Madison County High School junior Shelly Patton, who is an active 4-H, FFA and FBLA member, is pictured Thursday with her showmanship heifer, Parti Girl, from Partisover Ranch in Colbert. The proposed ag center across from the middle school and high school will offer a locale for numerous community activities, including youth livestock shows. Photo by Zach Mitcham
Madison Co. ag center planned
20 acres purchased for facility across from MCMS, MCHS
BY ZACH MITCHAM
It’s long been a dream in Madison County’s farming community to open an agricultural center, a place where young and old can learn about livestock, rural living and the land.
That may soon be a reality, not just a dream.
Plans are under way to open a privately-funded $2 million agricultural center across from the high school and middle school in Danielsville sometime in the next few years. And the property for that center is now secured.
Three Madison County agricultural organizations — the Farm Bureau, the Cattlemen’s Association and the Young Farmers’ Association — have joined hands to purchase a plot of land across from the high school and middle school for an ag center.
That deal was closed last week, with the three ag organizations buying just over 20 acres of land adjacent to the school sports complex from property owner William T. Meadow for roughly $160,000.
The proposed center will include a 20,000 to 25,000-square-foot ag facility, which will include an indoor livestock arena, classrooms and kitchen and dining area. There will also be “outdoor classrooms” where youth can learn about environmental science, horticulture, forestry and wildlife.
“This will be something the community will be very proud of,” said Terry Chandler, president of the Young Farmers’ Association. “It will be a huge asset from a teaching standpoint and for the community in general…We’re ultra-excited about the location, directly across from the middle school.”
Chandler said the center does not have an official name yet, but will be something along the lines of the “Madison County Agricultural Education Center.” He said the center will allow Madison County to host numerous events, such as land judging, poultry and BB competitions.
“We look for it (the ag center) to be a regional focal point,” said Chandler.
The center will not only serve youth, but can be a place for a farmers’ market and for individual producers to hold livestock sales.
Chandler said he hopes the facility will be completed within a couple of years, but allows that such an early completion date “may be a little optimistic.”
John Stuedemann, who led a search committee for property for the ag center, said he anticipates the facility being constructed in phases, perhaps over 10 years, perhaps sooner.
“Only time will tell,” said Stuedemann, regarding the completion of the center. “But the first thing we had to do was get the land.”
The proposed $2 million price tag is steep, but Chandler and Stuedemann both voiced confidence that the center can be constructed entirely with private funds. Chandler said the ag organizations will aggressively pursue grants and donations from local citizens to make the center a reality as soon as possible. But approaching the county commissioners and the school board for tax money is not in the plans.
“We’re committed to the idea that this is not something that tax dollars will be thrown in to,” said Chandler. “We didn’t want this to be an expense to the taxpayers.”
Chandler said the center will be governed by a non-profit entity composed of representatives from the Farm Bureau, the Young Farmers and the Cattlemen’s Association. He said the group will collaborate with the county school board to make sure students have ample access to the facility.
But Stuedemann said the ag center’s education opportunities won’t be for kids alone.
“I believe that education is extremely important,” said Stuedemann. “It doesn’t matter what age you are. This agricultural center will be a focal point for all ages of people who are interested in and associated with agriculture.”
Stuedemann noted that the facility will likely serve as a meeting place for the local agricultural organizations. He said the county extension office could be moved there, too.
“All the details haven’t been worked out,” he said. “But I believe it’s an exciting start of a facility that will serve the agricultural community for many years.”
Stuedemann said Madison County residents need to be aware of the county’s importance to the nation in terms of agriculture. He noted that Madison is among the top five percent of counties in the U.S. in terms of agriculture income. He also pointed out that America recently became a net importer of food, rather than exporter.
“We’ve been blessed with plenty of food,” said Stuedemann. “Most people (in the U.S.) have not known shortages, but I don’t think people realize that the difference between a two to five percent surplus (in food) versus a two to five percent deficit is almost chaos. The public doesn’t seem cognizant of what could happen food-wise…If we stopped all agriculture production in Madison County, then something would have to be picked up elsewhere.”
Stuedemann said he feels the land purchase by private individuals for an ag center is “indicative of the momentum in the county” for agriculture.
“I think it shows that the community feels it’s important for us to maintain what we have in terms of agriculture,” he said.
Cindy Jones, a Young Farmer teacher at Madison County High School, said she is excited about the facility.
“We are going to be able to offer so many more hands-on learning opportunities with this type of facility,” said Jones, who teaches bio-technology and livestock production classes at the high school. “If you are in ag classroom and you’re teaching an animal class, it’s difficult to teach it if you don’t have any animals. So I think it’s going to be a tremendous asset to our high school.”
Jones said classes now rely on field trips and Powerpoint presentations, but that a facility will “open a whole new world.”
“Instead, we’re going to have that live animal in front of the kids,” she said. “You know, reproduction studies — artificial insemination and embryo transfers — have transformed the livestock industry and especially the beef cattle industry. And so much of that goes on in our county. We’ll have opportunities to do demonstrations and maybe even have some animals where the kids can participate.”
Jones added that the center will not only prove valuable in terms of educating youth, but will also be “boost to agriculture in our county.”
“One of the things we don’t do in agriculture is tell our story very well, the positive things we do and contribute,” she said. “And having a facility and a way to showcase the things we do will change that.”
Chandler said numerous people have had a hand in the project, including Stuedeman, Terry Stephenson, Dennis Moon and the leadership of the Cattleman’s Association.
“It’s hard to single out individuals because we’ve had so much support from the community and we’re very thankful for that,” said Chandler.
