NEW CASTLE, Pa. – At first glance, one would be pressed to find any relationship between planting crops and working on a factory floor.
Not so at the Wilmington Area School District in New Wilmington, Pa., where students are fully engaged in programs that explore how manufacturing, agriculture and technology intersect.
“Our game is agriculture, but we’re expanding it to manufacturing,” said Brendan Hathaway, principal of the Wilmington School District’s junior and senior high schools. “There are many connections we can make from manufacturing into what we’re doing with agriculture. And we want to prepare students for the workforce in a way where students want to stay here.”
Hathaway was among a series of speakers who presented updates during the Lawrence Mercer Manufacturing Coalition’s semiannual members and committee meeting Wednesday, held at the New Castle School of Trades.
Hathaway emphasized how agriculture is increasingly tied to other sector disciplines such as the skilled industrial trades, STEM research, construction and advanced manufacturing methods such as 3D printing.
One program, he noted, is vertical aquaponics units that are used by students in the school’s K-6 grades. “Our high school students are manufacturing these,” Hathaway said. “They’re doing the welding; they’re doing the engineering and pumps, the filtration.”
The high school includes an aquaponics lab, for example, that is outfitted with three CNC machines and welding booths, Hathaway said. “They’re taking their welding experience – they learn how to do electrical work,” he said. Recently, a local paving company contracted to build an outdoor classroom also demonstrated to students how to form subbases and concrete.
“Our students are pressure-testing and forming up the concrete,” he said. “Instead of just bringing companies in and just doing the work, we want our students doing some of the work along with them.”
Other examples Hathaway cited is a nearby farm in Lawrence County – Ferris Farms – that also manufactures poly seeders that are sold all over the country. “Some of our technology kids – kids that aren’t maybe in our ag program but are into computers – are 3D printing the seed discs that go inside of these poly seeders.”
Last year, the school district – which straddles both Mercer and Lawrence counties – launched its Wilmington Farms initiative on a 102-acre farm that the Lawrence County Agricultural Land Preservation Board acquired in January 2025. The program – open to all K-12 students – combines lessons in agriculture, manufacturing, robotics and technology, energy and life services.
The Wilmington Farms site is also a potential location for an Agriculture Workforce Innovation Center, Hathaway said. U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., has submitted an appropriations request of $1.5 million for Congress to consider in the fiscal year 2027 budget to support the project.
Agriculture has also advanced along with technology, Hathaway said, noting the use of drones by farmers, as well as other forms of automation. The district has also launched an agricultural cooperative internship program that allows students to earn academic credits while working at partner companies such as Ellwood, Ferris Farms and Syntera.
Filling the Workplace Gap
The LMMC was formed two years ago by area manufacturers and academic institutions to advance careers in the manufacturing trades. The objective is to build a strong pipeline of skilled workers capable of sustaining a strong manufacturing economy in the region.
Joe McCormick, superintendent of Shenango School District, said western Pennsylvania is especially lacking in fulfilling two-year accreditation programs, where most of the opportunity for jobs exists.
Approximately 45% of students leave high school for college, but the job market for those with college degrees is shrinking. At the same time, approximately 38% of students leave high school with no plans for additional education or training, and job opportunities in this segment are also weak.
The most demand across the job market rests with those obtaining two-year programs or skills credentials, McCormick said. However, only approximately 17% of students leaving high school select this path.
Moreover, the superintendent said this is a trend that is evident across the country, not just in western Pennsylvania. And it’s a trend that has persisted for more than 50 years.
“The gap is there,” he said. “We need more people with credentials, with skilled trades. You see it on the workforce end. We see it on the education end.”
The LMMC is moving forward by promoting initiatives such as pre-apprenticeship programs in advanced manufacturing, outreach efforts in local school districts and partnering with other educational institutions to market and connect young people with careers in manufacturing.
“We need to go show that these opportunities are in their community and you can have an exciting, rewarding, valuable career pathway,” said Julie Michael Smith, LMMC coalition manager.
Pictured at top: Brendan Hathaway, principal of the Wilmington School District’s junior and senior high schools.