To the BG Agricultural Community and Everyone Else:
The new proposed high school will include a new agricultural facility that will be state of the art and one of the best in Ohio! 20% or ⅕ of all USA jobs and careers are in agriculture. Agriculture is the largest industry in Ohio and locally. Whether it’s farming, agribusiness, skilled or professional careers, opportunities abound! Agricultural Education has been taught in BG since 1914 and the BG FFA was one of the first chartered in 1930. This department has been one of the best and premier programs at the high school, consistently winning national and state recognition and acclaim. Modern farmers and agribusinesses are not using building, equipment or methods that were used in 1964 when the present high school was built. To properly prepare students for today’s agriculture, our facilities must be updated. Modern teaching methods are difficult to adapt in antiquated surroundings. The first line in the FFA creed states, “I believe in the future of agriculture with a faith born not of words, but of deeds.” My philosophy, when I taught agriculture at BG for over 40 years was, “We can teach students to dream of a bright future, or we can teach them to build it with their own hands!” It’s time to end the words and dreams and do the deed and build it, a new high school for all of our students-they need and deserve it!
Mike Shertzer
Retired Agriculture Teacher/FFA Advisor
Bowling Green High School
