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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Cedar Valley High School's agriculture program received a $25,000 donation from the local Tyson Foods plant on Friday. The funds will be used to help build a barn so students can learn to care for animals on the schools' campus.
Cody Gull, who teaches animal science classes at the school, said that having a barn on campus gives students the opportunity to handle animals, show them at fairs, and make connections with professionals. Gull said that he has seen kids at the school become less reserved or figure out what they want to do as a career through their experience with animals.
"My vision as an ag teacher is to be able to take a full class out the doors of the school and into the doors of a barn that will sit here on campus … give students a hands-on learning opportunity in a lab setting like a barn, something that they wouldn't otherwise be able to experience," Gull said.
Gull said they are excited to be able to get more people involved in the barn since it will be right on campus. Students have been raising turkeys on campus and using an off-site barn owned by community member Kevin Burningham for other animals.
Tom Sharp, the complex manager of the Tyson Foods plant in Eagle Mountain which processes beef and pork, brought the check to the school. Sharp said that the company is very interested in helping with agriculture programs. The school reached out to him for help with funding the concrete for the barn.
"Anytime that we can provide something that's going to engage youth in agriculture, we're going to help every way we can," Sharp said.
Tyson Foods has helped the schools' agriculture program with other activities in the past, including the sheep show hosted by the school last year.
This is the third school year for Cedar Valley High School, which was recently built in Eagle Mountain, and the second year for its livestock program. Gull said plans for the barn began in January 2020. With this donation from Tyson, they hope to have the barn ready in the spring of next year.
In addition to being used for agriculture classes, the barn is going to be enjoyed by the school's Future Farmers of America organization. FFA members will be able to purchase animals like sheep, goats and pigs, raise them in the barn, show them at fairs and sell them.
They are excited to have a barn on the school campus, no longer need to travel to feed their animals every day and get more students involved.
Salem Shimakonis, the FFA barn manager, is excited to be able to get more students involved in the barn because it will be right on campus. She said with a barn there, students will be able to learn about something, and then go out and experience it.
"This means that I get to finally get the kids involved at the school," Shimakonis said about the barn. "I'm so excited … the fact that the district is letting us do this is absolutely amazing."
She said the program does not only help teach students how to work with animals, but also responsibility and how to work with other people.
Jacob Cardwell is in the school's FFA program and wants to be a veterinarian. He said this program has been able to help him get some of the hands-on experience that he will need in order to reach that career goal.
Cardwell has had the opportunity to raise and show goats and sheep through the program. He said they have had unique experiences, including researching a genetic disease for a lamb when they found what looked like a wart when shearing the lamb.
Gull said the FFA program at the school has grown significantly over the last few years and currently has 120 students, up from 80 last year and 17 the year before.
