Jaron Lewton grew up on a small farm in LaGrange County. He is a junior at Huntington University, Huntington, majoring in agribusiness with a concentration in ministry and missions.

This is only the second full year for the agricultural studies program at Huntington University. Ag classes are taught and degrees are offered through the Haupert Institute. School officials say the program is expanding, and the university will add curriculum for training vocational ag teachers starting this fall.

Lewton says Huntington’s ag program is the personal niche he was looking for, for a couple of key reasons.

“For me, it was important to go to a school where I could walk around campus and know the other students I passed on the sidewalk, and really get to know them well,” he says. “Also, my faith is very important to me. I feel like I’m able to grow in that area at a school like Huntington.”

Missions option
Lewton isn’t sure of his future plans yet, but he has a real interest in livestock nutrition, possibly including research. But the possibility of doing missions work someday is also very much on his radar.

He says one of the high points in his agribusiness experience was the opportunity to go on a short-term agricultural mission internship to a poor country in Asia during the summer of 2016. He was part of a group that spent seven weeks working on a farm that raised hogs, carp and tilapia. The group helped local farmers improve their corn and soybean practices. Lewton describes the experience as “awesome,” and a real eye-opener.

“I gained a new appreciation for the agriculture we have here,” he says. “And it was cool to be able to help them with their agriculture methods in a small way.”

Ministry and missions is just one of several tracks that ag students can choose from at Huntington University. Others include several choices related to ag economics, plus options in crop production and animal production.   

Boone writes from Wabash.