s important for us to support everyone, including our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) communities, to make sure everyone has access to this education,” Rozenas-Hanson says.

The average age of a principal farm operator in Massachusetts is 59, according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture. MDAR offers a variety of programs to help younger farmers and others interested in agricultural careers, including grants and other assistance through their Workforce Development initiatives. Several funds through this department assist with training and building skill sets to further the agricultural workforce.

“It’s crucial for MDAR to support the young agriculturists coming into this field because our future depends on it,” Rozenas-Hanson says. “While I would love all of these students to go into the fields of agriculture they are studying, it’s even more important they’ve all come to understand where their food comes from and the critical work farmers do.”

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Positive Engagement

Some schools are starting at even younger ages, like at Hawlemont Regional Elementary School’s farm setting where children learn to care for animals and nurture gardens.

In 4-H, children as young as age 5 can begin learning about agriculture and animal science, along with many other areas of interest.

“By the time a kid starts high school, they can have 10 years of experience in ag,” says Meg McDermott, Massachusetts 4-H director.

Kids don’t have to grow up on a farm owning animals to get involved.

“We have so many opportunities for young people to connect,” she says. “We have a vet science academy, and we have a program where young people come to UMass in Amherst for three days and sign up for different academic and career tracks, including animal science.”

McDermott says the 4-H philosophy is one of experimentation in a safe environment.

“That positive engagement helps kids see themselves as agents of their own futures,” she says. “When you are informed about making your own decisions, you feel empowered to make those decisions.”

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Future Leaders

While 4-H is more of an extracurricular organization, FFA is an intracurricular organization, meaning FFA programs are part of a high school student’s educational experience, explains Kim LaFleur, state FFA advisor and program director.

“FFA brings classroom experience to life,” LaFleur says. “What sets us apart is the ability to take what’s learned in the classroom and put it into a real situation, whether that’s in a competition in an area like veterinary science, floriculture or one of the other nearly 40 different program areas – or through a Supervised Agricultural Experience, which is a student work experience.”

In the 2022-23 school year, more than 2,600 students participated in Massachusetts FFA, which prepares students for career paths and leadership development.

“Our active focus is to prepare students for careers in agriculture, wherever that may take them,” LaFleur says. “But if they choose not to enter into an ag career, we prepare them for a lifetime of informed choices so their knowledge of agriculture, food systems, natural resources systems and the environment around them makes them all-around good citizens.”