In the last 10 years, the number of Iowa students enrolled in high school agricultural education programs has nearly doubled.

Robert Martin, chair and professor of agricultural education and studies, said he believes the increase in enrollment is due to the change in Iowa schools’ curricula.

“The curriculum doesn’t just focus on production anymore, instead we are looking at marketing, processing, horticulture and biotechnology,” Martin said. “It’s more in-depth now.”

Martin said interest in agriculture education is increasing in Iowa. Currently, 16,000 students are studying agriculture in Iowa high schools, compared to 9,000 students in 1990.

One of the reasons for the increase is the number of women joining agricultural programs, Martin said. The curriculum change attracted different groups of students, he said.

Courses are offering students opportunities to work in greenhouses and join competitive programs like FFA, he said.

Joe Rees, senior in finance and agricultural studies, took agriculture courses in high school.

“I have benefited from taking ag classes,” Rees said. “Coming into college, it puts you ahead of the game.”

However, not all high schools in Iowa offer agriculture classes. One reason for students continuing agriculture education in college is because they want to continue working on the family farm.

Andy Hansen, senior in animal science, said although agriculture courses were not offered in his high school, he isn’t sure he would have benefited if they had been offered.

His interest and experience in agriculture came from growing up on a farm, he said.

Martin said he thinks more recruiting and the increasing number of high school students interested in agriculture will gradually affect enrollment at Iowa State.

“The marketing at Iowa State needs to be more strategic,” Martin said. “We need to be more competitive.”

Martin said he hopes the College of Agriculture’s involvement in high school agriculture courses will impact the enrollment at Iowa State.