Middle school teacher grows district’s agricultural offerings

Jarret Horn, a Berg Middle School teacher advising the building’s first Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization, is playing an important part in cultivating the next generation of farmers, leaders and active citizens in Iowa, and at the same time he’s growing the district’s agricultural program to unseen levels.

Newton FFA has a long history at the high school. Horn was even involved in the organization as a student many years ago. But the 2021-2022 school year is the first time the FFA has ever been offered to middle schoolers in grades seven and eight. Horn said staff wanted to establish an FFA at Berg for some time.

Part of the reason the middle school was able to create the organization this year was because it successfully added its career and technical education program, which goes hand-in-hand with the skills taught in FFA. Horn, who has taught at Berg Middle School the past three years, leads the program.

Prior to joining the Newton Community School District, Horn was a high school agriculture teacher in Missouri. Being the advisor to the middle school FFA comes close to home, too. Horn’s dad, James Horn, is the high school FFA advisor, and the two work closely together.

“So our kids are going to the same contests and the same FFA events,” the younger Horn said. “I have a really big passion to see FFA succeed here. I was in the Newton FFA chapter myself when I was high school, and now it’s just exciting for our seventh and eighth grade students can be a part of it as well.”

When his father first began leading the Newton FFA, Horn said about 30 kids were entered into the organization. In a district this size, that number is very small. It was abnormal. Horn theorized that following the farm crisis in the 1980s, the public’s views on what it means to be involved in agriculture changed.

“And I think there was a lot of families that didn’t really know what FFA had to offer,” Horn said. “We want students to be aware of agriculture and the opportunities of agriculture, but we don’t necessarily expect that every student becomes a farmer. In fact, that’s probably not a good thing.”

But Horn said he does want students to have an appreciation for where their food comes from, know of the career opportunities in the agricultural sector and realize the valuable leadership skills gained through the FFA program. His father had that same mentality when advising the group all those years ago.

“When my dad started at the high school we were kind of at a low point with about 30-some kids in FFA. Today, if you were to go over to the high school, there’s probably anywhere between — depending upon the year and class sizes — 130 to 140 students in FFA. Which is a lot.”

Coupled with the 40 kids now involved at the middle school, the Newton FFA has grown to 170 to 180 kids across both buildings.

“We have more kids involved in our middle school level in year one than we had the very first year my dad took over at the high school program,” Horn said.

What does this mean for Newton? For starters, more students are being offered leadership development and career development opportunities to better excel at public speaking or how to run a business meeting, skills that go beyond the classroom.

At the high school FFA level, there is also opportunities for a supervised agricultural experience. Typically, it is a project conducted during all four years of high school. Either students work for an agricultural-related business or start an enterprise or raise feeder calves to go to the fair.

Of course, there’s a social aspect to FFA. Community service projects play a big part in the organization.

“Whether it is beautifying landscapes at different organizations around town or making birdhouses for the (Newton) Arboretum or ringing bells for the Salvation Army — lot’s of different things,” Horn said. “We want our kids to realize that once we build the self, we want to be able to give back.”

FFA is prevalent in all 50 states. With much of Iowa’s identity rooted in agriculture, the organization perhaps plays an even bigger role. As a whole, the agricultural industry in Iowa “is huge,” Horn said, but there is a shortage of people in skilled trades and support industries for agriculture.

“All of those industries are hurting in Iowa because we don’t have enough people — or at least enough skilled people — to fill those jobs,” Horn said. “When kids come into a career and technical education classroom or an agriculture classroom, we’re working on some of those skills.”

Sure, it may be basic principles, but the skills are still useful to students. The governor’s STEM initiatives and the Future Ready Iowa program are helping in that regard, too, Horn said; as are Newton FFA and the career and technical education courses available to students in middle school.

By the time they enter high school, they will have had plumbing, electrical, woodworking and animal and plant life sciences.

“Even if a student doesn’t involve themselves directly into production agriculture, we hope that they have life skills that can prepare them for a career or even to be just a productive citizen or homeowner,” Horn said. “We believe we’re preparing students that are going to not only exist in Iowa, but give something back.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com