FFA students tour Butler's farm

FFA students from across the country toured Butler's farm during the annual FFA convention in Indianapolis.
FFA students from across the country toured Butler's farm during the annual FFA convention in Indianapolis. | shutterstock
Members of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) recently got to view a model for the future of urban agriculture at the annual FFA convention in Indianapolis.

There were 49 total students who were in attendance at the CUE Farm tour on the campus at Butler University, coming from states as far away as Massachusetts, Connecticut, Arizona and Washington state to learn more about how the university is handling urban farming in a sustainable, environmentally way.

“Small-scale sustainable agriculture can be a part of our food system,” Tim Dorsey, manager of the farm at Butler, said to the students as he took them on the tour around the one-acre farm located on the west side of campus. “People want to start connecting to the places where their food is grown.”

The farm has 75 different types of fruits, vegetables, nuts and plants, sold at a farm stand that is open weekly to a number of local restaurants and grocery stores through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group.

“Butler doesn’t have an agriculture major or degree,” Julia Angstmann, director of the Center for Urban Ecology, said. “But students can participate in the environmental, social and business component of the operation.”