ABOVE: Andrew Moeller stands with a combine at the Hunt farmland the Fairmont Area School District owns. Moeller was born and raised in Fairmont, and has returned as a new Ag teacher.

FAIRMONT – Fairmont High School’s new Ag teacher may be a familiar face to some, as he grew up in the area.

Andrew Moeller spent his formative years around farming. His family’s farm grows corn and soybeans, and where they once raised cows they now raise pigs.

“I have experience with all sorts of different livestock,” Moeller said. “I have a well-rounded background in Ag from my life experiences on the farm and through the Fairmont FFA program in high school.”

FFA leadership at the time, especially Amber Seibert, was cited by Moeller as helping him with his trajectory throughout and after high school. Originally, Moeller wanted to get an Ag Science degree and use it to continue aiding his family’s farm. Influence from Seibert and an extra year due to COVID swayed Moeller to the teaching path.

“I was running track out at SDSU and I got an extra year of eligibility,” he said. “I needed to stretch [my schooling] out for another year and decided to add Ag education as a second major. I ended up falling in love with it and enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would.”

With a wide variety of students who take Ag classes at the high school level, Moeller said the biggest thing he learned about teaching was that he isn’t just teaching future producers.

“A lot of our students in my classes are not from a farming background,” he said. “The goal is to have a more informed public. I want to give students the ability to have an opportunity within the Ag industry that’s positive and something they can take away into their life.”

Coming back to teach in his hometown was not planned out, but Moeller jumped at the chance when the opportunity presented itself.

“That fell into place last year as I was looking for a job,” he said. “An opening came and it made a ton of sense; being able to be back home in the area and still help with my family’s farm when I have the chance. It’s the program I care about, that I grew up in, and I want to do what I can to see it succeed.”

Currently, Moeller teaches an Intro to Ag class required for 7th and 8th graders and high school classes on food animals, Ag leadership and Ag science. Within these classes, he said the biggest surprise is how many different types of students take Ag classes.

“It’s just proof there’s a spot for everybody within FFA,” Moeller said. “Doesn’t matter what kind of background you come from, there’s always going to be something for you we can find.”

The support Moeller says he’s received thus far has made his experience as a first-year teacher a successful harvest.

“The Ag department has had a ton of support from the administration, which has been great,” he said. “Having that support and the community support is big; plenty of donations and people willing to help out with whatever we’re interested in doing.”

For someone who has spent his life around agriculture, Moeller said being an Ag teacher in Fairmont has meant a lot to him.

“It’s a community, school, and industry I care a lot about,” he said. “I was able to step right into a position I thought was important and our community needs.”

Moving forward, Moeller said he is looking to help Fairmont’s Ag program grow and flourish among the best programs in the state.

“Turn it into what it can be,” he said. “As long as we keep the support we have and the interest we seem to be growing, I think we’re going to see big numbers for our FFA.”

Fairmont High School currently has a functioning greenhouse. Moeller said he would like to add a nursery landscape class to utilize that piece of their campus.

“We’d like to be able to tie that into a real-life work experience where you’d be able to regrow the plants and flowers in the greenhouse,” he said. “We’d teach them not just how to grow them but what we can do in a landscaping sense.”

*Editor’s Note: This article ran in the Fall Ag update in the Thursday, Oct. 17 edition of the Sentinel.