Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Lincoln Breaks Ground On Animal Science Lab
LINCOLN — It may be commonly referred to as the “ag barn,” but Lincoln High School’s new animal science facility will be much more than that.
Agriculture teacher Kevin Barenberg grew up in Lincoln, graduated from Lincoln High and is in his 21st year of teaching agriculture classes at Lincoln High School.
The new building is not an agri barn, Barenberg said.
“Our goal is that we want this to mean it gives our kids hands-on experiences,” Barenberg said. “This will be used in all fields of animal science.”
Lincoln High administrators, teachers and members of the school’s FFA Chapter gathered outside on a cold, muddy morning last week for a groundbreaking ceremony for a new animal science lab to be located on five acres east of the school’s agriculture wing.
The new facility will have a total of about 5,000 square feet with 2,500 square feet of enclosed space and 2,500 square feet of open, covered space. It will be a pre-engineered metal structure that will match the rest of the high school, with brick on the bottom part of the walls and a gray-colored metal on the rest of the outside walls.
Barenberg said the new lab will allow the agriculture department to expand its curriculum and allow students to go deeper into more scientific approaches during their classes. He also suspects the facility will be used outside of the regular school day for projects and more research.
“It’s not a barn,” Barenberg said.
“This will be a true facility. This will be a learning laboratory.”
Barenberg said it’s possible animals may be kept at the facility from time to time but the purpose of the building is not to be a barn to keep show animals.
With the facility, he said students will be able to learn about all kinds of animals, from poultry to cattle, hogs, goats and horses.
He said students will have hands-on experiences that could include embryo transplants, artificial insemination and ultrasound technology. Students will be able to look at the chemistry of the food industry, plant science and learn how all these areas are intertwined in the agriculture industry.
FFA President Gracee Stout as a senior will not be able to enjoy
the new learning lab. She’s excited, though, for the opportunities it will give those coming up behind her.
“This will boost their learning in agriculture,” Stout said, adding she hopes it will encourage students to pursue agriculture beyond high school.
Stout wants to study agriculture education to become a teacher. Being in FFA and in the school’s agriculture department has taught her skill sets, passions and taught her how to be a leader and how to be “happy in general,” Stout said.
“It’s super exciting and I’m glad for the future,” Stout said.
Sarah Hale, Lincoln agriculture teacher, said the lab will help students prepare for future careers in education and they will have opportunities to learn skills to place them above the competition.
“In order to more effectively teach animal sciencebased classes we need the facilities to house animals and incorporate them into our daily lessons,” Hale said. “This facility will enable our students to be truly engaged in the animal industry every day.”
Hale said the school also hopes to offer some adult education classes for producers and farmers in the area and will be working with the University of Arkansas and Washington County Extension Service on these opportunities.
She expressed her appreciation to the school administration and school board for being supportive of agricultural education.
“This facility will be stateof-the-art and our students definitely will benefit from the experiences they will have in the lab,” Hale said.
The process for a new facility has been going on for at least two years.
Lincoln School Board voted to purchase 5.1 acres adjacent to the high school in April 2018 for $50,000.
The following fa l l , preliminary costs from the school’s architectural firm, WER Architects/Planners of Fayetteville, showed a new barn would cost about $756,000. The board met in work sessions to bring down the cost and in November 2018, decided to bid the project.
The board voted in October 2019 to accept a low bid of $587,914 from Legacy Construction Management of Fayetteville. Legacy has said the building should be ready by mid-June, weather permitting.