Announcing OBI's new Summer Agricultural Hands-On Training Program
Application
Cover Letter
Application for admission, page 1
Application for admission, page 2
General permission form, page 1
General permission form, page 2
General student regulations, page 1
General student regulations, page 2
Household application for free or reduced-price meals, page 1
Household application for free or reduced-price meals, page 2
Authorization for student sign-out, page 1
Authorization for student sign-out, page 2
Work/farm program equipment permission
MISSION STATEMENT
WE WILL USE GOD'S RESOURCES TO GUIDE ALL STUDENTS SPIRITUALLY, MENTALLY, AND PHYSICALLY TO BECOME ACTIVE SERVANTS AND DILIGENT STEWARDS FOR HIM
GOALS1. TO LEAD STUDENTS TO ACCEPT CHRIST AND HIS TEACHINGS
2. TO TEACH HIGH MORAL CHARACTER AS THE STUDENTS GROW PERSONNALLY
3. TO TEACH THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENCE IN DAILY LIFE
4. TO EMPHASIZE PERSISTENCE AS A VALUABLE VIRTUE
5. TO INSTILL GOOD WORK ETHICS IN THE STUDENTS SO AS TO PRODUCE CAREER SUCCESS
6. TO DEVELOP PREMIER LEADERSHIP ABILITY AS CITIZENS IN GOD'S WORLD
7. TO EDUCATE STUDENTS IN BASIC MODERN AGRICULTURAL PRINCIPLES AND TECHNOLOGIES
8. TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF GOD'S RESOURCES WHILE PROVIDING PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN MANY VARIED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCES
9. TO BE, AS STAFF, GOOD ROLE MODELS WORTHY OF BEING CALLED GOD'S SERVANTS
CLASSES
Agricultural Education prepares students for successful careers and a lifetime of informed choices in the agricultural world. On the OBI farm our goal is to use our resources to better teach the students. Our many farm applications provide excellent laboratory experiences not available in most schools. Other classes may be offered when four or more students are interested in a particular subject.
POPULAR HANDS-ON TRAINING CLASSES
- MIDDLE SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL ENRICHMENT
- AG MECHANICS
- SWINE PRODUCTION
- BEEF PRODUCTION
- GOAT PRODUCTION
- CROP PRODUCTION
- TRACTOR SAFETY & OPERATION
- WELDING
- SMALL ENGINES
- HORTICULTURE
- SALES
- AG PRACTICE (IN THE STUDENTS' CHOSEN FIELD)
- FIELD PLACEMENT
2007-08 AG. CLASSES
- TRACTOR DRIVING
- MIDDLE SCHOOL AG. ENRICHMENT
- FORESTRY AND LANDSCAPING
- LEADERSHIP
- HORTICULTURE
- WELDING
- SMALL ENGINES
WORK PROGRAM
Work programs at the farm are offered both at 7:00 AM before school and at 4:00PM after school. Either shift is also expected to help with chores on weekends. The students may work with the cattle (beef cow herd, backgrounding stockers, show steers, finishing, or baby Holsteins), swine production, goats, ag mechanics, or tractor and machinery operation as they choose. We attempt to teach the work ethic, dedication, responsibility, teamwork, and persistence as well as Christian living. Many students find their farm work experience the most rewarding part of their Oneida experience. In fact, many report that it keeps them in school.
FFA
See photo gallery for pictures and summaries of 2007-08 FFA field trips
OBI was the second non-public school in the nation to be granted an FFA chapter. Our charter was granted in 1999. The goals of the FFA are to develop premier leadership and personal growth leading to career success. Although a young chapter, we have already have had many regional and state winners in several proficiency areas (26 are offered at OBI) as well as STATE FARMER DEGREE winners.
FFA Officers work with new members at the first chapter meeting of the school year. Teaching teamwork is one of our chapter's number one goals!
We stage the "Pilgrimage to Bethlehem" with costumed characters and over 500 luminaries along the trail to Bethlehem (a live nativity scene beneath the star). We usually build a float for the Manchester Christmas Parade and go caroling to a nursing home.
This year at the Fall Festival, the FFA Chapter and Farm crew were represented very well. The night before the festival the farm staff worked with the students, helping to set up the petting zoo, fill tanks for bobbing for apples and unload the decorations for the athletic field. Earlier in the week, FFA members went shopping for supplies and decorations, and then returned to OBI to make over 100 carmel apples to sell at the festival. The petting zoo was truly an educational experience! Morning farm crew workers brought over sheep, goats and the goat dogs, pigs, and baby holstein calves. Also in the petting zoo, were Red & Star and pair of personally owned oxen!!! Next to each individual pen was a poster telling facts about the stock. We all had a great time!!
FFA Community Service
Our FFA Chapter also leads community service projects, partnered with PRIDE. PRIDE is a non-profit organization funded by federal grants, encouraging Kentucky schools and communities to improve water quality and promote environmental awareness and education.
In the fall, students rake leaves for the public. In the spring, students clean up trash and debris on the river banks.
FARM VOLUNTEER MINISTRY
Over one hundred volunteers help at the farm every year. There is always work available in any season of the year. Come for a day, a few days, a week, a month or full time. Every hour is greatly appreciated! We could not do nearly as much for the Lord without the volunteers!
Special projects planned for 2007 include building a composting building, fencing, installing water fountains, timber stand improvement, and enlarging the Ag Center to accommodate our many ag students better.
TESTIMONIALS
Included here are testimonials from students on the OBI Farm Crew and FFA Members. We consider these to be the "proof of the pudding" as to the value of our program!
My name is Derick Evans, I am 18 years old and I am from Scott County, Kentucky. I came to OBI at the beginning of the 2007 school year and I have been working on the farm everyday, since my first day! What inspired me to come to OBI was the class size. At my old school there were 30 kids or more in each class, with just the one teacher. Here at OBI, there are half the number of students in each class and that made learning easier for me.
On the school's farm, there are goats, hogs and cows. The food that they serve in the cafeteria, like the pork, comes from the farm. I think that it is neat that the school raises the majority of the meat that we eat in the dining hall. The farm staff member that has influenced me the most is Mr. Godbold. He believes in doing things the right way and double checking your work when you are done. This is something that I know will help me in the future when I get a job. My job on the farm is working a show steer on the a.m. crew. I have to be at breakfast at 6:30 and ready to go to work at 7:00. I have my own steer that I have to feed, lead and groom everyday. All of the work that I am doing with my steer will help me do well at the show in May and the show in June. OBI's farm program is unique because they have kids work on the farm. Everything that the farm staff are teaching us will help us later in life.
My name is Kimberly Withrow, I am a sophomore and I'm 15 years old. I came to OBI on June 8, 2003 when I was 11 years old. I came to Oneida with my sister and my 2 brothers. I came to Oneida to get a better education. In public school I struggled a lot with my grades and I wasn't getting the help that I needed. I got off to a rocky start at OBI, having several hours and bad grades. Due to the hours, I got suspended. I realized that I needed to turn myself around. I got the Most Improved Award at the end of my sixth grade year!!
When I first learned about the farm, during my sixth grade year, I was excited about what might be in store, and I wanted to get out of working in the dining hall. I definitely loved the farm my first day. I especially loved working with the hogs, because they were cute, but challenging to work with! Shortly after I started on the farm, I joined the FFA. Althought I didn't have a lot of opportunities as a middleschooler, the experience of being around older kids, taught me to be more mature. I became Vice President of our chapter my eighth grade year. In the ninth grade, I was voted President. I learned many things the year that I was President, about leadership and responsibility. I am the Vice President of our chapter this year and I enjoy it very much!
To say that just one person at OBI has impacted my life, wouldn't be true. One person that has strongly affected my life is Mrs. Griebenow. She is one of the Asst. Farm Managers and my FFA Advisor. Mrs. Griebenow was also a student here and I know that the farm had a huge impact on her life. She is one of the people that I relate to the most. When I first came to work on the farm, she was patient when she was teaching me the ropes. Over the years that I have spent at OBI, we have spent many, many hours together and I have grown to respect her very much!
OBI LIVESTOCK SHOW
This year, our livestock show is scheduled for the morning of May 10th, 2008, with times to be announced as the show date approaches. This spring we have 16 kids working with their show steers, 17 kids working with their goat kids and 13 kids showing hogs. The objectives for this show are not just to prepare them for the Laurel County Fair in June but to teach them the importance of showmanship in the show ring. Personal cleanliness, proper attire, excellent sportsmanship qualities and responsibility are just a few of the things that the students will be judged on. Trophies will be awarded to the top two in each livestock class, with ribbions going to 3rd, 4th, 5th etc. Later on in the afternoon, students who have taken our Tractor Driving class will compete in the Tractor Driving Competition in front of their peers. Trophies will be given out for this event as well!!! We strongly encourage parents and siblings to attend this show, if you have any questions please contact us!!
information about 2008 OBI Livestock show
2007 OBI Livestock Show photo gallery
LAUREL COUNTY LIVESTOCK SHOW
For the past seven years students from the OBI Farm have shown livestock at the Laurel County Ag. Fair. Stretched over the course of an entire week, kids from several surrounding counties haul in their show animals to showcase their year's work. This year the livestock shows are scheduled as follows: - Skill-a-thon & Livestock Judging- June 17, 2008
- Goat Shows- June 18, 2008
- Steer & Hog Shows- June 20, 2008
2007 Laurel Co. Livestock Show Photo Gallery
SCOPE OF THE FARM PROGRAM
The Kids
Of course, the main crop of this unique farm is the success of the kids who we serve. Historically farm kids are most likely to accept Christ as their personal Savior and earn more than their share of the awards presented to the student body each year.
The Acreage
The farm consists of over 800 acres (most of which is campus and woodland. However, we have over 100 acres of bottom land which produces excellent corn yields and over 130 acres of hay and pastureland. The pastures are rotated regularly to produce as much beef per acre as possible.
Hog Operation
We, until just recently, farrowed 100 sows and finished about 1/3 of the pigs, selling the balance as feeder pigs. We have just changed this operation by reducing the sow herd to 50 and finishing all the pigs. We are isolated from markets and feel that we can better meet the needs of the local community with this change. Students are involved in processing the baby pigs, moving them from the farrowing houses to the nurseries, then to the grower units, then on to the finishers. They help feed and market the hogs to local people for their own food supply. About mid-spring, the students are taught to show and judge hogs for the spring and summer livestock shows.
Beef Operation
Our beef operation is set up to provide the students with exposure to each of the various segments of the beef industry including: cow/calf, deacon calves, backgrounding, finishing, & show ring. In January, students begin the grueling job of breaking their show steers for the livestock shows in May and June.
Goat Herd
We are new as goat producers, having started about 3 years ago with a small herd of 14 head.
We started raising goats, so that the younger kids who are not interested in showing steers or hogs could discover an alternative in showing goat kids. We currently have 24 nannies and 2 billies. After a record breaking "kidding" season, we finished with 26 kids. The students really enjoy caring for the goats and showing them.
Mechanics
As on any farm, we always have machinery that needs repair and routine maintenance. There are always pieces of equipment that we can rebuild, the students love getting involved in these projects.
STUDENT BODY
The student body is a "melting pot" of students from all of the U.S.A. and many countries around the world. Very few of the students come from significant farm backgrounds, but we welcome any who are interested in the many phases of agriculture. 25% of the careers in the United States are related to agriculture, so any training we can offer will provide a background for many of the jobs that they might have in the future.
FARM STAFF
We have certainly been blessed with a very dedicated, congenial, group of Christian adults to lead the farm program. Their efforts cause many students to continue in school and to accept Christ as their Savior. Following are very brief summaries of their resumes:
Lynn Cole e-mail
The farm manager is Lynn Cole, who came almost eleven years ago from Ohio where he had owned and operated one of the largest private swine breeding companies in the United States. He wrote the documentation for "Herdsman" software and was an innovator of many better ways of producing swine and crops. A speaker at many agricultural and Christian volunteerism meetings all around North America, he also served as a consultant and author of many articles about these subjects. He and his farm have been the subject of many trade magazine articles and thousands of people from around the world toured the farm and purchased breeding animals.
Lynn was active in FFA and earned the State Farmer Degree. He was an Eagle Scout and scoutmaster for eleven years. He was an active 4-H'er and advisor for six years. He served on the school board for twelve years. He was Ohio's first Pork All American and first runner up for Outstanding Young Farmer in Ohio. He was president of the Ohio Pork Producers Council and a director of the National Pork Producers Council. He was also an extremely active leader in the Methodist church on the local, district, and conference levels.
His wife Carol manages the Crafthouse/Giftshop and they have three grown children after being married for over fifty years.
Blake Godbold
Blake is an assistant with the most seniority, having come to OBI over 19 years ago from James Island, South Carolina. He professed Jesus as his Lord and Savior and joined the James Island Presbyterian Church when he was twelve. He was an Explorer scout while a youth.
He worked at the Clemson Experimental Station and the U.S.D.A. Entomology Department as well as other farms in the earlier days of his life. He attended what is now known as Charleston Southern University and Tri-County Tech where he studied horticulture technology. Blake also has had experience in casting concrete products.
Blake works especially with the suspended students where he has the opportunity to spend considerable time witnessing to them. He works with many of our feed and hog customers as well as assisting with our students in the work program.
Blake and his wife, Joy, have four boys. The youngest is a senior here. The others have graduated from OBI and have graduated from or are attending college. Joy is a middle school teacher at OBI with a masters in education. She also is an EMT at OBI and played the piano for the choir for fifteen years.
Jennifer (Kermeen) Griebenow e-mail
Jennifer graduated from OBI in 2002 where she had become student supervisor of the swine area earlier in the year. She had earned first in two public speaking contests, first in the region in swine production, Star Greenhand Degree, and Star Chapter Farmer, then went on to get her State Farmer Degree. She had performed such excellent workmanship as a student that she was asked to become a staff member immediately following graduation.
She has taken a course in FFA Leadership Training in Career & Technical Education.
She is the daughter of Barry & Pam Kermeen. Her dad is a minister and mission evangelist. She is a member of the Columbia Christian Church in Columbia, KY, her hometown.
She married Rick Griebenow on February 10, 2007.
Jennifer very ably manages the swine, goat, and baby calf departments of the farm now plus serves as the primary advisor to the FFA. She has led the FFA to its many successes and is a powerful role model to many of our students--not just the girls. The farm has been her life--day and night for the last six years.
Rick Griebenow
Rick is a native of Idaho, where he received a B.S. in Animal Science/Agribusiness. He then went to the University of Missouri-Columbia where he received his M.S. in animal Science/Grazing Management. From there he went to Purdue to work on his Ph.D. in Animal Science/Ruminant Nutrition. Rick has had extensive experience in ranch management and in education and supervision of youth workers.
Rick has a deep Christian faith which he is very articulate in conveying to those around him.
Rick obviously fits into our cattle program as assistant manager. We call him the "Idaho Cowboy" because of his great abilities with cattle and horses.
Paul Detro
Paul is a retired heavy equipment operator from Ohio, where he grew up as a boy on a farm. He first came to OBI with his church as a short term volunteer. Over the years, he and his wife Sharon have increased the amount of time spent here till they now spend most of the year as full-time volunteers.
Paul is a very dedicated Christian who practices what he preaches.
Paul is invaluable as a tractor, dozer, and backhoe operator, but he is more than willing to do every job he is asked to do (and many he isn't asked to do).
They have a son and a daughter and four grandchildren. Sharon is an assistant in the Crafthouse/Gift Shop.
FFA CALENDAR OF EVENTS