United Electric Co-Op & Community Rally To Support Minico Students’ New Spacious Ag Center & Research
Story and photos by Dianna Troyer
Minico High School agricultural and local National FFA Organization students are excited to start school with new research projects and a 36,000-square-foot education center, about the size of half a football field.
This fall, for the first time, students will raise and harvest potatoes in a 4-acre field next to the new building. A company also commissioned students to raise and record the growth rates of 2,500 tomato plants.
To show support for Minico’s agricultural and career and technical education program, United Electric Co-op and other community members have rallied to back the $6.5 million center with its 10 new classrooms, spacious labs, and diverse curriculum of 48 classes.
The co-op board approved a $10,000 donation for the final phase of construction and to furnish classrooms.
“Our co-op has a history and foundation of supporting agriculture and serving our members, who in turn serve our community,” General Manager Michael Darrington says. “We’re excited to contribute and are proud of the school and students.”
Michael and 2 co-op representatives presented a check to students and instructors in May, then toured the 120-by-300-foot building with them.
“The donation emphasizes the co-op’s commitment to supporting agricultural education,” says Chris Seibold, business services and community relations manager.
David Hruza, co-op board chairman and a former dairy farmer, says the co-op is happy to make the donation, which enables students to have “unique educational opportunities and experiences.”
“The co-op has roots and members throughout the Mini-Cassia area involved in agriculture,” he says.
The electricity the co-op distributes to members—including farmers, ranchers, and ag business owners—helped the Minidoka and Cassia counties become known as “Idaho’s breadbasket” for the variety, volume, and value of crops raised annually.
“The ag building students were using was the same one I was in when I went to school here in the 1970s,” David says. “It’s great they’ll have an updated facility.”
The building is the realization of a proposal introduced a decade ago by the Minidoka Education Foundation, says Rick Stimpson, instructor and foundation president. About $800,000 was raised for the project. Several years ago, the school district bought land adjacent to the school for it.
Construction began last year after the school district received a $4,900,000 grant from the Idaho Career Ready Students program.
Boosting Enrollment
Instructors expect the new building will boost enrollment in their classes. Each semester, Rick, Jessica Stapelman, Sophie Cowgill, and Layton Bohlman teach about 600 students and have waiting lists for some classes.
“We only had room for 150 in our Intro to Ag classes every year,” Jessica says. “We’re anticipating enrollment to double for those classes.”
Instructors are excited to have a corresponding lab for their classrooms to teach welding, food science, animal science, ag mechanics, and plant science.
“I’m grateful to have 18 welding bays instead of 5,” Rick says.
Jaylie Timmons, a senior and FFA chapter president, says students are excited to be the first to use the new building.
“We have the largest chapter in the state with about 500 members, which might increase with more students taking classes,” she says.
Jaylie’s interest in agriculture extends beyond the classroom. She completed an internship with Miller Research, a local company studying ways to improve crop production. During her internship, she worked on projects to observe how various fertilizers impacted soil samples.
Lexi Anderson, a junior and FFA chapter secretary, says students look forward to having plenty of room and planning projects that benefit the community.
“After I learned about food insecurity during a presentation at our national FFA convention last year, I was inspired to do a fundraiser for Hope Community Food Pantry in Paul,” she says.
An archer, Lexi organized a turkey shoot fundraiser at the Minidoka Bowmen Archery Association’s range that raised enough for 78 turkeys and other food donations for the pantry’s holiday distribution to families.
Summer Larsen, a sophomore and sentinel for the FFA chapter, says one popular activity for members is teaching Ag in the Classroom to elementary school students.
To teach about local crops and livestock, they make necklaces with beans, spin bracelets from sheep’s wool, and candle eggs to teach embryo development.
New Research Projects
The opening of the new ag center coincides with the start of new research projects this fall. Students will harvest their first potato crop thanks to local farmers Jeff and Miranda Gibson. The couple donated seed for the school district’s 4-acre field next to the new ag center.
“The Gibsons’ only condition is that the kids have to do all the work,” Rick says. “They also donated the use of equipment, so students can learn to run a tractor guided by GPS.”
Students wrote a budget and have a contract with McCain Foods to grow potatoes. Some volunteered to work during the summer to keep the crop watered.
Rick appreciates local support from individuals and businesses. A pivot for the field was donated by the Sprinkler Shop and Valley Irrigation. Rocky Mountain Ag donated all the fertilizer.
“I can’t say enough good things about our community,” Rick says. “We’re grateful our school board and administration are so supportive, too.”
Through contacts at McCain, Rick learned of another project. A commercial nursery needed students to grow 2,500 research tomato plants and report data about their germination rates, plant mass, and other information.
With ag students shifting to the new building, Jessica says the former shop and classrooms will be used for other classes, such as woodshop and orchestra.
Instructors say the new building will accommodate the current program and be large enough for future growth.
“It’s an awesome building, and we’re looking forward to our program’s future,” Jessica says.