HAYFIELD – Horticulture and a greenhouse are growing in Hayfield.

Tuesday, August 15, 2000

HAYFIELD – Horticulture and a greenhouse are growing in Hayfield.

Interest in the former produced the latter.

Last week, Hayfield High School alumni of the Future Farmers of America chapter constructed a greenhouse adjacent to the vocational agriculture classrooms and shop building.

The project event attracted a Hayfield Board of Education member, Tom Grosam.

"This is part of a five-year plan approved by the Hayfield school board," Grosam explained. "It began when we decided to semesterize our ag classes and change the ag curriculum. Today, farm management, ag business, agronomy and other areas are becoming a part of the traditional ag program in schools everywhere.

"Even forestry and natural resources and horticulture is a part of that. A greenhouse will be a learning environment for our students to explore these new areas."

The changes to semesterlong courses will not be fully made until the 2001-2002 school year. Already, students have performed landscaping work in the community as an extension of their existing curriculum of studies.

But, seeing a greenhouse full of flowers and plants is believing the school district is responding to the changing needs in today’s vo-ag classrooms.

Nathan Thompson, Hayfield vo-ag instructor and FFA chapter adviser, successfully wrote two grant applications that produced more than half the funds needed to construct a greenhouse.

According to Thompson, $7,000 came from the Minnesota Ag Education Leadership Council and another $7,500 came from the Minnesota Department of Children, Family and Learning.

The total cost of the project is an estimated $28,000 and the rest of the funding came from the district’s capital outlay and donations.

Eighteen volunteers helped construct the greenhouse last week. They all worked under the supervision of Dan Klipsch of Hummert International of St. Louis, Mo., who was contracted by the district.

Hummert International is one of the world’s largest suppliers of horticulture, nursery, landscaping, greenhouse and other outdoor accessories. The firm was the low-bidder among seven companies who sought the Hayfield contract.

The project also has received help from local contractors and businesses that provided site preparation work as well as utility hookups.

The work began Aug. 7, and by Thursday, the volunteers, plus Thompson and construction supervisor Klipsch, were ready to install the walls and roof to enclose the building.

The greenhouse is 18 feet by 36 feet in dimension. Other school districts, including Austin, Southland and LeRoy-Ostrander also have greenhouses that are a part of their agriculture education curriculums.

One or two students will be paid to manage the greenhouse and the intent is to make the greenhouse partly self-supporting with the sale of flowers, plants and seeds throughout the year.

Seven current Hayfield High School vo-ag students have assisted on the project although their contributions were limited by the Mower County Fair, where FFA contests required their attention.

Grosam, who lives at Brownsdale, is an agronomist for Central Co-op at Blooming Prairie.

If his hands-on work wasn’t enough evidence as to how serious he personally views the greenhouse project, his words were.

"I think these changes are absolutely critical today to the successful agriculture education program," he said. "We’re entering an era where farming will be done by fewer people, but where everybody will also need to develop new skills to either remain in agriculture or to work in a related field."

According to Thompson, one senior in the vocational agriculture curriculum at Hayfield High School, Kathryn Schley, already has announced her plans to pursue a career in horticulture.

"Ten years ago, I would have said it was only possible that horticulture would become as big a part of the curriculum as it is becoming today," Thompson said. "That’s how fast agriculture education has changed and that’s how fast the interest is growing."