KEWAUNEE COUNTY, Wis. – Ag Career Days, a two-day, farm career-exploration experience for all seventh- and eighth-grade students from five Northeast Wisconsin school districts, returns on April 18-19, 2023, at Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy farm in Kewaunee. Presented by the Kewaunee County Economic Development Corporation (KCEDC), the free event is expected to draw roughly 900 students from the Algoma, Denmark, Kewaunee, Luxemburg-Casco and Southern Door school districts. Parochial and home-schooled students are invited to participate.
KCEDC launched Ag Career Days in 2012 as a way for students to identify how their interests could transfer to a potential career in the agriculture industry. Established as a biennial event, it subsequently was held in 2014, 2016 and 2018, becoming recognized as one of Wisconsin’s largest farm career-exploration gatherings. It has not taken place since ’18 due to the pandemic.
“We are excited to bring back Ag Career Days,” says KCEDC Executive Director Ben Nelson. “KCEDC has a strong commitment to supporting the agriculture industry, which is so important to our area. Ag Career Days is a hands-on opportunity for middle-school students to learn more about the various aspects of agriculture, allowing them to tailor their high-school coursework towards a planned career path. We enjoy great community support for this event, but continue to look for additional sponsors and volunteers.”
Those interested in helping to sponsor or in volunteering at Ag Career Days should contact Nelson at ben.nelson@kcedc.org. or 920-255-1661.
Ag Career Days will highlight a cross-section of potential career areas. Participating students will be divided into clusters and every cluster will rotate through eight different stations. Each station will have different presenters who work in some aspect of the agriculture industry. One-half of the students will take part on the first day, the other half on the second day.
Among the topics expected to be covered with students are agronomy, cropping, horticulture, animals, animal nutrition, milk testing, cheese making, agriculture support services, the business of agriculture, and technology. Sponsors and volunteers are still needed for the event.
