Highland County youth participates in the 4-H Ag Innovators Experience Fish Farm Challenge
Courtesy of Jillian Baker
Highland County 4-H member Brian Shanahan had the opportunity to participate in an exciting, new program that seeks to connect students, STEM education, and agriculture.
Shanahan recently participated in the Fish Farm Challenge at Ohio State University. The event is part of the 4-H Ag Innovators Experience, presented by Monsanto, which aims to make agriscience relevant and fun for youth.
This year’s activity, the Fish Farm Challenge was designed by agriculture students and faculty at Ohio State University to stimulate interest in aquaculture, also known as fish farming. Aquaculture is a way to provide a healthy, protein-rich diet that is also sustainable and affordable. The activity helps participants recognize the value of aquaculture, while encouraging innovative approaches to ensuring farm-raised fish have equal access to food.
Participants are tasked with engineering a food-distribution system that evenly dispenses soy-based fish food pellets over a mat, which represents a fish farm tank. This system can then be transferred to an aquaculture tank on a tilapia farm.
“Aquaculture is the only way we’re going to increase our seafood production. The Fish Farm Challenge is about getting fish to market faster,” said Patty House, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development. “By challenging our 4-Hers to apply engineering skills to real world problems, we hope to increase their interest in STEM and ag careers.”
The 4-H Ag Innovators Experience kicked off in March with a training event held in Chevy Chase, Md. Joey Belcher, Alex Henz, Holden Fosnaugh, Kali Miller, Kara Griffith and Kara Pearl represented Ohio. In April and May, they shared the activity with other teens throughout the state.
These teen leaders are now implementing the activity with over 1,800 Ohio youth throughout June. After completing the activity, participants can create a video to demonstrate potential applications in their own communities. Four winners will be chosen, and each will receive a $2,500 award.
“We are excited to see the months of training and hard work pay off for the teen leaders at this launch event,” said Elizabeth Vancil, customer advocacy outreach manager, Monsanto Company. “Through this activity, young people are able to teach their peers skills to ensure the long term health and growth of the agriculture industry.”
In 2014, the 4-H Ag Innovators Experience is piloting in Ohio and seven other states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
About National 4-H Council
4-H is a community of seven million young people around the world learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. National 4-H Council is the private sector, non-profit partner of the Cooperative Extension System and 4-H National Headquarters located at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In the United States, 4-H programs are implemented by 109 land-grant universities and Cooperative Extension through more than 3,000 local offices serving every county and parish in the country. Outside the United States, 4-H programs operate through independent, country-led organizations in more than 50 countries.
Learn more about 4-H at www.4-H.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/4-H and Twitter at https://twitter.com/4H.
About Monsanto
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/MonsantoNews, on the company blog, Beyond the Rows at www.monsantoblog.com, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.
Monsanto’s support for 4-H has taken many forms over the years, including funding for 4-H Volunteer Training Forums and Salute to Excellence awards, and promotion of 4-H volunteer recruitment initiatives. Since 2010, nearly $1.6 million has been directed to individual 4-H clubs through America’s Farmers Grow Communities, which provides farmers with a chance to win $2,500 to donate to a nonprofit organization of their choosing. Many farmers have chosen to support their local 4-H clubs through this program.