Palm Valley FFA program grows as Litchfield students explore agriculture and leadership

By Stacy Mantle
Mail

A middle school agriculture program that began with a single class at Palm Valley Elementary last year has doubled in size, with students now looking toward livestock, expanded hands-on learning and potentially bringing Future Farmers of America to another Litchfield Elementary School District campus.

Palm Valley students and their high school mentors presented the school's FFA program to the Litchfield Elementary School District governing board during its Sept. 22 special meeting.

The program launched during the 2025-26 school year through a partnership with students and agricultural educators from AAEC Estrella Mountain. Palm Valley's chapter is one of six middle school FFA programs in Arizona, according to the district's presentation.

Palm Valley Principal Dr. Kim Hill said the idea began with a phone call from Jessica Gunther, who connected her with FFA adviser Cheryl Sawyer.

“She’s like, ‘FFA.’ I’m like, ‘FFA?’” Hill recalled. After hearing Sawyer's vision for a West Valley program, Hill said her response was immediate: “I’m your girl. This is your school. Let’s go.”

The program started with one combined class of sixth- and seventh-graders. Hill said educators learned during the first year that sixth-graders could not compete in some FFA competitions, although the experience gave those students practice for the future.

This year, Palm Valley offers separate classes for seventh- and eighth-graders.

“We’ve got two separate groups that are very, very full, and it was the number one special that was requested by our students,” Hill told the board.

High school students help teach younger FFA members

The program uses an unusual mentoring model in which AAEC Estrella Mountain students work with Palm Valley students under the oversight of certified agricultural teachers and FFA advisers Cheryl Sawyer and Joshua Troub.

Matthew Rodas, one of the AAEC student advisers, told the board the collaboration has made an impact on the younger students.

“I absolutely love this collaboration that we’ve done with the Litchfield FFA chapter,” Rodas said. “We’re so excited to show you what we’ve been doing over there because it’s made a huge impact on these students.”

FFA incorporates agricultural education with leadership development and career exploration. Palm Valley students told board members they have explored subjects including food science, milk quality and processing, wildlife, agronomy, soils, animal science, horses, marketing and business.

Chapter Vice President Miles Fleming said the Palm Valley program is affiliated with National FFA, which has more than 1 million middle and high school members.

“Our chapter mission is to provide agricultural education, leadership development, and career exploration,” Fleming said. “We are one of six middle school programs in Arizona.”

Students have already begun competing.

Three Palm Valley teams participated in regional competitions at Buckeye High School in food science, milk quality and wildlife. Eva Frank placed sixth individually in food science, while Fleming was regional champion and state first runner-up in Division 1 of the Agriscience Fair, according to the district presentation.

The chapter also held its first banquet with more than 60 parents and faculty members in attendance.

Palm Valley students plan agriculture lab

The program's next major project is development of a land lab at Palm Valley where students can put classroom lessons into practice.

Plans include garden beds, a chicken pen, composting and fencing. The chapter also received a grant from the Agua Fria Conservation District for its sustainable garden and poultry lab. A student presenter told the board the grant totaled more than $5,000 and that AAEC Estrella Mountain students completed the grant application.

Getting the project underway has also provided lessons in navigating real-world obstacles.

Student presenter Avani Girn said bringing water to the land lab cost $2,500, while students and advisers have had to learn district approval processes. Those challenges are also identified in the district's presentation as lessons in problem-solving.

Sawyer said the group encountered a problem because the site lacked backflow prevention but has since made progress.

“Our eggs are ordered, our chicken pen is going to be made, and so we have a big plan,” Sawyer told the board.

Students also hope to expand the land lab to include livestock.

Palm Valley FFA members said additional support will be needed for seeds, plants, fertilizer, chicken feed and transportation to competitions. Students will also need a way to access the land lab during weekends and school holidays to care for plants and animals.

Program could expand

The Palm Valley chapter has ambitions beyond this year's two classes.

Students told the board they hope to hold a schoolwide agriculture and career exploration day, increase participation, expand the land lab, find a way to offer FFA to sixth-graders and eventually establish another middle school FFA program within the district.

Board members expressed interest in seeing the program grow.

Board members praised the collaboration involved in creating the program and the communication and teamwork skills students are learning and their involvment in a program that has helped various area students.

Sawyer said the larger vision is to give middle school students opportunities traditionally associated with high school agriculture programs, including raising and potentially showing animals.

“We have a dream to have a land lab with livestock,” Sawyer said. “Right now, this is what we’re starting with.”

The district's presentation lists adding another Litchfield middle school FFA program among the chapter's future goals.

Editor’s note:   A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.