SAE Visits: They Really are Plain & Fancy!

"Is it Supervised?  Its it Agricultural?  Is it an Experience?" These were the three questions Mr. Masser asked his 7th period class on Friday.  I sat in the back and participated right along with the Agricultural Biology class, full of wide eyed sophomore that for the first time were being introduced to the heart of agricultural education.  At Pequea Valley every sophomore takes agricultural biology along with their traditional biology class, giving Mr. Masser & Mrs. VanSant (and myself!) the opportunity to have them ALL in class.  What was neat about the three questions was that after school we were going to visit two students Supervised Agricultural Experience Projects.  

Checking out some of the produce

What is and SAE? These experiences are many times outside of the classroom that allow students the opportunity for individual and specialized experiences in agriculture, and allows the teachers to visit and help students expand content knowledge and set goals for the future. 


After class we drove down the road to Plain & Fancy, an agricultural tourism destination located in the heart of Amish County Pennsylvania in Bird in Hand. This SAE was started on the part of Plain & Fancy that was looking for two students to help take care of their tourist garden.  Mr. Masser & Mrs. VanSant then had an application process and Ryan and Noah are both working at Plain & Fancy.


The gentlemen started majority of their crops by seed, they did buy their sweet potatoes from another local business, but otherwise started most by seed.  They gave us a tour, shared what they had recently harvested and what they were working on before we arrived.  They said most of the produce is used in the Plain & Fancy kitchen. Mr. Masser asked a lot of questions about the progress they have had and what their supervisor was looking for them to plant after certain produce was harvested.  We asked about their challenges and their joys, and with no surprise to us, they enjoyed most working together! What is more impressive is neither of them had really done much gardening before starting this project.  Their challenges included some pest problems, which when asked they mentioned they did do some spraying but when it came to their cucumbers they didn't know what to do. It was really neat to watch Mr. Masser ask them some very specific questions to help them learn about the mildew problems they were having and why the cucumbers were not doing well, drawing on his personal content knowledge.  This allowed me to see the real teaching opportunities that SAEs can bring to students.  

Mr. Masser asked them to take a picture of this
pest and see if they could look it up. 

Ryan and Noah shared the process they have gone through with the project.  When it is a tourism location there are expectations and desires the location and supervisors have that may have been different than their original plans, but both of them were very calm and have adapted very well to the companies desires.  They have also had very open communication with them about their school schedule and how much time they can commit now that school has started, which was very responsible of them to think about.  While we were their looking around we were able to watch them interact with their supervisor, in a professional way.  The communication with the location is only part of how they have grown in communication as they have also talked to various tourists as they walk through the gardens, providing a unique agricultural literacy opportunity for both parties.  


As we ended the visit with a potato and a few carrots, fruits (or should I say vegetables) of their labor!   Mr. Masser & Mrs. VanSant reminded them to update AET and about some of the opportunities they may have to apply for awards or scholarships.   I am excited for continued opportunities to learn from students, Mr. Masser and Mrs. VanS
ant as we do other visits and restructure some SAE opportunities for students.  This part of the three circle model really is essential.  SAEs not only expand content knowledge for students but provide career and relational skills preparing them to be tomorrows leaders.  I kind of like Lancaster county, can't wait to visit again! 

I will forever be shorter than students..Thanks for the
visit!