The Agronomy Club was started, just six years ago, to fill a hole in ABAC’s ag club offerings, when they became the first that focuses specifically on crop production.

     “We have food at every meeting,” said Dr. Justin Ng, who serves as an advisor for the club alongside Dr. Ray Smith and Trey Davis. The Agronomy Club. Ng also talked about how the agronomy club will have a guest speaker come and speak about the ag industry.

     Also at the meeting, the Agronomy Club frequently talk about fundraising. Through fundraising, the club is able to take farm tours throughout the school year. The money the members help raise for the club goes towards their personal trip, so the more they work, the less the members have to pay.

     Some of the fundraisers the agronomy club host throughout the year consist of the truck and tractor pull, the annual skeet shoot, a car wash, raffles, and Surrcherros night. The Agronomy clubs next fundraiser event will be the annual skeet shoot coming up September 8.

     This year also marks the beginning of a new fundraising endeavor that may interest students’ enrolled in Ng’s classes regardless of their interest in the Agronomy Club.  With this fundraiser, Ng plans to sell note packets that contain blank spaces for students to fill in, and after he deducts the material cost, he plans to put the rest of the money towards the Agronomy Club.

     Each year the Agronomy Club goes on a  farm tour. Last year the students toured farms in California and the year before that they toured the Midwest.

     This fall the club plans to visit Philadelphia but also hopes to visit notable sites in Washington, D.C. and New Jersey on this tour.

     Smith said the places they could see this year included The Liberty Bell, downtown Philidelphia as well as The National Mall in Washington D.C.

     Although the Farm tours offer the Agronomy Club an opportunity to see new sites, the main goal of the trip is to see how the production of agriculture works in different areas.

    The bulk of the tour will be spent learning about ag in the region —with tour destinations like a cranberry bog, winery, container nursery, mushroom farm, and a hops farm. Then during the spring semester, the club will take another farm tour but stick closer to home.

     The club’s first regular meeting this semester already featured a guest speaker, Sam Cloete, the CEO of Kannar Earth Sciences, a company that makes seed coatings. Cloete’s goal was to teach students to find where their heart is, and what they’re best at so that they can find the career that’s right for them. He shared how he personally was able to find that in the agriculture industry where he feels he’s able to be “a catalyst for lasting, positive change.”

     So if you are interested in joining the Agronomy Club, they meet every other Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in Ag Science 139.

     The Agricultural Clubs hosted their annual School of AG and Natural Resources Club picnic last Monday and introduced their clubs incoming freshmen and transfer students. The clubs gave out free food and blared music in the hopes of attracting students. The event was funded by the clubs themselves with donations for the food and allowed club presidents and advisors to show what they’ve got.

     Focused on recruiting new students for their clubs, the picnic was an area to meet new people and make connections. The picnic also allowed incoming students a way to find a club that shared an interest in their area of study. The Dean of the School of Agriculture, Mark Kesler, said “There are a lot of benefits for joining any clubs or organizations on campus. The biggest one is starting your professional network.”

  Some of larger clubs that were recruiting at the ag picnic were the Agronomy Club, Cattlemen’s Association, Forestry, and Wildlife Clubs. These clubs offer students a chance to develop leadership skills like conducting meetings and setting up the fundraiser.

    Students enjoyed the event, with many freshmen eager to attend future events, such as the Ag banquet in the spring, which gives members of the ag community a chance to celebrate their accomplishment throughout the year and honor notable members.

    President Cade Houston of the Beekeepers Association also commented on the importance of gaining connections to people in different agricultural fields.

    While many clubs are out there recruiting new members, this isn’t seen as a competition between the clubs as they all help each other and host events together. President Houston said “All clubs work together and help each other where they can. They’re basically a big family.”