One Treasure Valley high schooler has turned her love of farming into her senior project, which could affect students across Idaho.
17-year-old Anna Peterson has known for a long time where she wants to spend her time.
“I was never raised on a farm – my parents didn’t farm, and none of my grandparents farmed," Peterson says. "I was your stereotypical little horse-crazy little girl.”
The Nampa high schooler says some family friends started taking her on horseback rides and introduced her to farm life. She got involved with FFA, and took a job at a dairy when she was a sophomore.
But she realized that most of her peers have no idea what it’s like to be a modern farmer – and what it means for Idaho’s economy and culture. Per capita, the state generates the most money from agriculture among western states.
So for her senior project, Peterson built curriculum that would teach Idaho students some basics of agricultural science.
“Not all school districts and programs have agriculture classes in place. I mean, they can’t because of money. But all schools have a science teacher, so I developed my bill to be based on agri-science credits so that it is teaching agriculture but it can be taught by science teachers.”
She’s planning to bring her proposal to the Idaho Legislature next month.
Find reporter Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill
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