To register click here.
What is the A.B. Ross program?
The A.B. Ross Leadership Program is an initiative created by State Senator John Eichelberger and the Penn State Extension Office to provide 4-H Club members in 7th grade through 12th grade with knowledge and hands-on learning about timely topics affecting Pennsylvania’s No. 1 industry, agriculture.
The program offers a full day of interactive learning experiences focused on a specific topic. Extension educators and experts in the field are invited to discuss the impact that topic has on our farmers and future farmers in Pennsylvania.
Recent programs concentrated on the following areas:
- Making PA’s Best Better: understanding the role of predators in the ecosystem, discovering new leadership opportunities and learning about responsibly utilizing the commonwealth’s natural resources.
- The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: the insects of agriculture.
- Manure Management on the Dairy Farm.
The theme for the 2024 program is Animal Husbandry: From Food to Fiber! Farm Animals and the Role They Play in Our Day-to-Day Lives.
Who is A.B. Ross?
Pennsylvania has a proud agricultural tradition that includes the sharing of information to enhance and extend the use of best practices among farmers.
Abram Bunn “A.B.” Ross was a pioneer in this field.
Ross was Pennsylvania’s first agricultural Extension agent. He was assigned by the United States Department of Agriculture to work in Schellsburg, Bedford County. He helped farmers in the county and surrounding areas.
The Cooperative Extension System uses a network of federal, state and local organizations to empower farmers to meet the challenges they face.
The board of trustees of Pennsylvania State University – a land-grant university – established the Agricultural Extension Service in 1907. Penn State Extension provides a variety of information and resources to help farmers of all sizes deal with the unique and challenging issues affecting agriculture in Pennsylvania.
A.B. Ross established one of the nation’s earliest Cooperative Extension System offices when he began work in Schellsburg, Bedford County, in 1910.
County extension offices now are located throughout the United States, with agents providing expertise about agriculture, 4-H programs, and family and consumer science.
My Involvement
I began working with the Penn State Extension 4-H educators in 2018 to offer the A.B. Ross Leadership Program, an initiative that began with my predecessor, Sen. John Eichelberger.
I’ve been honored to host the program and see the positive impact it has on the 4-H’ers who benefit from the instruction and experience provided through the initiative.
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To register click here.
To apply for the A.B. Ross Leadership Scholarship Program click here.