(Seguin) – The seeds are officially sowed for the next generation of leaders in the agricultural industry.
The Seguin ISD on Friday gathered for the groundbreaking of the district’s new Agriculture Science Building located at 1329 Ilka Road just off IH 10 east of Seguin. Voters in 2022 approved the $8.9 million facility which includes more than 25,000 square feet of space between two enclosed, heated, and ventilated barns; a practice show arena; separate areas for each type of animal; cattle fencing; an 8-foot privacy fence and security system; and a 165,000-gallon tank to provide water for the facility and its fire hydrant.
Friday’s groundbreaking was a celebration of everything agriculture and the planting of roots for students district-wide.
Extending a heartfelt thank you to the community for implementing the vision was Krysta Canham, an Ag science teacher at Seguin High School.
“It’s a huge opportunity. It’s the door that is going to open many opportunities for the future of Ag and our program and I feel like we were limited at first because we are urbanizing here in Seguin and there’s so many houses coming in and industries coming in and parents coming in for that but it doesn’t allow those students to gain bigger aspects of what agriculture means and so with the land, with the animals, with showing, it opens up more doors.
It opens up more responsibilities. It opens up more scholarships for our program,” said Canham.
Canham says even before she started working for the high school in 2017, the need for such a building always existed. She says the construction of this building helps eliminate the many challenges of the Ag program by providing hands-on, experiential learning opportunities and giving students a chance to work with both large and small animals, regardless of where they live or their background. More importantly, she says it opens the door for all students, traditional and non-traditional, to gain practical skills, build confidence, and discover what agriculture truly means.
“I think I can safely say that there’s, in the eight years that I’ve been there, at least 50 if not more students who wanted to raise larger animals whether it be lambs or steers or goats and even chickens. We have a chicken house that’s going in with this new facility and even that requires large spaces and because of the limitations but still wanting to be involved, they’ve shown rabbits. Or maybe they can’t do rabbits, so they do baked goods. It’s on the bus route. It’s in our community and it allows them to have access here,” said Canham.
Ag students, especially those in the FFA program, were also part of the groundbreaking ceremony. Seguin FFA President Mariah Castilleja says despite her graduating this year, she is grateful to have done some of the homework in helping to make this project a reality.
“This has been a project since Canham said since 2017 so I’m glad that I was a part of its planning and how it was going to look. So, I would say that with me not being here, I am a little disappointed but I’m forever grateful that I was able to get the opportunity of helping plan, getting ideas, giving ideas to Ms. Canham and I’m so excited for the future to use this because it’s going to be a beautiful facility,” said Castilleja.
In fact, Castilleja says she is a prime example of being one of those students who was limited to utilizing the program to its fullest.
“I live in the city limits, so I was only allowed to show certain things with a permit, so my showing was rabbits. I really wanted to show lamb, but I didn’t have the property for it so that’s where this Ag building will help kids like me who are non-traditional and don’t live in the country – don’t have land and live in the city,” said Castilleja.
Also, thanking the community for helping to grow the Ag program was Seguin ISD Superintendent Dr. Veronica Vijil.
She says, “facilities like these give our students opportunities that can change the course of their lives.”
“Agriculture is one of the 16 Career and Technical Education programs of study available to our students, and we are determined to give them every opportunity. This agriscience facility will provide a strong foundation for those who aspire to join the agriculture industry. Thank you for supporting their futures and joining us for this next step in bringing this facility from a bond project to reality,” said Vijil.
The groundbreaking was also a bittersweet moment for local resident, Ruth Ander, who returned to the property that once belonged to her family.
“My mother-in-law and father-in-law (Jack and Dorothy Ander) had this land for probably 65 years and then after the second one passed away, the estate – my husband and his brother and sister sold it to another family and that family is who sold it to Seguin ISD,” said Ander.
Ander says being back on this property cultivates new memories – memories that can be shared as a community.
“It brings back memories for me. I think my father-in-law would be pleased because among his many professions in his life, he did teach school for a few years and living out here in the country, I think agriculture was important to him. So, he would be pleased about the future,” said Ander.
The project is now well underway thanks to a host of engineers, architects, consultants, and construction companies.
They include pb Group LLC; SPB Engineering; Dunaway Associates; DBR, Inc.; 2 Post Technology and The Koehler Company.
The completion date for the Ag center is slated for January 2026.