On Thursday, September 25, 2025, 242 students from seven eastern Kentucky schools gathered at Imel’s Greenhouse in Greenup County for the third annual AgVenture Day. Students from East Carter, Elliot County, Greenup County, Lawrence County, Lewis County, Paul Blazer and West Carter explored career paths in agriculture, connected with local ag partners, and put their skills to the test in interactive contests.
The event, hosted in partnership with Farm Credit Mid-America and greenhouse owner Kenny Imel, looks to help eastern Kentucky students better understand agriculture’s importance in the region.
AgVenture Day is the brainchild of Imel, who hopes to inspire more young people to return home and pursue agricultural careers. “If we aren’t pouring into that next generation, we can’t be mad when it’s not there,” Imel said during the event’s early planning. “Somebody’s gotta step up and do something.”
Throughout the day, students participated in various on-site workshops and activities including:
- Scavenger hunt exploring Imel’s greenhouse while learning about agriculture and greenhouse production
- Goal-setting workshop where they built a customized action plan for personal and academic success
- Pencil with a Purpose activity to practice critical thinking through engaging prompts
- Backpack packing where students loaded 500 backpacks with food to help fight food insecurity for families in their local communities
Students also competed in five different challenges, with a total of $10,000 in cash prizes awarded to top students and their FFA chapters. The overall grand champion was West Carter whose FFA chapter received a $2500 prize. Individual contest winners were awarded $1000 for their FFA chapter and $500 to split between the two student contestants. Winners were:
Forestry Contest: Paul Blazer, Riley Layman Bohannon and Branden McGhee
Marketing Contest: West Carter, Roy Utley and Lily Gilbert
Business Plan Contest: Paul Blazer, Keaton Stevens and Marley Walter
Sales Contest: Paul Blazer Ryder Phillips and Kahlil Ealey
Agri-Tank Contest: Elliott County, Brody Markwell and Jackson Kidd
Grand Champion: West Carter
In partnership with Imel’s Greenhouse, AgVenture Day is sponsored by Farm Credit Mid-America, a financial services cooperative serving farmers and rural residents in Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee.
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About Farm Credit Mid-America
A proud member of the Farm Credit System, Farm Credit Mid-America is securing the future of rural communities and agriculture® as a leading provider of reliable, consistent credit and financial services to farmers, producers, agribusinesses and rural residents in Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee. The customer-owned cooperative serves more than 145,000 customers and manages a portfolio of $44.1 billion in total earning assets owned and managed. Farm Credit Mid-America’s products and services include loans for real estate, operating, equipment, rural living, crop insurance and vehicle, equipment and building leases. For more information, visit www.fcma.com.
