VERSAILLES – Colin Batten is a senior at Versailles High School and participates in the Agriculture Education Capstone Program and has been selected as the capstone highlight student of the month. The Versailles Agriculture Education Capstone Program is in its 13th year of existence. Colin is the son of Suzanne Batten and Chris Batten of Versailles, Ohio. Capstone is a program that gives Versailles High School Junior and Senior Students who are enrolled in agriculture education an opportunity to gain real-world employment experiences and opportunities while in high school.
Colin started working in 2021 and has continued to work throughout his senior year and has worked over 3,000 hours. Colin’s primary roles are milking, feeding the calves, general farm work, and ensuring the health of the animals. Colin prepares milk for baby calves and, putting it into bottles, he makes sure the calves are healthy and drinking properly. Colin assists with chopping during summer and fall, where he hauls silage wagons and assists in packing silage piles. Colin treats cows, does immunization of calves, completes ear tagging in calves, and assists with keeping the cows comfortable in the free stall barn.
Ryan Schmitmeyer, the owner of Owl Creek Dairy, is quoted as saying, “Colin has become a valuable asset to our farming operation; no matter the task asked of him, Colin will get the job completed to the best of his abilities”. Ryan further stated that “ Colin is well-mannered and respectful, he is punctual, communicates well and takes on many responsibilities around the farm”.
Owl Creek Dairy Farm is owned and operated by Ryan and Krista Schmitmeyer and they started their farming operation in 2013. The farm consists of 385 dairy cows with the milk being marketed to Dannone and over 500 acres of cropland in which they raise corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa hay.
This year, 53 students are enrolled in the Versailles Agriculture Education Capstone programs and are leaving school after their daily required courses are complete and working at area businesses. The goal of the spotlight is to highlight each month one of the students who participate in the capstone program and highlight the skills/knowledge they are gaining, the roles/assets they are bringing to their business. The students enrolled in capstone also use their employment as their Supervised Agricultural Experience Program. As part of their grade in capstone, students are required to keep detailed records of their hours worked, earnings and skills performed. In addition to the record books, capstone students are being evaluated at the end of each nine weeks by an evaluation completed by their employer.
Congratulations to Colin Batten, and thank you to Owl Creek Dairy Farm for this opportunity!