Nichole Neubauer presents on the Yuill School of Agriculture at the March 10 PRPS board meeting.--NEWS PHOTO ANNA SMITH
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Local farmer Nichole Neubauer gave Prairie Rose trustees an update on the Yuill School of Agriculture on Tuesday, continuing to advocate growth for crops and students alike.
All groundwork is complete on the project as of last autumn, says Neubauer, and they anticipate being able to hit the ground running come spring.
“As for today, I just wanted to share a little bit about the work that we’ve been doing with producers, with community members and with post-secondary to really set the framework for what the usual School of Agriculture will offer to Prairie Rose students once it’s open,” said Neubauer.
She adds there has been input from 24 key members from different facets of agriculture, who have looked over the framework and given feedback to help with potential future program considerations.
Beyond the physical site, there has been progress in communication and building of the philosophy surrounding the program. Neubauer says she believes agriculture and food security are going to become major focuses internationally in years to come, making it all the more important to help students explore various pathways in the field.
Neubauer says they have since had a logo created for the program, as well as secured permission to use Yuill’s cattle brand on the livestock at the school, connecting back to one of the origins of the program.
All this work lends not only to the quality of the program, says Neubauer, but to generating interest and excitement surrounding the opportunity.
“We need to create a paradigm shift. People think the only way they can be involved in ag is if they’re from a farm,” said Neubauer. “In fact, there’s a place in agriculture for everyone, and that’s what the Yuill School of Agriculture promises.”
She stresses a need to students excited about potential agricultural pathways in post-secondary, but also to have them graduating from the school of agriculture with job-ready skills.
As they seek to balance agricultural tradition with keeping up with the cutting edge of agricultural technology, Neubauer looks forward to providing hands-on, engaging agricultural education for PRPS students, locally in southeastern Alberta when the Yuill School of Agriculture opens its doors.
