You can learn a lot by reading a textbook, but many would argue that the most valuable learning experiences are hands-on.

Thanks to a small plot of cropland located by St. Luke’s Lutheran Care Center, a group of students at Blue Earth Area High School have gained hands-on learning about the world of farming by – you guessed it – actually farming.

The plot of land in question has belonged to the BEA School District for years, but until recently, the district rented it out to area farmers.

That all changed when some BEA students suggested that the land could be cultivated by a crew of hard-working Buccaneers, instead.

BEA juniors Cole Beyer and Kasey Kramer, and ninth grader Drake Engelby – all members of the school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) Chapter – explain that they came up with the idea after learning that other students had started similar initiatives at their own schools.

“We wanted to try it, and see how it would work,” Beyer explains. “We all come from a farming background, and we thought it would be cool to do something for school.”

Beyer and Kramer have both booked experience assisting area farmers, while Engelby frequently helps out at his family’s farm.

To make their idea a reality, Beyer, Kramer and Engelby formed a Crop Plot Committee along with fellow FFA members Logan Shelstad and Allison Redepenning.

Of course, it is difficult to farm without farmland.

The students searched for a suitable piece of land for the project and discovered their school district owned the perfect plot.

The BEA School District agreed that the FFA, as well as the agriculture and science departments, could use the land for educational purposes, with the expenses taken on by and any potential profits benefiting the FFA Chapter.

After securing farmland for their project, the students set about preparing for their first planting season.

The corn made it into the ground in mid-May of 2022, and the soybeans were sown during the first week of June.

Between the planting in early summer and the first harvest, which took place in the fall of 2022, the BEA FFA students dedicated a lot of time and labor to tending their crops.

He had helped area farmers in the past, but Kramer says farming the FFA field was a different experience altogether.

“We get to make a lot more decisions for FFA,” he explains. “It feels more like you’re farming.”

Those decisions include selecting and purchasing supplies, applying for crop insurance and finding equipment to borrow for planting and harvesting.

FFA advisor Nick Milbrandt adds that the Crop Plot Committee is involved in the project every step of the way.

“They are a part of all decisions,” he says.

Milbrandt tries to structure the project on a similar timeline to what any farmer would follow when cultivating a crop.

“It helps them understand when things should be happening,” he explains.

This season, for example, the students have tried to secure fertilizer and chemicals for the field at the very beginning of January. They will research crop insurance in February, and hope to start planting corn in mid-April, and soybeans in late April.

The students are responsible for a great deal of the project, but they have also been helped along the way by local sponsors who have donated everything from fertilizer to seeds to equipment to expertise.

The FFA Farm Field’s 2023 sponsors include Stateline Cooperative, which has agreed to donate and apply nitrogen fertilizer to this year’s crops.

Corn seed will be donated by Matt Alford at Wyffels Corn Hybrids, Engelby Seeds, Lawrence Seed, R.J. Olson and Sons and Country Farm Supply Winnebago.

R.J. Olson and Sons and Country Farm Supply Winnebago will also donate soybean seed, as will Landus and Dan Eckhardt Seed.

The project would also not be possible without equipment.

Beyer says the committee is particularly appreciative of sponsors who allow FFA students to borrow their equipment to farm the field.

“Tractors and equipment are expensive,” he observes.

Many local sponsors have agreed to lend equipment to help with the students’ planting and harvest. Johnson Farms will be donating use of a tractor and planter for the beans, while Carr Farms will donate use of the same equipment for the corn crop. Naumann Farms will also be donating use of a field cultivator.

Additionally, Mensing Farms is donating strip till and phosphorus and potassium in strips, and Dahl Farms is donating vertical tillage.

Milbrandt says the FFA strives to be considerate of their sponsors during peak farming times by wrapping up its work with donated equipment in a timely manner.

“When you’re getting donations of equipment, you have to be respectful of (farmers’) time,” he notes, adding that FFA students are once in a while excused from school to work at the plot, provided they make up their missed school work.

Milbrandt also shares that BEA will be adding a plant science class during the 2024-25 school year, during which students will likely visit the crop plot several times.

“In the class we will utilize the information from the plot to make decisions as if (students) were farming it, to give them real experience,” Milbrandt explains.

Another new addition to the FFA field this season is a test plot. The endeavor will involve planting eight adjacent rows of each seed variety so, during harvest, the students can collect specific data for each variety.

“On the soil health strip in the plot we will be focusing more on what it is doing for the soil, but also collecting data on the crop and how it impacts yields,” Milbrandt adds.

The FFA will host a test plot day in July, which will allow the community to stop by the FFA Farm Field and observe the visual results of the test plot. An agronomist will also attend to discuss each variety in the plot, and answer questions from farmers in attendance.

Another sponsor, Faribault County Soil and Water Conservation District, will coordinate with the FFA this season to observe the effects of a portion of the plot which was not tilled.

“We will work with Soil and Water long-term to see what those practices do for soil health,” Milbrandt explains.

Additionally, the students will be working with Ben Bruggeman of Syngenta to use a drone to apply fungicide at the field.

The Crop Plot Committee says they are bringing a few lessons learned last year to the upcoming planting season and harvest.

Engelby says farming the plot last year helped him realize, “(Farming) is not all just running equipment – there is a lot behind it.”

“Equipment is the easy part,” Beyer agrees. “There is pricing, what kind of seed to use, insurance.”

Above all else, Milbrandt hopes to see his students learn something by farming the FFA field.

“My biggest goal is the educational piece of it,” he says.

He adds that the project would not be possible without its generous local sponsors.

“Without those donations from people – seeds, chemicals, equipment – this wouldn’t be possible,” Milbrandt says. “Without the community support, it won’t be possible. We greatly appreciate all the aspects that go into it.”