The Ag Business class has added some new features to their program recently. They have been very active and involved in many events since the start of the school year.

The main feature added is the new QR codes on the packaging for their meat products, a big technological advancement for the program.

“[The QR code] will direct you to our website, and basically there are different pages for the program that people will be able to see directly where the food they are buying is coming from. Plus, it shows how the animals are being cared for and how the students learn and care for them along the way,” said Ag Business teacher Cory Scott.

Though the QR codes and program will only work for the pigs on campus, the overall goal for the students is to help consumers have more transparency in where their food comes from.

“[The project] will help us get more products sold and get more brand and name recognition out there. It’s really a model that businesses should use to get more transparency for the food supply. So, hopefully, it will get us some more recognition as well,” said Scott.

The project is just in the beginning states of the Paoli Farm-to-Table program. Though it is going to be mostly sold back to the school, there is still an opportunity for some of the meat products to be sold to the community.

“We are gonna sell it to anyone who is interested in buying it. We are going to be selling mostly to the school though. There are certain products the school can’t serve, like ribs for example, that we sell to the public, and any of the excess that the school can’t buy is open to anyone who would want it,” said Scott.

In September, the department welcomed guests from the Maker Mobile program at Indiana University. The guests worked to help with the QR code advancement, offering assistance with the process to make it more efficient.

One student in particular that has played a major role in this process is senior Carson Little.

“The people from Bloomington were here to help us make the stickers we are going to use on our products and help us create the QR code,” said Little.

According to the IU Bloomington website, the Maker Mobile program ‘works with host sites to set up temporary maker space environments so that your school or organization can introduce maker education within your own space.’

“They came and helped us organize our website and helped develop some logos. They also helped develop a little bit better of a marketing plan for the products here at the school,” said Scott.

The class’s goal is to have the program done before Christmas Break, and as of right now, they are on the right track to do so.

“Ag Business is going good. We have been working on our website for a while now and we are just about finished with it,” said Little.

For more information about the project, visit the Paoli Farm-To-Table website linked on the PHS homepage.