On February 27th, the first organizational meeting of the BKW Agriculture Advisory Board was held. The function of this board is to support the BKW Agriscience Program, including the FFA by providing industry insight for program development.
Attendance was great and the energy in the room was palatable. The following is a list of those who attended along with the business/industry they represent:
Dawn Latham, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Aaron Gabriel, Agronomist, Cornell Cooperative Extension
Nicole DeBoer, At Ease Acres Registered Angus Farm
Richard Ronconi, Partridge Run Farm & Apiary & Switzkill Farm
Theresa Tommell, Just Cats Veterinary Clinic & CN Tommell Cattle Company LLC
Eileen Jensen, Director of Promotion & Outreach, NY Animal Agriculture Coalition
Sarah Gordon, Manager of External Affairs, the Carey Institute for Global Good
Bruce Wright, Professor & John Deere Tech Coordinator, SUNY Cobleskill
Susan Lewis, Administrative Manager & Tech Assistant, Albany Soil & Water Conservation Service
Barbara Stevens, 4-H Youth Development Issue Leader, Cornell Cooperative Extension
Ashley Pierce, Animal Science Agriculture Educator, Cornell Cooperative Extension
Terry Hughes, Agriculture Education Specialist, Cornell Agriculture Education Outreach
The following students attended:
Elizabeth Lendrum, Chapter Vice President
Callie Hempstead, Chapter Sentinel
Morgan Latham, Chapter Historian
This group will meet two to three times per year.