The Shelby FFA recently went on a weeklong trip to Fort Worth, Texas that included 56 participants. FFA instructor Randy Eisenhauer explained, “We wanted to try to get the students to experience different areas of the country for future career opportunities.”
The trip was designed to target a wide range of opportunities that the high school students had never experienced before. For example, one stop found the students in Tennessee at a cotton farm.
The fields served as a different sort of classroom for the students as they got to see firsthand where the staple fiber crop originates.
“The students developed an understanding of how important cotton is to us. Most of the students had never seen cotton actually being farmed and they all really enjoyed seeing the process,” said Eisenhauer.
The trip also featured a stop at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky. Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred horse farm and has been established for over 100 years. The farm has a high profile in the horse racing industry thanks to the powerful race horses that have come out of its stables.
“That was a very interesting place to stop. The horse Secretariat is buried there and Orb, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, now resides at the farm,” said Eisenhauer, adding that the students got to see Orb through a tour of the farm.
Students received the chance to get a behind the scenes look at the process of raising these specific, high class breeds of horses. “Students were able to get a basic understanding of how much money goes into breeding and raising these horses,” said Eisenhauer.
While the students were in Kentucky they went on a cave tour at Mammoth Cave National Park in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. The trip also made a stop at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
True to the trip’s goal, Eisenhauer said he hoped that the students took away a broadened understanding and knowledge about their world.
“It is a big world to explore and it is a great opportunity for them,” said Eisenhauer.
