COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Farm Bureau (OFB) is offering free day-long immersion camps for high school students with its ExploreAg agriculture literacy and workforce development program.

Started in 2018, ExploreAg students learn about agriculture and related STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields through hands-on experiences with industry experts, scientists and educators. Students are hosted at the various universities and businesses where they are introduced to aspects of agriculture through diverse learning experiences.

ExploreAg brings high school students into labs, fields and factories to learn about career opportunities in food and agriculture.

“ExploreAg introduces students to various careers in science, engineering and technology in the food and fiber industry and engages them in actively pursuing career paths that can help them become a part of the sustainable future of agriculture,” said Ryan Matthews, OFB director of communications and media relations.

Subject areas include food science, precision agriculture, animal science, natural resources, management skills, technology and agricultural business.

Participants in this year’s ExploreAg will find plenty of career field camps offered, such as COLT Lineman Training (Mount Gilead, May 29 and Oct. 23), Meat Processing (Jackson Center, June 11, and Yorkshire, June 19), Agricultural Communications (Bowling Green, June 12), Harness Horse Racing (Ashville, June 18), Ag Technology (Columbus, July 20), Retail Agronomy (Findlay, July 15), and Veterinary Medicine (Upper Sandusky, June 29; Columbus, June 30; Celina, July 21).

For example, students interested in the Harness Horse Racing ExploreAg Day Camp on June 18 will visit the Winners Circle Training Center in South Bloomfield to learn all aspects involved in the harness racing world. After lunch, participants will head to Midland Acres to learn more about the business from race professionals, then head to Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs to check out events behind the scenes.

Those who wish to participate in the Veterinary Medicine ExploreAg Day Camp on June 29 will meet at the Lincoln Way Animal Hospital in Upper Sandusky. There participants will take an in-depth tour of the facility, view a medical procedure, discover what work veterinarians perform, learn what education and training is required to become a veterinarian and how to set yourself up for success when applying to a vet school. After lunch, participants will visit the University of Findlay Animal Science Lab.

For those interested in the Ag Technology ExploreAg Day Camp on July 20, participants will meet at the College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at 8 a.m. on the campus of Ohio State University. After an Ag Engineering/Ag Technology overview, students will receive hands-on experience with drone and ATV data gathering. After lunch, students will continue with hands-on activities that include processing data from the drones and ATV, learn about AI weed identification and witness the application of weed-only removal.

In addition to the many day camps, OFB will hold a week-long camp at Ohio State’s Agriculture Technical Institute in Wooster May 31-June 5. After team building activities and games, students will engage in activities such as learning about sports turfgrass management, entomology, visiting a greenhouse, several tours, and visiting multiple farms.

“ExploreAg is open to students from varied backgrounds, with diverse skills and interests, and provides them with an opportunity to explore and understand available career paths in the agriculture and food industries,” Matthews added. “Our goal is that the student’s time with ExploreAg will lead them to discover a passion they may not have considered yet.”

Any Ohio student who will be entering grades 9-12 in the fall or who are seniors now is eligible to register for ExploreAg. While past ExploreAg participants are eligible to register again, they must recruit a fellow peer who is new to the program to also register.

All ExploreAg programming is offered free to students. There is a $50 registration fee for ExploreAg that will be when students check in for the camp. This fee will secure your seat until participants arrive at camp. If one cancels or withdraws from camp within 30 days of the start of camp, the registration fee will not be refunded.

ExploreAg sessions are typically capped at 30 students to ensure accessibility of quality hands-on experiences. Some programs have limited seating due to safety requirements.

Organizers of ExploreAg encourage high school students to engage in this program as agriculture is one of the largest industries and economic contributors in Ohio. Farming accounts for roughly $700 billion in gross domestic products, creating roughly 333,000 jobs.

“Yet as vast and productive as our agricultural industry is currently, projections indicate that in the next 10 years we’ll need 470,000 new workers in agribusiness and 90,000 new workers in direct farming operations,” Matthews said.

To learn more about ExploreAg or to register, visit exploreag.org.