KCEDC Ag Career Days, farm career-exploration experience for students, returns

KEWAUNEE COUNTY – Ag Career Days, a two-day, farm career-exploration experience for all seventh- and eighth-grade students from five Northeast Wisconsin school districts, will be held April 29-30 at Ebert Enterprises dairy farm in Algoma. Presented by the Kewaunee County Economic Development Corporation (KCEDC), the free event is expected to draw roughly 900 students from the Algoma, Denmark, Kewaunee, Luxemburg-Casco and Southern Door school districts. Parochial and home-schooled students are invited to participate.

KCEDC launched Ag Career Days in 2012 as a way for students to identify how their interests could transfer to a potential career in the agriculture industry. Established as a biennial event, it was held in 2014, 2016 and 2018, and became recognized as one of Wisconsin’s largest farm career-exploration gatherings. It was not held for several years due to the pandemic, but subsequently made a successful return in 2023.

“Ag Career Days is a popular event with Kewaunee County middle school students,” said KCEDC Executive Director Ben Nelson. “When they discover the number of varied career opportunities in agriculture through this hands-on event, it truly is eye-opening for them and allows them to tailor their high-school coursework towards a potential career path.

“KCEDC is committed to support of the agriculture industry, which is a pillar of our business community. Many area leaders have stepped forward to support this event, but we still are looking for additional sponsors and volunteers.”

Those interested in helping to sponsor or in volunteering at Ag Career Days should contact Nelson at ben.nelson@kcedc.org or (920) 255-1661.

Ag Career Days will highlight a cross-section of potential career areas.

Participating students will be divided into clusters and every cluster will rotate through eight separate stations. Each station will have different presenters who work in some aspect of the agriculture industry. Half of the students will take part on the first day, while the other half will participate on the second day.

Some of the topics expected to be covered with students include agronomy, cropping, horticulture, animals, animal nutrition, milk testing, cheese making, agriculture support services, the business of agriculture and technology.

Kewaunee County Economic Development Corporation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that advances economic prosperity throughout Kewaunee County by providing a wide range of free services for entrepreneurs and businesses. Its activities center around strengthening local businesses, supporting the local talent pool, recruiting new businesses to the community and supporting local entrepreneurs. All the technical services provided by KCEDC are confidential and free of charge.