Award-winning bottles of local wine line the walls in the tasting room at Yakima Valley College’s Grandview campus. But the clientele Tuesday morning were served some lighter fare: Welch’s grape juice. That’s because YVC set up a tasting workshop for juniors and seniors from local high schools.
The workshop was one of many offered during open house events that focused on the agriculture industry Tuesday. The college offered two open house sessions: one in the morning for local high school students and one in the evening for the public.
YVC agriculture faculty member Stacey Gingras said the goal of the open houses was to let people know the variety of agriculture career options in the area and that YVC offers many options for people interested in the industry.
“Oftentimes we find that even though we’re right here in the middle of Grandview, people don’t know what we’re doing here as far as programs and student support,” she said.
Workshops galore
YVC staff and local ag industry professionals offered a variety of workshops, often with hands-on components. The workshops covered topics like viticulture, modern ag technology and integrative pest management.
During the workshop in the tasting room, YVC faculty had participants taste grape juice, some of which were modified to taste different. People then guessed what tastes were dominant in each cup.
The students also tested the pH levels of the different grape juices as the instructors discussed how differences in pH might affect the wine-making process.
During the evening session, YVC agriculture department chair Trent Ball led a tour of the school’s teaching winery. As a part of their schooling, vineyard and winery technology students make their own batches of white and red wine.
Blanca Martinez and Cody Perez came up from Prosser to check out the open house after they heard about it online. Perez is interested in getting into the wine industry but did not know about the courses offered in Grandview. Checking out the school was “the first little step in this direction,” he said.
After the grape juice tasting, Perez and Martinez picked up informational materials on YVC’s vineyard and winery tech program.
Ball said he enjoyed the opportunity to connect with the next generation of ag industry professionals.
YVC faculty member Holly Ferguson led the evening integrative pest management workshop. She had samples of various pests from around the country, including the infamous invasive Japanese beetle. Participants, especially children, eagerly flocked to check out the samples under microscopes.
Ferguson is also teaching a course on integrative pest management this spring, which will feature a similar hands-on approach to the subject.
School involvement
Grandview High School teacher Jennifer McCann said she joined after receiving an email from Gingras. She also helped Sunnyside High School teacher Zachary Spidle join, since he was new to Sunnyside and used to work in Grandview.
They focused on bringing along juniors and seniors, kids who are seriously considering their options after high school. The teachers hoped that students could see the variety of jobs available in agriculture.
“It’s not just the cows and plows like it used to be,” McCann said.
Technology is a growing part of the industry, Gingras said. One of the workshops focused on ag tech and gave students a chance to remotely pilot a GUSS autonomous sprayer from RDO Equipment.
Jason Kreps, store manager for RDO Equipment Sunnyside, said many students do not know that these tech-focused jobs are available in agriculture.
Sunnyside High School students competed to get the highest score on a John Deere quiz at the RDO workshop. Junior Kellee Fox bragged when she outscored some of her friends.
Fox said her whole family is involved in agriculture, which sparked her interest in the field. She particularly likes the animal science side of it and raises pigs during the year. She is considering becoming an agriculture teacher.
Options at YVC
YVC community relations director Dustin Wunderlich said the school serves a wide variety of students, including many who work full-time. It has several associate degrees in agriculture and recently added a two-year bachelor of applied science degree in agriculture science for students.
Gingras emphasized that YVC has student support resources, including scholarships for those interested in pursuing ag education. She encouraged prospective students to reach out to ag faculty and find more information online at yvcc.edu/ag.
YVC, like most colleges, saw a decline in enrollment during the early pandemic. Gingras said while numbers are increasing for school as a whole, workforce education, which includes ag, is rebounding at a slower pace.
But the local agriculture industry continues to grow, and it needs more workers. Gingras said half of the people who come up to her at trade shows ask if she knows anyone available to fill open positions.
“We have a lot of need and there are some really great careers right here,” she said. “Everybody’s looking.”
Source : Yakima Herald