CiTi recently welcomed over 20 representatives from the agriculture and farming industries to its Mexico Campus for the second annual Agriculture Day Expo.

The expo, a collaborative effort between CiTi and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County, is part of the CiTi Career Connection Series. The series includes five separate expo days throughout the school year and offers Oswego County students various career exploration and workforce development opportunities.

Students packed the school’s multi-purpose room and surrounding grounds, interacting with farmers, breeders, beekeepers, florists, university representatives, government agencies and small business owners. Highlights of the day included live farm animals, puppies, and hands-on exhibits, which brought both the agricultural and farming industries to life for the students.

Among the attendees was Claire Collie, owner of Fernwood Flower Farm, who specializes in growing and selling wholesale flowers to designers and florists. “This was my first year attending the expo,” Collie said. “I was excited for the chance to show students that farming is not only corn and livestock. Flower farming is making a resurgence in this area, and I hope students recognize this as a career option.”

Other representatives in attendance for the Agriculture Day Expo included:

• Oswego County Water and Soil
• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County
• United States Department of Agriculture
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Oswego County Workforce New York
• Oswego County Bees Club
• SUNY Morrisville
• Grindstone Farm
• Oswego County Beef Producers
• CiTi BOCES Adult Ed.
• CiTi BOCES CTE
• P-Tech
• SUNY Oswego
• SUNY Cobleskill
• Oswego County Farm Market
• On Point for College
• CiTI BOCES Agriculture Studies
• Lewis Manor Labs
• Little Creek Farm
• Whipporwill Farm
• Whites Farm
• Clinton Tractor
• Sydenstriker

The next event in the Career Connection Series will be the Union and Trades Expo, which will take place on Friday, December 13. 

For more information about CiTi’s Career Connection Series and to register for a future event, please visit Career Connection Series Home.

More than twenty representatives from the agriculture and farming industry showed up for the first inaugural Agriculture Day Expo that was recently held at CiTi BOCES Mexico Campus.

Students from CiTi and all nine Oswego County districts were able to network with a diverse group of agriculture professionals including local farmers, breeders, beekeepers, florists, small businesses and more.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County (CCE Oswego) has been working closely with CiTi BOCES to develop a new Agricultural Studies Program. According to CCE Oswego’s Agricultural Community Educator Joshua Vrooman, “The goal of the event was to help give students broad exposure to different agricultural career paths, as well as highlight the new program.”

Brian Heffron, Administrator of Workforce Development and Community Relations at CiTi said “Today’s strong attendance from students serves as a testament to the fact that the county’s rich history and roots in agriculture remain intertwined with the dreams and aspirations of our youth. “

The Agriculture Day Expo is one of several career exploration and workforce development opportunities that CiTi is providing all students in Oswego County as part of its Career Connection Series. The next event being Union Trades Day, an event celebrating trade and labor unions.  

Representatives from the following organizations and businesses attended the expo: CTE Agriculture, CTE Culinary, Oswego County Cooperative Extension, Oswego County Beef Producers, SUNY Oswego, Cayuga Community College, SUNY Cobleskill, Oswego County Youth Works, CiTi BOCES, Petals in Bloom, Oswego County Bee Club, Deaton’s Agway, Tractor Supply, Whites Farm Supply, CNY Organic Farms, Seaway Coldhardy Grapes, Grindstone Farms, Crast Family Farm, Burnham Animals, Whippoorwhill Farms, Hillside Hives, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Clinton Tractor and the Oswego County Sheriff’s Department.