By Ryan Applegate
People’s Defender
The Peebles High School FFA poultry program is preparing for one of the largest expansions in its history after securing a $50,000 grant from the Public Health Fund of Ohio. The funding will allow the long-running student led broiler project to transition from raising chickens inside the school greenhouse to a full pasture raised poultry system. The change will bring new opportunities for hands on agricultural learning, business education, and community service.
FFA teachers Rebecca Minton and Tyler Ryan explained that the grant will support major infrastructure upgrades that will reshape how students raise and manage broilers. For more than a decade, Peebles FFA members have been responsible for the entire process, including raising, feeding, processing, and packaging the chickens. The new funding makes it possible to expand that model in a way that mirrors modern, sustainable farming practices.
“We have raised broilers for over twelve years, almost fifteen,” Minton said. “The students raise, process, harvest, do all the things, and package those. This is an expansion of that piece. The grant is funding for us to move from doing broilers in our greenhouse to a pasture raised poultry system.”
The district has approved the use of two and one half acres behind the elementary school for the project. The grant will allow the purchase of movable pasture barns, a small tractor to relocate the structures on a regular schedule, and equipment needed to supply water and student access to the site. Minton said the shift to pasture-raised birds will eliminate the constant need to clean enclosed pens and will expose students to regenerative agriculture concepts.
“This system is going to be a lot more helpful as far as getting kids interested,” she said. “Before, when they were in the greenhouse, pens had to be cleaned every few days. No one wants to clean a chicken pen. With the pasture raised system, they are on grass and the structures are moved every day.”
Students are already enthusiastic about the upcoming changes. “Anything they can do to get outside and get hands on, they are all about,” Ryan said. “Any time we can create more opportunities to do things like that, that is what we are trying to do.”
The program has long been fully student-run. Members take responsibility for feeding, watering, and monitoring the birds each day. “Our kids do it all,” Ryan said. “They go out there every day and take care of them. We just check in once in a while to make sure things are the way they should be.”
While the project teaches animal science and business skills, it has also become a major source of community service. Each year, the FFA chapter donates 50 processed chickens to local ministries, food pantries, or families who need assistance. In past years, birds have been provided to storm affected communities or included as part of holiday meal packages. Most recently, the donations supported the Meals of Hope ministry, which feeds approximately four hundred people each week.
“That is a big part of this,” Minton said. “We want our students to be aware of being philanthropists from the start. When you are successful and able to do something, it is important to give back to the community.”
The grant proposal was developed with major support from the Adams County Health and Wellness Coalition and Adams County Creating Healthy Communities. Coordinator Debbie Ryan said the project aligns perfectly with the goal of improving access to healthy foods in rural communities.
“When you can get someone locally to do something like this, it could not be better,” she said. “People in Adams County have passion for Adams County. And Becky and Tyler wrote an incredible grant.”
Community partnerships remain central to the poultry program’s success. Crum Farm Supply has donated chicks every year, which means the FFA chapter has no cost in purchasing birds for the project. The business also provides feed and supplies. Ayers Valley Farm in Brown County offered tours and advice as the chapter learned more about pasture-based poultry systems. Many local residents, including numerous FFA alumni, volunteer during processing days each year.
“We try to partner with as many local people as possible,” Minton said. “These grant funds are great for our program, but we want the things we buy to be community sourced whenever possible.”
The expansion comes at a time when interest in agriculture at Peebles is growing rapidly. This year, the FFA program added one hundred forty junior high students and thirty high school students. With enrollment increasing, Minton and Ryan said they remain committed to providing every student with meaningful agricultural experiences.
“We would put them up against anybody else in the country,” Ryan said. “If you are interested in investing in the youth of Adams County, come spend a day at Peebles. I think you would be surprised at some of the young people you meet.”
With the arrival of grant funds expected soon, preparations for the new system will begin quickly. The goal is to have the pasture raised setup in place for this fall’s broiler project. The teachers say the result will be a stronger program that supports sustainability, community partnership, and real world agricultural education for students across the district.
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