Jacqueline Ricotta, PhD, Associate Professor of Horticulture at Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, PA

Training the Next Generation: Hands-On Learning Using the Campus Farm to Teach Vegetable Production within a Four Year Degree Program

Farm based education programs such as internships are usually geared towards a career in farming. However, at Delaware Valley College, the campus farm and accompanying greenhouses and high tunnels provide the infrastructure to teach hands-on horticulture production skills within a four year degree program that includes a full complement of liberal arts courses. Students participate in labs that include laying plastic and drip irrigation, transplanting plants that they have grown from seed, setting up sprinkler systems, planting other crops, pruning trees, applying fertilizer, etc. Students are also allowed to drive the tractors and adjust the implements when supervised by the professor and the farm manager. In addition to hands-on courses, there is a 500 hour work requirement (often completed on the campus farm) that provides additional experience. Upon graduation, students in Horticulture at Delaware Valley College have the skills and knowledge to farm or pursue other career options.