As we close out 2022, Sally Ladsten reflects on her first year with the Department of Public Instruction. She serves as the consultant for agriculture, food and natural resources education. Also in her title – State FFA Advisor.
She’s also been working with the Wisconsin Agricultural Education and Workforce Development Council to bring several state agencies together to promote ag education across the state. The council has three different committees. Ladsten’s committee has been working on developing an ag career pathway for teachers to use — it’s essentially a map that guides teachers and students on the steps/courses/organization involvement needed to pursue a particular career in ag.
The careers that the pathway resource will focus on are in development — Ladsten did say that meat processing is on the list. The Agriculture Career Pathway will launch in roughly two months.
She’s also gearing up for spring — a busy time of year for FFA and agriculture classrooms. The new year kicks off with Halftime Conference in mid-January. Leadership and career developments will go full steam ahead at the end of January into February.
Ladsten says the Wisconsin State FFA officer team is working on overcoming language barriers in the organization by incorporating Spanish into FFA activities.
When it comes to addressing the state’s teacher shortage, DPI is working on getting national grants to support the current ag education workforce.
We’re seeing the ag industry turn to the high school classroom to get students interested in pursuing a career in ag. The challenge is that there’s a shortage of educators. State Superintendent Jill Underly tells Mid-West Farm Report what she’s noticed from her role as head of the Department of Public Instruction.
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