With demonstrations ranging from plant sciences to mechanics and business management, Penn Manor High School students had the chance on Thursday to show state officials how their education is preparing them for careers in agriculture.

Department of Agriculture officials and Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera stopped by the high school to highlight its widely recognized agriculture education program, of which about 300 students take courses in. It is one of three similarly planned events across the state.

“Historically, when we think of agriculture we think of just traditional farming, animal sciences,” said Rivera, former superintendent for the School District of Lancaster. “But as we start to dig deeper, it engages everything from life sciences to stem-related activities.”
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High School senior and Manor Future Farmers of America president Katey Bleacher said she was excited to see her chapter of FFA get the attention and hopefully dispel some misconceptions about the group.

“A lot of people think FFA is just a bunch of farmers when in reality it’s way more than farming,” Bleacher said. “You have people working within the food industry. You have people making clothing. You obviously you have the farmers, but there’s so much more to it.”

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