The Wittenberg-Birnamwood FFA paired with the Shawano County Farm Bureau to host an event that featured 21 businesses directly connected to the agriculture industry.
A total of 290 students from Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School and surrounding school districts attended the April 9 event.
Disbursing information on the variety of business and work opportunities within the ag industry was the main focus of the event. Matt Christian, WBHS ag teacher, said agriculture is a popular course of study in the school district and WBHS has 240 FFA members.
“We have UW-River Falls and NTC (Northcentral Technical College) here representing advanced education programs,” Christian said. “We have businesses here focusing on animal genetics, welding, HVAC businesses.”
Nueske’s Applewood Meats and Great Lakes Veneer were two of the more locally based businesses that had information booths at the event.
Christian also noted that this was a great opportunity to utilize the ag building and promote upcoming events like the meat raffle and the greenhouse sale.
Students bussed in from other schools — Bowler and Marion students — attended the job fair. Many WBHS students and FFA members attended the event, but there were several unfamiliar faces in the crowd as well.
“I’ve seen quite a few new faces, so maybe this will get them to take some ag classes in the near future,” Christian said.
Shawano County Farm Bureau Vice President Bob Krause has worked with Ken Matsche, WBHS extracurricular adviser, on other projects and was excited to collaborate with him. Matsche wanted to have something at the school just for students for agriculture and in agricultural-related fields.
“They’ve done a great job with their facility and allowing us to use it,” Krause said. “I’m very, very pleased to see so many great businesses coming out, universities and NTC. A lot of opportunities for students to explore today.”
To ensure growth in the ag industry, the State Farm Bureau, located in Madison, recognizes that students need the opportunity to learn by doing and attending secondary education classes. The Shawano County Farm Bureau addresses this by hosting the Brunch on the Farm to generate money for their scholarship programs. Each year, about 300 young people help out with the one-day event in June.
“We give out eight $500 scholarships to high school students throughout Shawano County.” Krause said. “The only requirement is that they help Brunch on the Farm at least one time and they go into an agricultural-related field.”
Krause also noted that it’s one of their main events and a great way to get the word out to people about agriculture. As a major employer in Shawano County, the ag industry is always looking to give people the opportunity to learn about how many different types of jobs are an interconnected part of the agriculture industry. Hosting events like the event at WBHS and the Brunch on The Farm are great opportunities to reach people who don’t know how prevalent the industry is and the impact it has on the economy.
