FULLERTON : Vo Ag: It Isn’t ‘Just Cows ‘n’ Plows’

In an era of sophisticated technology classes for high school students, one of the most popular programs at Fullerton Union High would have been familiar to the grandparents of today’s pupils: vocational agriculture.

“Agriculture is no longer just cows and plows,” said George Beard, agriculture teacher and department chairman. “It’s science, research, business, public relations. . . . Ten percent of all jobs in the state are agriculture-related.”

Fullerton Union’s program, so much in demand that it has a waiting list, is the largest in the county. It operates a five-acre farm and has 400 students in classes that include animal and plant science, agriculture business management, agriculture biology, floriculture, veterinary science and landscape design.

Many students use the program to start their own businesses.

“I made $2,000, and I’m putting it away for college,” said Desiree Acosta, 17, a floriculture student who buys plants and flowers through the school farm and makes bouquets that she sells. Floriculture students also make and sell arrangements for events such as weddings, learning not only floral design but also accounting and record-keeping.

Other students own animals such as pigs, chickens and sheep, which they raise, show at county fairs and then sell. Cerine Gentry, 18, bought a pig two years ago, bred it and now has 13 piglets to take to market.

Classes all teach hands-on, practical lessons, Beard said. And through agriculture clubs such as Future Farmers of America, students take field trips, participate in community landscaping projects and enter their animals in livestock competitions.

The program has produced several flower-shop owners, animal trainers and computer programmers, Beard said. The school helps graduates find jobs with florists, veterinarians and agribusiness concerns.

Its success, along with the sense of camaraderie that it builds, is one of the reasons for the program’s popularity, Beard said. “Once students and parents find out about it, they love it.”