Glenwood City agricultural education program receives a fork farm

GLENWOOD CITY agricultural students pose in front of their new Fork Farm. From left to right are: Logan Klatt, Jacob Hager, Colton Berends, Nick Heutmaker, and Abe Draxler. —photo submitted

GLENWOOD CITY — This year, the Glenwood City agricultural program now has three approved courses where students can take an agricultural education course in our high school and receive college credit while doing so. One of the newly instated courses is a horticulture course taught by Miss Konder and when the student completes the course, they will receive three credits from Chippewa Valley Technical College. Konder states, “It is a wonderful opportunity that our students have to gain college credits before they even graduate from high school. They will gain valuable knowledge and skills but also save thousands of dollars on their post-secondary education.”

Due to the new partnership with CVTC, Glenwood City was eligible to receive a free Fork Farm hydroponic tower through the CVTC horticulture program. This tower uses water to grow fresh lettuce and herbs, which Konder says will go into the school lunch program and the FACS/agriculture classrooms. Vertical farming is a large movement globally due to the planet’s increasing population and farmable land being used for urbanized purposes. With this new piece of technology in the classroom, the students within the horticulture class will learn about how to farm creatively through hydroponics, specifically the Fork Farm, which can grow up to 288 plants at the same time.