Franklin County is very blessed to have a facility on site that houses chickens, bottle calves, and a greenhouse right out the back doors of the agriculture department. This allows students to learn the science behind agriculture practices and apply what they have learned into practical application. The ag lab is operated entirely by students, which allow them to take ownership of a job well done.

Every fall when the weather cools down our students get excited because they know that's when we get our bottle calves! This teaches students in our animal science class about how to take care of cattle, which is important since Kentucky is the largest beef producers east of the Mississippi. Students raise the cattle on a bottle filled with milk, learn how to wean them off the bottle, and how to start the calves on feed. The animal science class, along with the vet science class, get to witness as bull calves are castrated by Dr. Pryor from Henry County Animal Clinic as he discusses the process to students and shows them how it's done. Students also get to take part in giving important vaccines to the cattle that keep them from becoming sick and help them ward off any diseases they are more prone to as young calves. We have students who own the cattle and keep them at the school due to the students not being able to keep them at their house, as most of our students live in urban areas that do not permit having cattle. This teaches students responsibility, allow them to learn about operating their own business, and make sure they have an opportunity to have a Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE).

Along with the cattle we have in our ag lab we are also fortunate enough to be able to have chickens roaming around. You can hear our roosters in the morning singing their crows. The hens lay eggs for us and some of our students sell these as part of their Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE). Our food science class is also able to use these eggs in some of the dishes they learn how to prepare. This helps keep our costs low and allows all students to take our class, regardless of financial status.

Thanks to the Grants for Growing program, we were awarded almost $3000 in the spring of 2019. With that money we were able to build four raised garden beds that contained tomatoes and cucumbers for our first year. All produce grown went into feeding students fresh produce during the summer backpack snack program, along with being used in our Food Science class. Our Food Science students were able to make fried green tomatoes from the fresh tomatoes we grew. For the 2020 growing season we plan on growing tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, green beans, and more!

Our facilities allow students to use their hands and their minds to create and experiment. Whether this means putting a piece of equipment together, trying a new method of growing plants, or seeing how something turns out by changing one variable, when students use their hands their minds engage as well. Our focus in our classes is to not only teach students the information, but make sure they can apply that to real world issues.