Ritchie, just right of center, is joined by students and staff from the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES Northwest Career & Technical Education Center.

St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES’ new Agricultural Studies Academy (ASA) is the beneficiary of a $50,000 state grant, which will help purchase a tractor.

Starting up in the fall, the new ASA is a partnership between BOCES and Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County.

A one-year program open to incoming high school seniors, the ASA will offer a core curriculum that is being developed with input from the local farming community focused on a variety of agricultural sectors. The program will be hosted at the Extension Learning Farm in Canton, a facility owned and operated by Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County. Students who are part of the program will be required to participate in a “Supervised Agricultural Experience,” as well as complete service leadership projects.

Sen. Patty Ritchie is pushing to include additional funding in the state budget for the ASA through her “Planting Seeds” initiative, which was unveiled last week.

“Agriculture is a way of life here in the North Country and if we’re going to make sure it continues to be, we must invest resources in training our next generation of farmers,” said Ritchie, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Ritchie represents the 48th Senate District, which includes all of the northern edge of St. Lawrence County from Massena to Hammond, including Ogdensburg, plus the areas around Canton and Gouverneur.

“I’ve been focused in recent years on recruiting young people to join the ranks of our hardworking farmers and I’m pleased to provide this funding, which will help to ensure students taking part in the ASA get the hands-on experience they need to contribute to New York’s leading industry.”

“Senator Ritchie has always been a strong supporter of our BOCES programs, and understands the value of agricultural education in the North Country,” said St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES District Superintendent Thomas Burns. “We are grateful to the Senator for her continued investment in our students.”