Pocahontas County FFA receives grant

Jennalee Meck
FFA Reporter

Pocahontas County High School Agricultural Department received a modernization grant for $18,500. The grant was presented by the Career Technical Education Department of the West Virginia Department of Education. The money was used to purchase a 3025 four-wheel drive John Deere tractor, a 60-inch PTO drive tiller, as well as a trailer for hauling the equipment and machinery. The equipment will be available for student use to assist them with their supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs) and school projects.

Each student enrolled in the agriculture program is required to have a SAE, meaning they have an individualized agricultural project which they work on at home. A SAE can range from raising livestock or crops, to having a job at a local business. The newly purchased equipment will be available to aid students with their agricultural endeavors. As part of the Agriculture program, students will undergo tractor safety as well as be taught how to properly handle each piece of machinery as part of their classroom and field instruction. The agriculture program also hopes to offer the use of the equipment to aid people in our local community with the tillage of their gardens. This equipment is a great advancement for our agriculture program that will allow us to continue our progress.