Feeding the future
There’s a little school in a little Idaho town that is doing some ‘huge’ things in its’ FFA program. FFA stands for Future Farmers of America. The organization is making sure young people know how to keep us fed in the future. One of their star members created a greenhouse project so remarkable, it’s starting to turn a profit. Her organizational and writing skills are so great, she won $10,000 for her school.
Hailey Hampton is one of seven seniors at Mackay High School. Several years ago she fell in love with the idea of hydroponics. ” That means farming without dirt. Water farming,” Hailey explains.
Her project began in a greenhouse four years ago with tomatoes. It wasn’t easy. ” There’s a definite learning curve. I’m not gonna lie,” she says. ” I killed a lot of tomatoes my first year.”
This year, the greenhouse is bursting with big beautiful red tomatoes. The produce is taken to the Idaho Falls Farmer’s Market, and the project is turning a profit.
“This last year we started figuring things out. We got a new tomato species, and really started hitting it on the head with the right amount of nutrients,” says Hailey. ” Tomatoes like a ph level of 5.5. If it’s too high, like a 7, like drinking water, they can’t absorb their nutrients. If it’s too low, it can burn them. Today they’re between a 7 and a 6,” shows Hailey as she tests the water.”
Her agriculture instructor says she is a very hard working student.
“She’s very driven. She’s one of those kids that has the ability to find something she wants to do and works hard at it,” says Trent VanLeuven. ” She never turns down an opportunity.”
Recently Hailey had the opportunity to write an essay that talked about agricultural advocacy. She says she entered the contest, but never heard anything,. Then, a school assembly was called, and Hailey learned she had just won $10,000 for her FFA chapter from Culver’s Restaurants.
Out of 450 essays nationwide, Hailey Hampton brings home the gold. She graduates in the spring, and plans to attend college and study plant sciences. What will happen to her greenhouse project then?
“I brought in a few younger students. I’m mentoring them. Just in case there’s no interest for a few years, I’m also writing a manual so hopefully no one has to kill 300 plants before they learn how this greenhouse works.”
