BERNE — At the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Secondary School, students can now learn to identify plants and parasites, care for creatures of all sizes, and how to tend to a horse’s riding gear — all under the umbrella of agricultural education.

Michaela Kehrer was hired this summer, and is currently teaching agricultural science courses for students in grades 9 through 12 at BKW. While her colleague, science teacher Neil McConnelee, is teaching the introductory courses of Agriculture I in the fall and Agriculture II in the spring, Kehrer is teaching courses such as Animal Sciences I and II and Equine Science.

Kehrer also hosted BKW’s first Future Farmers of America meeting last Thursday. The general-interest meeting had about 20 to 25 students attending, she said, and this week the club will hold officer elections (a president and vice president were already chosen this spring, she said).

The club will have students going to retreats and conferences to learn leadership skills, including a state conference in May hosted by the New York State Farm Bureau where students will meet with political leaders to discuss agricultural issues, said Kehrer.

She will also bring in guest speakers from local agriculturally-based businesses to meet with the students, such as veterinarians, and will bring students to the State University of New York College at Cobleskill of Agriculture and Technology to partake in the college’s “Ag High School Day” competition, where they will compete in activities such as plant identification or hydraulics operations.

“I’m a firm believer in hands-on education,” said Kehrer.

The students in the introductory courses will go to the trails behind the school and conduct pH tests on water samples. Her students will learn to tack a horse, how to identify parasites, and proper care of all kinds of animals.

BKW students will also go to SUNY Cobleskill to meet with the students and staff who work with horses, though Kehrer acknowledges some of her students already care for horses at home. She will have animals brought in on occasion, but would like to eventually keep animals on campus like chinchillas or rabbits, as she did at her previous job.

Kehrer taught Agricultural Sciences for the Greenville School District for 11 years, and directed the district’s FFA chapter there. Before that, she taught at a school in New Hampshire for three years.

“I was a product of an agriculture program in Rhode Island,” she said.

Kehrer grew up in Rhode Island, attending school at a somewhat small and rural district.

She said she has wanted to be a teacher for some time, at first wanting to teach history. But she said her fascination with finding out where food comes from and her love of animals led her to take agriculture courses and be a member of the Future Farmers of America.

“My high school was pretty rural,” she said. “It was comprised of four towns.” She added that her graduating class totaled around 200 students out of those towns.

Kehrer received both an associate’s degree in landscape design and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business and communications. She went on to obtain her master’s of arts in teaching at Cornell University, specializing in agricultural education.

After teaching in New Hampshire, she then relocated to upstate New York after getting married. Although she loves New England, where she grew up, Kehrer said she enjoys the area where she attended college and the robust agricultural programs offered in New York State.

“They’re the cream of the crop,” she said of the programs.

Part of the reason she finds agricultural education so fascinating is that it incorporates various aspects of science, from engineering to biology.

Kehrer said careers in the field include agricultural business, biotechnology, green technology, and veterinary science.

“There’s always a variety of jobs out there,” she said.

She notes that these programs are important in all types of school districts. One of the biggest FFA chapters operates out of New York City, she said.

“People need to be aware of where their food and their natural resources come from,” Kehrer said, later adding, “Agriculture is such an important aspect to our culture and our economy.”