St. Marys Area High School agricultural education instructors Gage McCabe and Kyle Anstrom, along with five of the 97 students enrolled in the inaugural class, were the guests of the Elk County Farm Bureau at their annual banquet and meeting last month at Gunners in St. Marys.

Anstrom spoke to the group about thanking the Elk County Farm Bureau for the sponsorship to attend Penn State's Agriculture Institute last summer. He stated that it was a wonderful opportunity for him as a new agriculture education teacher to attend the six-day teacher professional development program for kindergarten through 12th-grade educators that are interested in adding agriculture education to their curriculum.

Anstrom explained that the participants live on campus and are immersed in agriculture by taking part in labs instructed by professors at the university, as well as by going on excursions to local family operated farms and several wineries. He believed that having the ability to build relationships with teachers throughout the state was most valuable, as was the ability to speak one-on-one with the President of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Chris Hoffman, and Chris Davis, Executive Director of the Commission for Agriculture Education Excellence.

He talked about building a riparian buffer using materials in a hands-on lab experiment, and then the instructor took the students to one that was under construction near by. 

He defined a riparian buffer as a vegetation zone along a watercourse that has been seeded with native grasses and trees to maintain the watercourse as free of trash between cities and farms, and to stabilize against erosion.

Anstrom told how he applied what he learned at the Penn State Agriculture Institute to take his agriculture education students through the construction of a riparian buffer by borrowing a stream table from the Elk County Conservation District. He explained how his students printed out some 3D objects and did some CAD designing to construct items such as gabion baskets and various pipes and stream crossings.

Anstrom also reported going to a hemp-fed bison farm and being suitably dressed to tour Penn State's Poultry Farm, and getting to see the Center for Dairy of Excellence, including an arboretum tour, which he called wonderful.

He finished by remarking that he hopes to be able to go to Agriculture Institute 2.0 for repeat attendees next summer.

Other teacher Gage McCabe at the high school's Future Farmers of America (FFA) or agriculture education program, said the program is at wide-open throttle with all that is happening. "We have Kyle (Anstrom) teaching the small gas engines and a lot of the agricultural mechanics are nearby, and then I am teaching the plant and animal science part.".

We have the greenhouse being built and it's to be finished on Sept. 29. My students and I are just thrilled about that. We are well into a beef production unit, where students are learning everything about beef cattle and how they are raised and processed. Then we're going to go into dairy cattle, and sheep and goats.". We have five of our students that expressed a desire to come and join us here this evening, and we wanted you to know that we value all of your support.

He went on, "We have 97 members this year with six different classes in our agriculture education program. It has been a privilege to work with our students who are super excited about everything."

Then a student, Isaac Perlick, stood up and requested to be heard. He stated, "I'm the new Sentinel from the FFA program. I had to drop a couple of my classes to be able to take ag ed, and in my book, that's been the best decision I have ever made in my life. Well, not life, but in this junior year of school! And Mr. Anstrom and Mr. McCabe have just improved daily. In this program I see a brighter future, and it has even improved since the start of the year. There's more organization to everything. I do wish these two teachers the best of everything in their lives. I hope this program goes as far as possible.

In a first-ever attempt to get the children connected again with farming and sustainability, the Maharashtra government has decided to make agriculture a school subject up to Class 10 in a phased manner from the 2025-26 academic year.

The State Curriculum Framework 2024 and the National Education Policy 2020 both state that the program's goal is to close the knowledge gap between new innovations and old agricultural expertise. The curriculum is being developed in collaboration with the School Education Department and the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT).

For Classes 1 to 5, students will study basics of plants, animals, local produce, water, soil, and exposure to creative innovation. For Classes 6 to 10, syllabus will extend beyond this to include kitchen gardening, organic farming, millet farming, food processing, exploitation of bamboo, poultry management, water auditing, and maintaining biodiversity registers.

Current agricultural practices are being integrated as well, including use of AI in agriculture, agri-tourism, smokeless cooking, and sustainable farming, thus exposing students to traditional as well as fussy new methods.

The main objectives of the program are to:

• Encourage early exposure to agriculture among school-going kids.

• Bridge the difference between traditional practices and new-age developments in agriculture.

• Put forth agriculture as a viable career path, supporting India's food security and sustainability initiative.

The government also guaranteed improvement in teacher training courses and practice facilities to facilitate successful implementation. The authorities believe that with this program, students' awareness of agriculture will not only be enhanced but also vocational abilities and career-based knowledge imparted to them so agriculture would be a desirable and relevant subject to the generation to come.

Education officials have approved the step, citing that exposing children to agricultural ideas at an early age can promote responsibility, creativity, and respect for sustainable methods among children.

The Government of India has taken a significant step to help farmers by declaring that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of the major crops will be increased in the next marketing season. This measure is expected to ensure farmers a reasonable price on their produce, gain more income, and decrease the risk factors related to the process of farming.

The hike in MSP, applicable to major rabi crops such as wheat, barley, gram, lentil, rapeseed, mustard, and safflower, reflects the government’s commitment to making agriculture more profitable and sustainable for millions of farmers across the country. For instance, MSP of wheat has increased by 160 per quintal and has reached 2,585 per quintal in the 2026-27 marketing season. This means the profit margin is over 100% (above the estimated production cost), offering solid assurance to wheat farmers.

Notably, not just wheat, crops like safflower have also seen the highest absolute increase of ₹600 per quintal, while pulses like lentil and gram have also seen meaningful hikes. Government data estimates that this MSP revision will channel approximately ₹84,000 crore directly to farmers, providing vital financial support ahead of the sowing season.

The MSP offers a safety net to farmers by ensuring that their crops command minimum prices to shield them against any price variations in the market. This policy also promotes crop diversification, i.e. growing oilseeds and pulses, which are important in nutritional security and minimising reliance on imports.

The initiative ties in with the larger “Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses,” a government program focused on boosting domestic production of pulses, enhancing farmers’ access to quality seeds, and increasing supply chain efficiencies.

This MSP increase by the central government is timely, given that the agricultural risks like changing input prices and climate uncertainties that are currently increasing. The government is looking forward to empowering the farmers by promising remunerative prices that will boost rural incomes and bring about a sustainable agricultural economy, which will promote more self-reliance in farmers.

This price support is likely to benefit farmers in most of the major growing states such as Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan as they plan to head into the next crop cycle.

The policy is a timely and considerate move by the government that highlights the emphasis on farmers as essential food market players and rural development stakeholders of India.

For official updates on agriculture and MSP notification, check the official governmental channels of the Ministry of Agriculture. 

RPSC Recruitment 2025: 3rd October is the last date for the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) Agriculture School Lecturer Recruitment 2025. 500 empty posts will be recruited through this recruitment. 

The candidates must not be less than 21 years and greater than 40 years as on 1.1.2026. Age relaxation will be granted to reserved category candidates in line with permissible rules. Educational qualification is as follows:

A four-year B.Sc. or post-graduate in an allied subject with B.Ed.

Apart from this, candidates should have a command of Hindi language in Devanagari script and familiarity with Rajasthani culture.

RPSC Recruitment 2025: Selection Process and Salary

Shortlisted candidates will be selected on the basis of a competitive exam. Shortlisted candidates will be paid as per Pay Matrix Level L-12 (Grade Pay ₹4800/-).

RPSC Recruitment 2025: How to Apply

• Visit the official website of RPSC, recruitment.rajasthan.gov.in.

• Click on the link "School Lecturer Registration 2025".

• Register and post the application form.

• Pay the online application fee and post the form.

• Take a copy of the application to use in the future.