Katy Davis Suffield: The Agriscience Teacher Building Connecticut’s Future
Agricultural education in Connecticut has a consistent advocate in Katy Davis. She teaches at the Suffield Regional Agriscience Center, where students work in greenhouses, animal labs, and aquatics facilities as part of their daily program. Davis does not run a passive classroom. She runs a hands-on program tied to real career outcomes, and her students leave prepared for work in plant science, environmental management, veterinary fields, and agribusiness. The Center serves ten Connecticut towns, and Davis is one of the central reasons it holds its current standing.
Who Is Katy Davis Suffield?
Katy Davis Suffield holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Natural Resources from the University of Connecticut. At UConn, she worked directly on the university’s dairy farm, a foundation that now drives how she structures her courses. Students learn by doing. That is not a slogan in her classroom. It is the literal structure of the program.
She also holds a Commercial Driver’s License, which she obtained to personally transport students to agricultural fairs, livestock competitions, and field trips. When logistics threatened to limit student access, she removed that barrier herself. That kind of initiative marks her work consistently. Educators who take the same approach include Kyan Peffer, whose work in student-centered education reflects a similar philosophy of removing barriers between students and real-world experience.
Davis teaches alongside Director Laura LaFlamme and fellow faculty members Celia Wagner, Sarah Oliver, and Rebecca Ferguson. The program operates under a cooperative agreement between the Suffield School System and the Connecticut State Department of Education, drawing students from ten Greater Hartford towns.
What She Teaches and How
Her courses cover plant science, animal science, environmental sustainability, and agricultural biotechnology. She is also getting certified to teach Plant Breeding and Biotechnology (SPSS 3245), a UConn Early College Experience course. Once active, students in her program will earn college credit before graduating high school — a direct financial benefit for families planning post-secondary education.
Every course connects directly to applied work. Students managing the three-section greenhouse are not completing an assignment. They are running an agricultural operation. Animal science students work in a dedicated lab facility, handling real livestock care. Environmental science students engage with functioning aquatics systems in the school’s aquatics laboratory.
That structure reflects a wider trend in technical education. Research consistently shows that students in project-based programs retain skills longer and develop stronger problem-solving ability than peers taught through lecture-only formats. Davis applies that model across every subject she covers.
The Suffield Regional Agriscience Center
The Suffield Regional Agriscience Center operates inside Suffield High School, which serves approximately 680 students. The facility includes five classrooms, a three-section greenhouse, a plant laboratory, an animal lab and grooming facility, and an aquatics laboratory. Ten towns participate under the cooperative agreement.
The program prepares students for careers across biogenetics, aquaculture, forestry, equine management, veterinary science, and agricultural business. Each of these tracks leads to industries that Connecticut depends on for food security and environmental management.
Central to the program is the Supervised Agricultural Experience. Every FFA student develops and executes an individual agricultural project, which can range from raising animals to starting a small farming operation. The mentorship involved in guiding student projects of this depth takes sustained attention from an experienced educator. Davis provides guidance from initial planning through record-keeping and competition at district and state FFA levels.
FFA Advising and State Advocacy
Davis advises the Suffield FFA Chapter, connecting students to one of the largest youth agricultural organizations in the United States. The National FFA Organization reports approximately 850,000 students enrolled in school-based agricultural education programs across the country. The teacher advisor is the most direct link those students have to competitive opportunities and professional development.
She also advocates at the state level for agricultural education funding. Davis testifies to Connecticut lawmakers about the value of agriscience programs for workforce preparation and environmental sustainability. Agricultural programs across the country face steady budget pressure. Without teachers willing to make that case in legislative settings, funding often shifts elsewhere.
Most educators limit their advocacy to the school building. Davis takes the argument to where budget decisions actually get made. That work is not visible in a classroom, but it directly sustains the program that makes her classroom possible.
The 2027 Iceland Trip and Big E Recognition
In June 2025, the Suffield Board of Education unanimously approved a student trip to Iceland, proposed by Davis and scheduled for April 10 through 16, 2027. She presented the educational case to the board and outlined a plan for international travel every other year, giving students enough time to prepare financially.
Iceland is a strong match for agriscience students. The country leads in geothermal energy use, sustainable fisheries, and climate-adapted farming. Students studying food systems and environmental science will see those systems operating at the national scale in the field, not just in a textbook.
Her program also won in the Landscape Display category at The Big E in 2023. The Eastern States Exposition, held annually in Springfield, Massachusetts, is the largest agricultural fair in the northeastern United States. That award sets a concrete benchmark for the quality her students produce.
Why Connecticut Needs This Program
Connecticut has approximately 5,500 farms covering nearly 400,000 acres, according to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture. The average age of farm operators in the state continues to rise, and the demand for trained agricultural professionals is growing faster than current pipelines can meet.
Programs like the Suffield Regional Agriscience Center directly address that gap. Students leave with technical skills, college credit, FFA leadership experience, and in many cases, a career direction they would not have found elsewhere. Professionals who follow similar work in adjacent academic programs recognize the same challenge of building this level of student preparation inside a single institution.
The ten towns whose students attend this center should know what they have access to. And the state officials who fund it should understand exactly what it produces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Katy Davis Suffield?
She is an agriscience teacher at Suffield High School’s Regional Agriscience Center in Connecticut. She teaches plant science, animal science, and biotechnology while advising the FFA chapter and advocating for state agricultural education funding.
What does Katy Davis teach at Suffield High School?
She teaches plant science, animal science, agricultural biotechnology, and environmental sustainability. She is also pursuing certification to teach a UConn Early College Experience course in Plant Breeding and Biotechnology.
What is the 2027 Iceland trip?
Davis proposed and secured board approval for a student trip to Iceland from April 10 to 16, 2027. It gives agriscience students direct exposure to geothermal farming, sustainable fisheries, and climate-adapted agriculture.
Did Katy Davis win an award at The Big E?
Yes. In 2023, her program won in the Landscape Display category at the Eastern States Exposition, the largest agricultural fair in the northeastern United States.
What is the Suffield Regional Agriscience Center?
It is a state-funded facility at Suffield High School that serves students from ten Connecticut towns. It includes a greenhouse, animal labs, plant labs, and an aquatics lab, and is among the leading agriscience programs in the state.