February 25, 2024 • 12 mins
In this episode of Henry's Dashboard Dialogues, we dive into the world of local agriculture, particularly focusing on how it has uniquely shaped our community.
Our special guest, Dr. Andy Joe Moore, Director of Agriculture at Barren County High School, joins us to commemorate the National FFA week. He shares his insights on being part of the eighth generation on his family's farm and nurturing the growth of Barren County High School's FFA chapter that has had a profound impact on students and the community alike. He also provides an overview of the agriculture curriculum at the school, including some numbers and details on how the FFA connects closely with it.
During the discussion, we highlight the notable achievements of local FFA chapter president Molly Webb and her plans to further her agriculture studies at Oklahoma State University. Lastly, Dr. Moore shares more about his personal journey in agricultural education through his PhD and how it informs his work with the students at Barren County High School.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:14):
We really appreciate you tuning in here to Henry's Dashboard Dialogues again.
We just enjoy sharing the wonderful things in our community and sharing what
a wonderful place we have to call home.
Thinking about sitting at the dashboard as you drive around our community.
You can't drive at about 100 feet before you see one more thing that agriculture
(00:34):
has shaped in our community.
You drive a quarter of a mile off of the square, you see all the remnants of
the old tobacco barns. Downtown on the square, we have our Farmer's Market during the summertime.
Everything about this community was built, was honed with agriculture in mind,
which is why that here on Henry's Dashboard Dialogues, this program,
(00:57):
we want to talk about agriculture.
This is a national FFA week. We have an FFA chapter here that is steeped in
heritage and continues to grow under the leadership of a very impressive gentleman
who has a lot to do with the growth of this, Dr.
Andy Joe Moore, who is the Director of Agriculture here at Barron County High School.
(01:22):
Andy Joe, how you doing? Hey, I'm doing great, and I appreciate this opportunity
to visit and chat with you for a little while.
Just a little background here to set up. Andy Joe Moore is a native from Barron
County, and you have a heritage in agriculture here, don't you?
I do. I actually represent the eighth generation on my family's farm,
and my own kids make up the ninth, and that's something that we've grown to be proud of.
(01:47):
But aside from the farming, I've had a great career so far here at Barron County
High School as an ag teacher and one of the FFA advisors.
No matter where you went to school, if you lived in the city,
you lived in the county, he lived somewhere else.
Everybody knows about Barron County High School FFA, what it has meant to this
(02:09):
community, and more importantly, what it has meant to so many students,
Dr. Moore. That's right.
And that's something that we are very proud of. We recognize that and we try to hang on to that.
We tell a lot of stories. We want to make sure that the present day students
know know that the FFA roots, they run deep.
They go back to those days where the high schools were part of the elementary schools.
(02:34):
And occasionally you'll still see one of those old FFA jackets that has Park
City or Highsville or...
Austin Tracy on it. And those jackets, though, Andy, Joe, were always worn with
pride. That is so impressive.
We still allow that FFA jacket to be the symbol that we want our students to hang on to.
And if you gather around a group of FFA members, you'll hear them say stuff
(02:56):
like, you know, this jacket makes me a part of something bigger than myself.
And and we like to always ask them, you know, when you put that jacket on,
where would that jacket take you?
That's a neat part about it. And one other little side story with that is we
see a lot of young folks come in and they're not too sure about that old blue
corduroy, maybe as a ninth grader.
(03:16):
But by the time they're a senior, it fits them just right.
And there's nothing that they would rather wear more than that blue FFA jacket.
Let's do some numbers and let's set the stage right here. First of all,
agriculture is a part of the curriculum here at Barron County High School.
Let's talk about some some of the ag classes that you all provide,
and then let's extrapolate that into when you get involved into FFA and how
(03:42):
the two kind of fit like a glove together.
At Barron County High School, we are fortunate to have the class opportunity
to really build around four pathways. We consider them pathways.
That would include the animal sciences, plant science, and horticulture would
would be the second pathway.
Ag mechanics is a separate pathway. And then we finish out with ag business.
(04:07):
And within those pathways, we have numerous classes that are related.
And obviously, from a ninth grader to a twelfth grader, those classes build upon each other.
Currently, we have, I'm going to say, close to 325 students that come through our program.
Now, some of those students are here for one class. Some of those students possibly
(04:29):
take more than one class a semester in ag.
For about three or four years, we have shifted the way we do our FFA membership.
Prior to COVID, students could choose to be a member, but doing so meant they
would have to pay a little membership fee.
As a program, the ag teachers, we got together and decided that maybe we would
like to try a route considered affiliated membership.
(04:52):
And this is where the community is
makes a much bigger impact than maybe they realize. But through the affiliated program,
our community members send us donations and we take that donated money and purchase
a chapter membership so that every student that sits in an ag class is now also an FFA member.
(05:12):
We've seen tremendous growth. We've seen students get involved with contests
or attend events or maybe purchase their own FFA jacket where as before,
you know, maybe that didn't happen as often.
And so So we're very, very blessed to have the program that we have and the
student interests that we have.
There's a lot of impressive things about this program. But, you know,
over the years, covering news, things like that, I've been to several FFA banquets.
(05:36):
The leadership in FFA, the banquet is run by the leadership.
You get to see young students who have blossomed into responsible students.
Responsible leaders. I don't know how you do that with a 14,
15, 16-year-old, Dr. Moore.
One thing that I would have to respond to is we have a lot of great instructor
(06:00):
leadership that goes back across the United States.
FFA was formed in 1928.
Those folks back in that day, I think they were the true visionaries.
They set up the foundations of FFA.
And even though agriculture has changed and continues to change,
those FFA foundations have stayed in place and premier leadership,
personal growth and career success. That's what we go by.
(06:23):
And we really make sure the students have the opportunity to experience that
leadership and take charge of, like you mentioned, FFA banquet.
I know a number of the educators who have taught in the ag programs here in
Barron County schools, and a lot of them retired, retired from everything but FFA.
(06:44):
Oh, that's exactly right. Right.
We have tremendous support multiple times throughout the school year.
We have an FFA alumni chapter, Barron County FFA alumni.
And that's a group of folks that they may range from ages 18 to any age.
And those older folks that maybe have been out of the ag department or out of
FFA for many decades, they still enjoy coming back and sharing stories and helping us host events.
(07:11):
And that's something very special about Barron County. There's a ton of success
stories with FFA from Barron County High School, FFA members, ag classes.
Is you've got another one coming up this year who's going to be graduating and
who's already announced her plans to take it to the next level, Ms.
Molly Webb, who is so busy she couldn't be here with us today,
(07:34):
but just to sit here and talk about her is going to be sufficient to express
what an exceptional young lady she is, Dr. Moore.
She's definitely one that has made us proud, and we're equally proud of her accomplishments.
Molly had to be away on an an ag-related trip to Lexington, Kentucky this morning,
but we're talking about a young lady here that is currently serving as our chapter
(07:55):
FFA president while simultaneously serving as the Kentucky 4-H state president.
And Molly has just as many roles and responsibilities with other organizations
like the Barron County Junior Cattlemen's Group, the National Beta Club.
And Molly, at the heart of, I guess, of her mission is to proceed as an agriculturalist.
(08:18):
And Molly is soon to be traveling to get a college degree in agriculture.
And we're just excited. This is at Oklahoma State. Yes, Oklahoma State University.
Molly has received several scholarship opportunities.
Typically, a student like her would have to pay out-of-state tuition to go to
a university like that. And that has been waived due to her becoming a recipient
(08:44):
of one of their programs called the McKnight Scholarship Program.
So the list just grows with her accomplishments.
And one thing about Molly is no matter where Molly goes or what accomplishments
she racks up, we know that Barron County Agriculture and Barron County FFA is
always going to be close to her heart.
She's an impressive young lady. I'll tell you, she was here for the proclamation
(09:06):
signing. And that's a name to remember, Molly Webb.
You'll hear it again. Another proud product of the Ag Department and FFA here
at Barron County High School.
I can't finish this interview without saying.
You know, they don't give away PhDs. You have to earn it. And I think people
hear Dr. Andy Joe Moore as the name.
(09:28):
Let's just explain what the doctor is for. Well, I appreciate that.
We all sometimes take routes that we don't fully understand where we're going.
But I did have an interest about 12 years ago.
I felt like there was maybe more that I could contribute to the agricultural
department, whether that be through the education or whatnot. not.
(09:49):
But I received a degree in educational leadership, and this all took place down
at Western Kentucky University.
And I always appreciated the fact that they allowed me to focus solely on ag
education through that process.
So all of my research was in agriculture education, and we looked at a lot of
public school situations throughout the state of Kentucky.
(10:10):
In a quick recap, it was very promising to realize that even public schools
that don't currently have an ag education program, those schools do see value
and they appreciate what we're doing.
And, you know, it's just always been my hope. Maybe my work or my research might
be a stepping stone for somebody to look further into that and really promote
what agricultural education is all about and get it where it's available to
(10:34):
more students. So when you hear the title, Dr.
Andy Chalmore, that is a title where he's invested a whole lot lot of time and
it allows him to make a difference every day when he's down here working with these young students.
And I encourage you to come down here and take a visit and you'll see that in
every single young student as they progress here.
(10:55):
And what a celebration of FFA week, Dr. Moore.
And I know that there's a lot of exciting things that are going to be coming up here.
This is a curriculum, a program that is ongoing and continuing to grow as ag changes.
They are right here meeting it. So So I really appreciate you being with me
here on the Dashboard Dialogue show today.
Well, I'm so happy to be here. And I just want to end my part of this interview
(11:18):
with thanking the community of Barron County and let you guys know that this
FFA program does feel the support.
And we appreciate that. And we hope that that's something that we have a great
connection with for years to come.
Dr. Andy Joe Moore, Barron County High School Agriculture Department Director,
and our guest here this week on Henry's Dashboard Dialogues.
(11:41):
Music.
Music.
(00:14):
We really appreciate you tuning in here to Henry's Dashboard Dialogues again.
We just enjoy sharing the wonderful things in our community and sharing what
a wonderful place we have to call home.
Thinking about sitting at the dashboard as you drive around our community.
You can't drive at about 100 feet before you see one more thing that agriculture
(00:34):
has shaped in our community.
You drive a quarter of a mile off of the square, you see all the remnants of
the old tobacco barns. Downtown on the square, we have our Farmer's Market during the summertime.
Everything about this community was built, was honed with agriculture in mind,
which is why that here on Henry's Dashboard Dialogues, this program,
(00:57):
we want to talk about agriculture.
This is a national FFA week. We have an FFA chapter here that is steeped in
heritage and continues to grow under the leadership of a very impressive gentleman
who has a lot to do with the growth of this, Dr.
Andy Joe Moore, who is the Director of Agriculture here at Barron County High School.
(01:22):
Andy Joe, how you doing? Hey, I'm doing great, and I appreciate this opportunity
to visit and chat with you for a little while.
Just a little background here to set up. Andy Joe Moore is a native from Barron
County, and you have a heritage in agriculture here, don't you?
I do. I actually represent the eighth generation on my family's farm,
and my own kids make up the ninth, and that's something that we've grown to be proud of.
(01:47):
But aside from the farming, I've had a great career so far here at Barron County
High School as an ag teacher and one of the FFA advisors.
No matter where you went to school, if you lived in the city,
you lived in the county, he lived somewhere else.
Everybody knows about Barron County High School FFA, what it has meant to this
(02:09):
community, and more importantly, what it has meant to so many students,
Dr. Moore. That's right.
And that's something that we are very proud of. We recognize that and we try to hang on to that.
We tell a lot of stories. We want to make sure that the present day students
know know that the FFA roots, they run deep.
They go back to those days where the high schools were part of the elementary schools.
(02:34):
And occasionally you'll still see one of those old FFA jackets that has Park
City or Highsville or...
Austin Tracy on it. And those jackets, though, Andy, Joe, were always worn with
pride. That is so impressive.
We still allow that FFA jacket to be the symbol that we want our students to hang on to.
And if you gather around a group of FFA members, you'll hear them say stuff
(02:56):
like, you know, this jacket makes me a part of something bigger than myself.
And and we like to always ask them, you know, when you put that jacket on,
where would that jacket take you?
That's a neat part about it. And one other little side story with that is we
see a lot of young folks come in and they're not too sure about that old blue
corduroy, maybe as a ninth grader.
(03:16):
But by the time they're a senior, it fits them just right.
And there's nothing that they would rather wear more than that blue FFA jacket.
Let's do some numbers and let's set the stage right here. First of all,
agriculture is a part of the curriculum here at Barron County High School.
Let's talk about some some of the ag classes that you all provide,
and then let's extrapolate that into when you get involved into FFA and how
(03:42):
the two kind of fit like a glove together.
At Barron County High School, we are fortunate to have the class opportunity
to really build around four pathways. We consider them pathways.
That would include the animal sciences, plant science, and horticulture would
would be the second pathway.
Ag mechanics is a separate pathway. And then we finish out with ag business.
(04:07):
And within those pathways, we have numerous classes that are related.
And obviously, from a ninth grader to a twelfth grader, those classes build upon each other.
Currently, we have, I'm going to say, close to 325 students that come through our program.
Now, some of those students are here for one class. Some of those students possibly
(04:29):
take more than one class a semester in ag.
For about three or four years, we have shifted the way we do our FFA membership.
Prior to COVID, students could choose to be a member, but doing so meant they
would have to pay a little membership fee.
As a program, the ag teachers, we got together and decided that maybe we would
like to try a route considered affiliated membership.
(04:52):
And this is where the community is
makes a much bigger impact than maybe they realize. But through the affiliated program,
our community members send us donations and we take that donated money and purchase
a chapter membership so that every student that sits in an ag class is now also an FFA member.
(05:12):
We've seen tremendous growth. We've seen students get involved with contests
or attend events or maybe purchase their own FFA jacket where as before,
you know, maybe that didn't happen as often.
And so So we're very, very blessed to have the program that we have and the
student interests that we have.
There's a lot of impressive things about this program. But, you know,
over the years, covering news, things like that, I've been to several FFA banquets.
(05:36):
The leadership in FFA, the banquet is run by the leadership.
You get to see young students who have blossomed into responsible students.
Responsible leaders. I don't know how you do that with a 14,
15, 16-year-old, Dr. Moore.
One thing that I would have to respond to is we have a lot of great instructor
(06:00):
leadership that goes back across the United States.
FFA was formed in 1928.
Those folks back in that day, I think they were the true visionaries.
They set up the foundations of FFA.
And even though agriculture has changed and continues to change,
those FFA foundations have stayed in place and premier leadership,
personal growth and career success. That's what we go by.
(06:23):
And we really make sure the students have the opportunity to experience that
leadership and take charge of, like you mentioned, FFA banquet.
I know a number of the educators who have taught in the ag programs here in
Barron County schools, and a lot of them retired, retired from everything but FFA.
(06:44):
Oh, that's exactly right. Right.
We have tremendous support multiple times throughout the school year.
We have an FFA alumni chapter, Barron County FFA alumni.
And that's a group of folks that they may range from ages 18 to any age.
And those older folks that maybe have been out of the ag department or out of
FFA for many decades, they still enjoy coming back and sharing stories and helping us host events.
(07:11):
And that's something very special about Barron County. There's a ton of success
stories with FFA from Barron County High School, FFA members, ag classes.
Is you've got another one coming up this year who's going to be graduating and
who's already announced her plans to take it to the next level, Ms.
Molly Webb, who is so busy she couldn't be here with us today,
(07:34):
but just to sit here and talk about her is going to be sufficient to express
what an exceptional young lady she is, Dr. Moore.
She's definitely one that has made us proud, and we're equally proud of her accomplishments.
Molly had to be away on an an ag-related trip to Lexington, Kentucky this morning,
but we're talking about a young lady here that is currently serving as our chapter
(07:55):
FFA president while simultaneously serving as the Kentucky 4-H state president.
And Molly has just as many roles and responsibilities with other organizations
like the Barron County Junior Cattlemen's Group, the National Beta Club.
And Molly, at the heart of, I guess, of her mission is to proceed as an agriculturalist.
(08:18):
And Molly is soon to be traveling to get a college degree in agriculture.
And we're just excited. This is at Oklahoma State. Yes, Oklahoma State University.
Molly has received several scholarship opportunities.
Typically, a student like her would have to pay out-of-state tuition to go to
a university like that. And that has been waived due to her becoming a recipient
(08:44):
of one of their programs called the McKnight Scholarship Program.
So the list just grows with her accomplishments.
And one thing about Molly is no matter where Molly goes or what accomplishments
she racks up, we know that Barron County Agriculture and Barron County FFA is
always going to be close to her heart.
She's an impressive young lady. I'll tell you, she was here for the proclamation
(09:06):
signing. And that's a name to remember, Molly Webb.
You'll hear it again. Another proud product of the Ag Department and FFA here
at Barron County High School.
I can't finish this interview without saying.
You know, they don't give away PhDs. You have to earn it. And I think people
hear Dr. Andy Joe Moore as the name.
(09:28):
Let's just explain what the doctor is for. Well, I appreciate that.
We all sometimes take routes that we don't fully understand where we're going.
But I did have an interest about 12 years ago.
I felt like there was maybe more that I could contribute to the agricultural
department, whether that be through the education or whatnot. not.
(09:49):
But I received a degree in educational leadership, and this all took place down
at Western Kentucky University.
And I always appreciated the fact that they allowed me to focus solely on ag
education through that process.
So all of my research was in agriculture education, and we looked at a lot of
public school situations throughout the state of Kentucky.
(10:10):
In a quick recap, it was very promising to realize that even public schools
that don't currently have an ag education program, those schools do see value
and they appreciate what we're doing.
And, you know, it's just always been my hope. Maybe my work or my research might
be a stepping stone for somebody to look further into that and really promote
what agricultural education is all about and get it where it's available to
(10:34):
more students. So when you hear the title, Dr.
Andy Chalmore, that is a title where he's invested a whole lot lot of time and
it allows him to make a difference every day when he's down here working with these young students.
And I encourage you to come down here and take a visit and you'll see that in
every single young student as they progress here.
(10:55):
And what a celebration of FFA week, Dr. Moore.
And I know that there's a lot of exciting things that are going to be coming up here.
This is a curriculum, a program that is ongoing and continuing to grow as ag changes.
They are right here meeting it. So So I really appreciate you being with me
here on the Dashboard Dialogue show today.
Well, I'm so happy to be here. And I just want to end my part of this interview
(11:18):
with thanking the community of Barron County and let you guys know that this
FFA program does feel the support.
And we appreciate that. And we hope that that's something that we have a great
connection with for years to come.
Dr. Andy Joe Moore, Barron County High School Agriculture Department Director,
and our guest here this week on Henry's Dashboard Dialogues.
(11:41):
Music.
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