Floral Hall is slated to be taken down this fall to make way for a new, larger building to house the county’s first-ever Career Ag Academy as part of a joint venture to expand ag education in Webster City and the surrounding area.

It’s not a lack of respect for history, but a passion for the future of agriculture that is the motivation for the new facility and the educational focus behind it, according to Gene Gourley, board president with the academy.

“It’s extremely important,” to prepare and draw more students into ag-related fields, Gourley said.

He envisions a learning environment where students who have little connection to the farm can learn more about the role of agriculture in Iowa and the nation’s economy. Students will gain hands-on experience with animal agriculture and related fields throughout agriculture.

“Our mission has always been, how can we give the best educational experience to kids,” Gourley explained. “We are trying to develop good citizens for the community. That’s the whole idea.”

Just as Floral Hall was designed to showcase the best and brightest of its day, the new Career Ag Academy will be designed to grow ag leaders for the next generation.

The project is a joint venture with both the Hamilton County Fair Board and Webster City Community School District.

Goal-setting and planning sessions began as early as 2004. In the long run-up to construction, the plan has been revised along the way. It will now serve the vocational agriculture program at Webster City High School with both classrooms and live animal areas, as well as a meat lab, including a meat cooler.

It would also be available if other schools, colleges, or businesses wish to utilize both the classroom and animal areas.

The metal building will take up a slightly larger footprint than Floral Hall.

While the current building is 40 feet by 90 feet, the new building will be 50 feet by 120 feet. The south side of the building will feature two classrooms with walls that can be removed to create one, large multi-purpose room. That room may also be available for community use. There will also be modern restroom and shower facilities in both the classroom and livestock areas.

A dynamic penning area on the north end of the building will be used to house live animals as needed by individual classes. It’s not expected that animals will be housed there full time, but only when part of classroom instruction.

“Ag teachers have told us that one of the biggest challenges they face is that urban kids are not exposed to farm animals,” Gourley said. “They don’t know how to work them, or how to handle them. I can show them pictures of animals, but with today’s biosecurity, you just can’t take kids out to the farm anymore.”

The desire to give kids familiarity with livestock doesn’t mean that the purpose is only to grow those careers, according to Gourley.

“The idea behind this is not to train kids to work with animals; it’s to help give students a passion for working in agriculture,” he said. “They might become bankers or lawyers, but having some knowledge of agriculture can help them do their job.”

The presence of live animals in the education process is one of the primary reasons that the fairgrounds was chosen for the new Career Ag Academy.

“This is already zoned for agriculture,” Gourley said of the fairgrounds.

A new building at the high school was considered at one time, but bringing live animals into that neighborhood could be problematic. The Floral Hall site already has a good buffer between it and surrounding homes. In addition, the building will have an air filtration system to ensure that it’s a good neighbor in the community, Gourley noted.

Perhaps one of the most unique features of the project is agreements that had to be reached between fair officials, the Career Ag Academy, and Webster City Schools. The Ag Academy, which operates as a 501c3 entity, will lease the land from the Hamilton County Fair Board. In turn, the Academy will lease the facility to Webster City Schools, which will provide the programming for students.

“The Academy will own the building and maintain it,” Gourley said. “We will have an endowment to maintain it for the future and to equip it.”

The cost of the building is estimated at close to $1 million. Ag Force of Jewell has been awarded the contract for construction.

Demolition of Floral Hall is expected soon, with the start of new construction to follow.

“It needs to be done for the fair next year,” Gourley said. “That’s our goal, hopefully by July 1, 2025.”

The building will be available for use for fair events during the annual run of the fair each year. Fair officials earlier this summer assured that there will be ample area on the fairgrounds for the floral and textile exhibits that have called Floral Hall home in recent years.

Classroom study at the Ag Academy could then begin as early as the 2025 fall semester.

Gourley understands that some folks will be sad to see Floral Hall gone, but he clearly puts the focus on the future and the hope that the Academy will help lead young people to good careers in agriculture.

“Our goal is to help students gain knowledge and understanding, and hopefully a passion for working in agriculture, so that they can stay in the community or region,” he said.

Gourley, who has spent his life in ag business, knows that good jobs in agriculture are available here. The Career Ag Academy seeks to foster a greater interest in young people seeking those careers and building their own lives here for the long term.

The new building will somewhat reflect the show arena at the fairgrounds. The main body of the building will be white, with green accents on a wide wainscoting at the bottom, a green roof, and a cupola atop it all.

“It’s going to be a nice looking building, very functional,” Gourley said.

In addition to Gourley, board members for the Career Ag Academy include Dean Bowden, Phil Voge, Adam Richardson, Zach Sukraw, Gerry Gourley, Holly Weisberg, Steve Stokes, Kurt Veldhuizen, Matt Berninghaus, Kyle Swon, treasurer; Zach Chizek, legal counsel; and Shayla Troendle, secretary. Afton Holt served as vice president early on, but has since left the board due to other business commitments.