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Hudson Falls Agricultural Program Receives Charter

Written by Kate Haggerty on . Posted in Community, Education, Food, Sports.

Hudson Falls High School Agricultural Program is flourishing under the leadership and guidance of Maggie Hogan. Maggie – a Hudson Falls Alumni – was first offered a job by the High School Principal Jim Bennefield on the day that she graduated from Hudson Falls High School! Principal Bennefield noticed Maggie’s efforts throughout her high school career in agriculture science classes, and saw the need to expand the agricultural curriculum at Hudson Falls High School. 

Maggie is from a large family of dairy farmers in Hudson Falls, and knows that the future of agriculture is in the hands of the students. Maggie obtained her degree from SUNY Cobleskill, returned to her hometown, and began teaching. 

“This is an Ag (Agricultural) community, I want Ag in my hometown and for students to learn in four years what I wasn’t offered when I was a student here,”  Maggie said. 

Superintendent Dan Ward was happy with the implementation of the program: “The agriculture program has been on the cusp of implementation for a few years, unfortunately it was delayed by the pandemic. The fact that we have made this program a reality for our students is yet another post-pandemic triumph for the Hudson Falls School District,” he said.

Maggie Hogan with the FFA Charter

This past June, Maggie attended the New York Association of Agricultural Educators conference, where Hudson Falls CSD was officially awarded with the Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter and charter.  FFA is a student-run organization that uses agricultural education to transform lives and prepare members for leadership, personal development, and career success.  Future Farmers of America chapters can be chartered in any public school with an agricultural education program – Leadership is provided by student officers who are elected each year by the chapter’s members, and by the agriculture teacher who serves as the advisor for the chapter.

Maggie is proud of her role in the community and the school: “I literally love my job. It is so fun and so rewarding,” she said. This past Sunday, Maggie and her students were at the Washington County Fair to support the local FFA and to broaden awareness of the emerging agricultural program at Hudson Falls High School.