When you walk into a grocery store and pick up some produce, have you ever stopped to think about the journey that apple or tomato has taken to get to your local grocery store? Or how the milk got onto the cold shelf? Even more, have you ever wondered about all the hard work of thousands of people who got you the food you eat every single day?
There are over 65,000 farms in California alone, producing a wide variety of nuts, fruits, dairy, and vegetables. In fact, about ⅓rds of the nation’s vegetables and ¾ths of its nuts and fruits are produced in California. California also produces…
- 80% of the country’s wine
- 90% of the country’s citrus
- 82% of the world’s almonds
- 40% of the country’s organic items
It is clear that California is one of the most important parts of the global agriculture scene. California’s agricultural industry is always growing, with net gains in income, especially in organic products. Becoming a part of this industry is easier than you think, with the help of our wonderful agricultural program here at Buena Park.
At Buena Park High School, the agriculture (often shortened to AG) program is extensive and fulfilling. Located on the northeast corner of campus, it is complete with a variety of animals and plants for students to care for and study. It is part of our Career and Technical Education (CTE) program here at Buena Park, which helps prepare students for careers in their chosen field of study. Not only does 
agriculture help students prepare for their careers, but it can help students of all types learn leadership skills and benefit the community. Our AG program is active in community service, education, and public speaking, which means that students will have an opportunity to make a positive impact through the program. With all these different facets to this program, we interviewed two students to tell us more about it and their experiences.
Our first interviewee was Scarlett. She specializes in poultry, stating that Ms. Cortez taught her many skills. She believes that agriculture is important because it is a basic need to survive, and it can be found from the city to the countryside. When asked how agriculture can help skill development, she remarks that the conventions you can go to are both really fun and show you a lot about what you can study and why you should go join them. Lastly, Scarlett believes that there are good reasons for people to be interested in agriculture. She states, “Agriculture gives you multiple experiences, in leadership and being yourself… you are able to connect with people all over from your region.” Lastly, she remarks that the agriculture program’s conventions are very fun and help you learn about what things you could study and why you should join them.
The next student we interviewed was Nova, who says her interest in agriculture was sparked by her love of animals. She explains that while people are free to work with animals in agriculture, there are programs in horticulture, hydroponics, floral, and agriculture communication, so there is a variety of things for students to learn. She mentions that agriculture is not only for students who want to become farmers but also helps students of all types learn essential leadership skills. She remarks, “It could change your mindset of how you view yourself as a leader or not and being able to help out students and kids who struggle with leadership, public speaking, and communication skills.” She stated that agriculture has also helped her personally in developing her own leadership and speaking skills.
Our AG program has also been recognized on a county level. Anthony Alvarez won 1st place in novice lamb showmanship and got 
4th place in master showmanship at the OC fair, with Scarlett Sanchez winning FFA champion market hen turkey. If raising animals isn’t your thing, don’t worry! There are also awards to be won in speaking and horticulture.
With a wide variety of classes such as veterinary science, soil chemistry, biology, horticulture, and floral, the agricultural program has a place for you! Even if you don’t plan to pursue a career in agriculture, taking a class or two will enrich your education and skills beyond the classroom. Talk to your counselor about this program if you’re interested!
Resources:
https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/downloads/is111_unit%202.pdf – FEMA Importance of AG
https://www.calaged.org/sites/default/files/apb/special-list/Agricultural%20Education%20and%20the%20FFA.pdf – Timeline of AG/FFA program
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Statistics/ – CA Department of Food and Agriculture
https://farmingwork.com/7-surprising-california-agriculture-facts/ Surprising Agriculture Facts
