Mayfield’s new agricultural teacher, Brandon Trinkle, has a vision for the future of the program, stating its alignment with the values and ideals of the Mayfield community and its students.
“If you look at our community and study our student population, along with surrounding schools that have successful ag programs, you’ll see this fits perfectly for Mayfield,” he said.
Mayfield’s agriculture program is in its infant stages currently, with two courses being offered: Ag Explorer 7th & 8th Grade and Animal Science 9-12th Grade, both taught by Trinkle. These courses give Mayfield students a first glimpse at what a program like this can provide for their educational career.
Students in each of these classes have been learning some basics of agricultural education and getting as much hands-on experience as the program currently allows. Ag Explorer students recently scouted out the school grounds to identify maple trees, with hopes of tagging and tapping them for maple syrup production in the future, while the Animal Science class regularly brings in Mayfield’s unofficial mascot, Principal Santarcangelo’s dog Harry, to hang out in class.
The Animal Science class also recently had the opportunity to watch senior Chloe Yerina prepare a real cow tail to be groomed and used as a cosmetic tail on her show cows. Yerina shows cows from her family’s farm and recently attended the World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI.
One key component in a successful ag program is the establishment of an FFA chapter. FFA, or Future Farmers of America, is an intracurricular student organization for those interested in careers in agriculture, giving participants access to hands-on experiences and an opportunity to explore their interests in a broad range of agricultural career pathways.
Trinkle and the team at Mayfield have completed the instructional paperwork necessary for state approval of an FFA chapter and hope to be established in the coming months. The group will then meet regularly to discuss upcoming projects and the possibility of attending this year’s state competition, either as participants or spectators.
“Even if we didn’t place in the district competition this year, a visit to the state competition in Syracuse is a great experience for any student in the ag program,” said Trinkle. “It really gives them great exposure to so many different components of the pathway – colleges, businesses, careers.”
Another goal for the 2024-25 school year is the addition of a farm-to-school process of bringing fresh produce, cultivated by the students from seed to harvest, to the Mayfield Jr/Sr High School cafeteria. Indoor grow systems have already been purchased by the district and Trinkle hopes the initiative will increase awareness about the program and create a purposeful connection for students and staff.
While the sky’s the limit for the future of the Mayfield agriculture program in Trinkle’s eyes, it’s clear his vision is inspiring his students to think big as well.
Tenth grader Lilly Perham is excited to be in the ag classes and loves that it gives her the opportunity to do something different than the traditional classroom setting. Like her teacher, she’s eager to see the program expand.
“I love it, we’ve never had anything like this before,” said Perham. “I think it would be great to start an ag fair for the elementary students and get them interested in going into agriculture in their future.”
Perham currently lives on a small farm with horses, goats, pigs and rabbits, and hopes to expand her farming into homesteading when she’s older.
Trinkle aims to add additional courses soon and sees the program being a multi-teacher department in the coming years.
“I think in the next couple of years we’d be looking to add courses in plant science, agriculture business, and introduction to agriculture, food and natural resources.”
Trinkle, who has had his eye on Mayfield and the potential the school has for a successful program, has been an agricultural pioneer for some time. He’s helped to establish ag programs at four of his previous districts and guided the rebranding of a fifth. When not teaching he runs a small dairy farm of registered show cattle that he shows across the state.