By Deanna Reid, agricultural education and communication master’s student
ACT members created a “Launch into Aggieland” trivia game for Open House.
Perfect weather welcomed current and potential students and their families to the Manhattan campus to learn about majors, opportunities, and organizations at the 2019 All-University Open House. The event highlighted more than 250 majors and options and 475 student organizations available at K-State.
K-State agricultural education students were excited to promote their major.
Students and faculty from the Department of Communications and Agricultural Education joined in on the fun. The K-State Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow created and hosted a life-size version of the game Candyland, “Launch into Aggieland” trivia game, and gave away chocolate-covered soybeans. Agricultural Education club members designed and gave away T-shirts at the event as well. Allison Wakefield, a junior in agricultural communications and journalism, said, “The open house was a lot of fun. The ACT members enjoyed interacting with everyone and especially liked playing our Aggieland game with kids!”
K-State Ag Ed club members designed and gave away T-shirts to Open House attendees.
By Deanna Reid, agricultural education and communication master’s student
MANRRS students enjoy science-based learning.
K-State agricultural education students helped with the 34th Annual National Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) Conference in Overland Park on April 6. K-State agricultural education students facilitated workshops to teach high school students from across the country about renewable energy, biotechnology, food science, soil conservation, and plant and animal science.
About the event, Jon Ulmer stated,
K-State junior Matthew Milholm teaches during the 34th annual conference.
“We want to thank K-State MANRRS, Compass Minerals, and Zelia Wiley for giving our students the opportunity to teach Jr. MANRRS members about agriculture at their national conference.” MANRRS promotes academic and professional advancement by empowering minorities in the fields of agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences.
High school students learn from Casey Ballard and Matthew Milholm, juniors K-State agricultural education.
Growing up in Plainville, Kansas, Alexandra Walters considered a career in social work, but decided early on to teach about agriculture. A 2018 graduate of K-State, Walters is a first-year agriculture education teacher at Peabody-Burns Middle School-High School in Peabody, Kansas, where she teaches classes in plant science, animal science, food science, agricultural mechanics and others.
“My students enjoy anything they get to design themselves,” she said, adding that her high school food-science students created their own Christmas cookie business.
Walters is teaching in what’s part of a growing trend in middle schools and high schools across the country to offer agricultural education programs, and colleges and universities cannot turn out graduates fast enough to keep up with demand.
“There is a nationwide shortage of agriculture teachers,” said Brandie Disberger, an instructor in Kansas State University’s Department of Communications and Agricultural Education. “Here in Kansas we are currently only graduating about half of the needed agriculture teachers. We have had 100% placement in this major for more than 20 years.”
Students with an interest in agriculture and a passion for working with people make excellent candidates, Disberger said, noting that as of May 2018, average starting salaries in Kansas were more than $40,000. The average salary of agriculture education teachers across the country in 2017 was $43,093, according to the National Association of Agricultural Educators, with averages across the U.S. varying by region.
Disberger, who taught high school agricultural education for 10 years before coming to teach at K-State, said contrary to some perceptions, there are ag education openings in urban and suburban school districts as well as in rural areas.
The breadth of training students receive lends itself to a range of careers, she said. About 80% of K-State’s ag education graduates go on to teach in high school, but some move into careers in extension where they teach adults and youth in less formal settings. Others work in agriculture-related sales or service positions, nonprofit organizations, or pursue advanced academic degrees.
Students study topics such as energy systems, animal science, plant systems, food products and processing, biotechnology in agriculture, power, and structural and technical systems.
“Some individuals think career and technical education programs, including agricultural education, are closing in high schools when it is just the opposite. They are growing rapidly,” Disberger said.
By Deanna Reid, agricultural education and communication master’s student
Ms. Kane helps agricultural education club members critique submissions.
The Agricultural Education Club had an opportunity to serve Kansas FFA members by providing feedback for high school state Agricultural Proficiency Award winners in preparation for the national competition. Based on supervised agricultural experience programs, proficiency awards recognize students who have developed skills they can apply to future agricultural careers.
Award areas include: entrepreneurship, placement, combined, and agriscience research. Though critiquing award applications, K-State agricultural education students were able to help potential students and use the experience as a learning opportunity for future teaching. Thirty K-State undergraduate students evaluated nearly 40 applications that were submitted.
Agricultural education students provide feedback for FFA Proficiency Award contestants.
Abby Goins, an agricultural education major, stated, “This opportunity was special and unique. As someone unfamiliar with the proficiency award program, it helped me to understand what students learn and what is involved. It was a really great opportunity!”
In January, an agricultural communications and journalism alumni survey was distributed through the alumni Facebook group to gather information about career paths our graduates follow, most valuable skills in agricultural communications and what upcoming graduates need in terms of scientific knowledge. The survey will guide curriculum changes and help faculty better communicate career possibilities with prospective students. Nearly 125 alumni have participated in the survey.
For those who have not yet seen the survey, we would love to hear from you. We plan to share findings from the survey in a future alumni newsletter.
Please use the link below to access the survey. It takes about 5 to 6 minutes and is voluntary and confidential, although we cannot guarantee anonymity due to the nature of some questions.
By Deanna Reid, agricultural education and communication master’s student
Agricultural education student teaching interns spent two days on a corn-focused, high-impact learning experience in eastern Kansas, Feb. 28 to March 1.
Seventeen students and three K-State agricultural education professors traveled with the group. Visits included Midland Genetics, BNSF, East Kansas Agri-Energy, and Johnson County K-State Research and Extension, well as three high school agriculture programs: Ottawa, Spring Hill and Prairie View.
Mr. Lasley showing K-State students new learning spaces at Ottowa High school.
Students learn about safety, efficiency, and finances at BNSF.K-State students learning about relationships and partnerships from Johnson County Extension agents.
Interns learned about corn seed genetics, production and marketing, trains and storage containers, and ethanol. The group also had the opportunity to interact with and learn about each school’s agricultural education programs and teaching methods from current agricultural education teachers and students.
The Kansas Corn Commission sponsored the experience.
Students learning about corn ethanol production at East Kansas Agri-Energy in Garnett, KS.
Levy Randolph has been hired as an assistant professor in agricultural communications and journalism. He will join the Department of Communications and Agricultural Education this summer and begin teaching during the fall semester.
Randolph has degrees from California State University and the University of Florida in agricultural education and communication. He has experience as a conference facilitator for National FFA and owns and operates a video production company with his wife, Tiffany. He has taught multiple media production courses and business writing. His research agenda focuses on science communication through narratives
Randolph’s office will be located on the third floor of Umberger Hall.
By Deanna Reid, agricultural education and communication master’s student
K-State agricultural education students and faculty attended the annual Kansas Corn and the Kansas Association of Agricultural Educators symposiums in January.
The Kansas Corn Symposium celebrated the accomplishments of Kansas Corn and focused on topics including trade, ethanol, and research.
Katelyn Pinkston, Rachel Bellar, and Zachary Callaghan were awarded Kansas Corn Next Generation scholarships funded by the Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Corn Commission to provide opportunities for college students of all majors to learn more about the corn industry, explore issues facing agriculture and embrace the ways they can influence the industry through career path choices. Students and faculty also participated in a poster session.
The symposium was on Jan. 23, 2019, at the K-State Alumni Center in Manhattan.
Agricultural education students also received scholarships at the Kansas Association of Agricultural Educators (KAAE) Symposium in Dodge City, Kansas, Jan. 24–26, 2019. In addition to new teacher and student intern meetings and tours of local agricultural businesses, Representative Roger Marshall spoke about the farm bill and status of agricultural trade. Seventeen K-State agricultural education students were awarded scholarships, as listed below.
Jim Patry Agricultural Education Scholarship
Katelyn Pinkston
Teach Ag
Zachary Callaghan
Trenton Smedley
Seitz Fundraising
Trent Johnson
Eric Koehlmoos
Matthew Schick
CHS Foundation–Through the Kansas FFA Foundation
Rachel Bellar
Nikole Cain
Hannah Fry
Christina Hoffman
Trent Johnson
Ashley Lauinger
Steven R. Harbstreit/Howard R. Bradley Teacher Education Scholarship–Through the Kansas State University Foundation
Allyson Dorrell
Hofbaurer Scholarship
Eric Koehlmoos
Kansas Association of Agricultural Educators Scholarship–Sponsored by KAAE
Sydney Cullison
Allison Dix
Tim Kennedy
Caitlyn Thompson
Mackenzie Tynon
KAAE, the Kansas FFA Foundation, the Kansas State University Foundation and Seitz Fruit sponsored scholarships for agricultural education students.
By Deanna Reid, agricultural education and communication master’s student
Kelsey Tully, Mariah Bausch, Dr. Lauri M. Baker, and Anissa Zagonel presented research at the 2019 NACS Conference.
Agricultural education and communication graduate students attended the 2019 National Agricultural Communications Symposium (NACS) in Birmingham, Alabama, February 3–4, 2019. Students Anissa Zagonel, Mariah Bausch, and Kelsey Tully along with faculty sponsor Lauri Baker presented papers and posters focused on current research and professional development. Bausch and Baker’s poster titled “Student perspectives of agricultural communications research” won second place in the poster competition. The paper by Rumble, Wu, Tully, Ruth, Ellis, and Lamm titled “A mixed-methods comparison of self-reported and conversational trust in science” placed second among academic paper presentations.
Papers presented included:
Beyond the post: Equine operators’ communication processes for conservation practices
Anissa Zagonel, Lauri Baker, Shelly Ingram, Jon Ulmer, and Joann Kouba, Kansas State University
Student perspectives of agricultural communications undergraduate research
Mariah Bausch and Lauri Baker, Kansas State University
A mixed-methods comparison of self-reported and conversational trust in science
Joy Rumble, Yu Lun Wu, The Ohio State University; Kelsey Tully, Kansas State University; Taylor Ruth, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jason Ellis, Kansas State University; and Alexa Lamm, University of Georgia
How consumers contrast and assimilate information about agricultural biotechnology
Taylor Ruth, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Joy Rumble, The Ohio State University; Alexa Lamm, University of Georgia; Jason Ellis, Kansas State University
Coauthor network analysis of Journal of Applied Communications articles from 2008 to 2017
Audrey King ’13, ’16 and Quisto Settle, Kansas State University
Professional Development Session presentations included:
What are reviewers looking for?
Quisto Settle, Oklahoma State University; Lauri Baker, Kansas State University
Posters presented included:
Scholarship in action: Student perspectives of undergraduate research in agricultural communications
Mariah Bausch and Lauri Baker, Kansas State University
Communicating through chaos: A quantitative content analysis investigating the prepared responses of articles about zoonotic disease on the CDC and USDA websites
Topanga McBride, Lauri Baker, and Mariah Bausch, Kansas State University; Angela Lindsey, University of Florida
Dr. Lauri M. Baker and Mariah Bausch with their winning research poster.
By Gaea Hock, ’03, ’08, associate professor of agricultural education
Eric Koehlmoos, senior in agricultural education, was named the 2018 National FFA Star in Agriscience.
As a high school student at South O’Brien in Paullina, Iowa, Koehlmoos used his home ATF-approved ethanol facility to research the processes used in a commercial ethanol plant. In high school, his research competed nationally and internationally. While at K-State, Koehlmoos has conducted research on teacher perceptions of the Kansas FFA Agriscience Fair.
