Agricultural Education

Abstract

This article discusses agricultural education in the United States. The topic of agricultural education, at least in a formal sense, dates back to the agricultural societies in the 18th century. Later, with the passage of the Morrill Act (1862), the Hatch Act (1887), the Smith-Lever Act (1914) and Smith-Hughes Act (1917), agricultural education became a staple of the public school curriculum, where it has remained ever since. In the 20th century, organizations such as the Future Farmers of America (later changed to the FFA Organization) were formed to help students apply their agricultural education through hands-on activities such as a supervised agricultural experience. In the 21st century, as agriculture has been transformed through a revolution in biotechnology, agricultural educators are struggling to deal with the ramifications as they attempt to prepare students for possible careers in an agribusiness, an industry that accounts for over 16 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping to lead these educational efforts.

Overview

Farming is at the heart of America, and agricultural education is essential to the future of American agriculture. As late as 1860, a full three-quarters of the American people were living on farms or in small towns of less than 2,500 people (Walker, 1967, p. 14), and there were only sixteen cities with a population over 50,000 (Walker, 1967, p. 54). All told, for more than two centuries after the Pilgrims arrived, the United States was primarily an agricultural economy. Until 1880, more than half of its workforce was involved in farming ("Discovering America's Past," 1993, p. 183).

Origins of Agricultural Education. Agricultural education stretches far back into the nation's past. It began with agricultural societies in the eighteenth century, which brought together farmers to develop friendships, pool their knowledge, and encourage one another. Some of these societies had some famous members--in the nineteenth century, "John C. Calhoun and his son-in-law Thomas Green Clemson, benefactors of Clemson Agricultural College, were members of the Pendleton Farmers Society" in South Carolina (Fravel, 2004, p. ii).

These societies often were for adults, but soon formal agricultural education was extended to children. Examples of early agricultural educational schools included the Gardiner Lyceum in Maine and the Boston Asylum and Farm School, the latter of which was established in 1832 as a place "where idle and morally exposed children of the city can be rescued from vice and danger" (cited in Moore, 2007).

Land Grant Colleges. In 1862, as the Civil War was raging, the U.S. Congress created the Department of Agriculture with the purpose of using it as the repository and distribution center for agricultural information. This was followed up the same year with the federal creation of land-grant schools under the Morrill Act, which gave federal land to the states. The land was given on the condition that "each State which may take and claim the benefit of this Act, to the endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactics, ... teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes on the several pursuits and professions in life" (Morrill Act, 1862, Sec.4.).

The 1887 Hatch Act created federally funded agricultural research stations across the country, and this work soon found its way to the farmers in the fields, who benefited from newer and more efficient farming techniques.

Improving Farming Methods. Later, with the passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, the mandate of land-grant colleges was expanded to include cooperative education in which agricultural experts went into rural communities to share the benefits of their research. Farmers clamored to learn modern farming methods that would increase yields and reduce the amount of laborers required to harvest crops. Economies of scale led to the creation of large-scale farms and ranches.

The results of this knowledge transfer were astounding: between 1860 and 1915, tobacco production doubled, corn production tripled, and cotton production quadrupled. Wheat production rose from 173 million bushels a year to over one billion (Robertson, 1955, pp. 221-222). Between 1870 and 1900, agricultural exports nearly tripled, as did the number of American farms (Robertson, 1955, p. 229).

Agriculture in the Schools. The success of modern farming techniques fed upon itself. At the turn of the twentieth century, seeking to meet the demand, many states began teaching agriculture in their public schools. Some states, like North Carolina in 1903, made it a requirement that elementary school children learn about agriculture. Other states such as South Carolina were equally as dedicated to agricultural education:

"South Carolina was active in attempts to infuse Agricultural Education into the public school system and rural communities. A series of demonstration trains traversed the state providing first hand opportunities for individuals to examine the revelations in agricultural techniques. A series of agricultural clubs, including boy's corn clubs, pig clubs, and even demonstration farms on schoolhouse grounds linked Agricultural Educators with school students. Prior to the Smith-Hughes method of vocational agriculture, students in sections of the state received textbook-based instruction in agriculture" (Fravel, 2004, p. ii).

In 1911, six years before the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act, the North Carolina Legislature created a new type of boarding school called farm life schools. These schools were farms that taught practical skills such agriculture and home economics. According to Moore (2007), who studied the curricula at Cary Farm Life School, the education consisted of a four-year academic program combined with hands-on agriculture training:

By 1915, 4,665 high schools across the United States offered agriculture classes to 90,708 students (Moore, 1987).

Smith-Hughes as a Watershed Event. The passage of the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917 built upon these successes in agricultural education. The purpose of the act was as follows:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in order to aid in acquiring and diffusing among the people of the United States useful and practical information on subjects connected with agriculture, and to promote scientific investigation and experiment respecting the principles and application of agricultural science, there shall be established under direction of the college or colleges or agricultural departments of colleges in each State and Territory ... an agricultural experiment station" (Smith-Hughes Act, 1917, cited in Moore, 1987).

The act helped catalyze the agricultural education movement across the United States by helping to fund agricultural education programs in public schools, thereby creating a demand for agricultural education teachers. In South Carolina, "Clemson College, still in its infancy, quickly arose to provide a new program to train collegiate students to become what were then referred to as 'Smith-Hughes men'" (Fravel, 2004, p. iii).

Federal support for agricultural education continued after World War II, with the passage of the George-Barden Act of 1946, which funded farming instruction in American public high schools. This federal training assistance was expanded by the Vocational Educational Act to include training in non-farming aspects of agriculture.

Agricultural Education Today. Today, every state offers agricultural education in its public schools. Agricultural education has several important benefits:

• As a multidisciplinary program, agricultural education draws together and reinforces lessons from a wide variety of subjects.
• Since agriculture accounts for 13 percent of the national GDP (Industrial College, 2010), it can be a solid career path.
• It has helped meet the goals of federal legislation by assessing students on what they have learned in both classroom and hand-on agricultural education modules.
• Agricultural education courses can be a unique and inviting way for high schoolers to take some of their required science courses.

As with vocation education, much of modern agricultural education is of the hands-on variety. Many states maintain websites about their agricultural education programs for K-12 public schools--these provide teacher resources to be used throughout the year.

Commercial agriculture, or agribusiness, continues to provide food and jobs for millions of Americans. These jobs include far more than plowing fields and sowing seed. Sometimes, in fact, the jobs can be found in unexpected places. For example, according to a 2007 Agricultural Education report, "In the metropolitan Chicagoland area, over 34% of the working population has an agribusiness related occupation. This encompasses the fields of production, processing, food preparation, research and development, transportation, marketing, and the manufacturing of equipment and supplies" (Bunselmeyer, 2007, p. 5).

As of 2018, there were about 12,000 agricultural education teachers in the United States (Hess, 2018). These teachers offer training to students interested in all aspects of agriculture:

• 92% of teachers offer agri-science
• 71% of teachers offer advanced agri-science and biotechnology;
• 59% of teachers offer agricultural mechanics
• 49% of teachers offer horticulture
• 43% of teachers offer animal science
• 24% of teachers offer environment-related courses (National FFA Organization, 2007, p. 1).

Agricultural education takes place under the federal mandates in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, renewed in August 2006. The act authorizes the federal government to spend approximately $1.3 billion annually on programs for, among others, high school students wishing to continue their career or technical education, including work on a farm or in agriculture. Funds are given to states in the form of grants, and the states dispense the funds according to need or socioeconomic status.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has actively encouraged young people to choose agricultural education as a career. The department operates Agriculture in the Classroom, a website that contains numerous lessons plans, teacher's guides, and other resources to help teachers attract and keep young people's interest in agriculture. The materials are available for K-12 students.

Even though agricultural education is vital to the future of American agriculture, and thus the American economy, and in spite of much federal support, the whole area of study faces an immediate challenge in a nationwide shortage of agricultural education teachers. According to the National Association of Agricultural Educators, in 2016 there were about 66 unfilled agricultural education positions in the United States, while 325 open agricultural education positions were filled by people without a background in agricultural education. Ninety-eight schools terminated their agricultural education programs that year due to low enrollment, lack of funding, lack of teachers, or some combination of the three (National Association of Agricultural Educators, 2017, p. 2).

Meanwhile, agricultural education has come a long way from its humble beginnings. It is at the heart of America's ongoing efforts to marry technology and nature to provide enough food for ourselves and others in the world.

Further Insights

There are many opportunities available within and outside schools for young people to get involved in agriculture. A few of the more popular organizations are:

4-H Clubs: The Young Face of American Agriculture For many Americans, 4-H clubs (Head, Heart, Hands, and Health) are a central part of an agricultural community. 4-H was founded in the early decades of the twentieth century in response to the perception that young people were more responsive to changes in agricultural practices than their parents. It is an extracurricular program administered by the Cooperative Extension System of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that helps students develop their interest in agriculture through various projects. The organization states that its mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development" (California 4-H youth development program, n.d.). There are approximately 100,000 4-H clubs across the United States that serve more than 7 million members ages 5 to 21 (Babin, 2007; 4-H.org, 2013).

The National FFA Organization: Promoting Agricultural Education in the Schools

Formerly known as Future Farmers of America, FFA changed its name to the National FFA Organization in 1988 to reflect sweeping changes taking place within American agriculture as biotechnology, including genetic engineering, rose to prominence. With approximately 650,000 members from across the United States, the National FFA claims to be the largest youth organization in America. Its 2017 national conference attracted about 67,000 participants.

FFA is an association that works in partnership with schools to help students apply their agricultural education. As stated on its website, FFA's "agricultural science education program is built on the three core areas of classroom/laboratory instruction, supervised agricultural experience programs, and FFA student organization activities/opportunities" (National FFA Organization, n.d.). All together, the FFA exposes students to more than 300 agricultural careers by leveraging the expertise of agriculture teachers, who serve as group advisors.

There are over 7,000 FFA chapters operating at schools across the United States, including those in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. "Chapter activities and FFA programs concentrate on three areas of our mission: premier leadership, personal growth, and career success" (National FFA Organization, 2007). The organization publishes a monthly magazine, FFA New Horizons, which profiles agricultural education students and their projects.

The Supervised Agricultural Experience. As the name implies, a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) is a chance for students studying agricultural education to apply their classroom work out in the field. Students work with their agricultural education teachers on a project that gives students the opportunity to get more hands-on experience in the particular aspect of agricultural education that interests them. Local agricultural education teachers are eligible to receive materials from the FFA Organization.

SAE not only gives students hands-on experience in a particular aspect of agricultural education, but it provides them "with an advantage in the job market, in attaining scholarships and college enrollments, in starting their own business, and in developing a plan for success in life" (National FFA Organization, 2007). In Illinois alone, "13,030 students (an increase of 13% from last year) were involved with a SAE and earned $9,798,162" (Dittmar, 2007, p. 13).

Viewpoints

Are Agricultural Educators behind the Curve? It is no surprise that advances in biotechnology--including the sequencing of the genomes of many staple food crops --have dramatically impacted agriculture around the world. Unfortunately, those in the field of agricultural education have have had trouble keeping pace with this increased knowledge, and these students have been less prepared for the agricultural job market than they otherwise should be.

That was the sobering conclusion of Understanding Agriculture: New Directions in Education, a 1988 report from the Committee on Agricultural Education in Secondary Schools, part of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. In its report, the committee notes that agricultural education needs to change with the times:

"Vocational agriculture is education in agriculture. It has a long history in American education. Most programs consist of three parts: classroom and laboratory instruction, supervised occupational experiences (SOEs), and membership in the National FFA (Future Farmers of America) Organization. A broader definition of vocational agriculture is needed because technological and structural changes in agricultural industries have enlarged the scope and number of careers. In the committee's view, vocational agriculture should give students the skills needed to enter and advance in careers such as farm production; agribusiness management and marketing; agricultural research and engineering; food science, processing, and retailing; banking; education; landscape architecture; urban planning; and other fields" (National Research Council, 1988, pp. 2-3).

A 2006 study that examined progress since the National Academies report notes that agricultural educators have made positive strides in bringing more cutting-edge biotechnology into the classroom. However, they note that teachers are less comfortable teaching about subjects that have not traditionally been a part of agricultural education:

"A major finding ... was the agricultural education teachers possessed a positive attitude towards biotechnology, but lacked the resources and knowledge to incorporate the subject matter into their curriculum. Teachers perceive themselves with more knowledge on biotechnology topics traditionally associated with agriculture (animal reproduction, hybridization) and less knowledge on topics associated with other fields (environmental biotechnology, human genomics)" (Boone et al., 2006, p. 78).

Terms & Concepts

Agribusiness: A term used to describe all aspects of a farm-related Business--from the procurement of farm equipment and supplies and the production of farm commodities.

Agricultural Societies: Free associations of farmers that began in the U.S. colonial era and continue to exist in more rural areas of the country.

Biotechnology: The science of integrating biology with technology and using science to better understand biology; as applied to agriculture, biotechnology is most relevant for its insights in plant genetics.

Hatch Act: A law passed in 1887 that created federally funded agricultural research stations across the country; this work soon found its way to the farmers in the fields, who benefitted from newer and more efficient farming techniques.

Morrill Act: A federal law passed in 1862 that created land-grant colleges from property given to states by the federal government.

National FFA Organization: An organization, begun as the Future Farmers of America in 1928, that works with public schools to introduce agricultural education into the curriculum.

Smith-Hughes Act: A federal law passed in 1917 that helped catalyze the agricultural education movement across the United States by helping to fund agricultural education programs in public schools and thereby creating a demand for agricultural education teachers.

Smith-Lever Act: A 1914 law that expanded the mandate of land-grant colleges to include cooperative education in which agricultural experts went into rural communities to share the benefits of their research.

Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE): A project that gives students the opportunity to get more hands-on experience in the particular aspect of agricultural education that interests them.

U.S. Department of Agriculture: A department of the U.S. government charged with oversight of American agriculture, including the development of future agricultural workers.

Bibliography

2016 National Teach Ag Campaign annual report. (2017). National Association of Agricultural Educators. Retrieved October 24, 2018, from National Association of Agricultural Educators. https://www.naae.org/teachag/2016%20TAG%20Annual%20Report%20Calendar%20Online%20View.pdf

Babin, C. C. (2007). For the kids: AFRC partners with 4-H to provide positive youth development. Retrieved October 22, 2007, from Citizen Airman http://www.citamn.afrc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123054238.

Boone, H. N., Gartin, S. A., Boone, D. A. & Hughes, J. E. (2006). Modernizing the agricultural education curriculum: An analysis of agricultural education teachers' attitudes, knowledge, and understanding of biotechnology. Journal of Agricultural Education, 47 , 78-89. Retrieved October 22, 2007, from the Journal of Agricultural Education http://pubs.aged.tamu.edu/jae/pdf/Vol47/47-01-078.pdf

Bunselmeyer, M. (2007) Building bridges in Cook County: one classroom at a time. In Building bridges: 2007 Illinois agricultural education report. Retrieved October 22, 2007, from Illinois Agricultural Education http://www.agriculturaleducation.org/Clearinghouse/FileDownload.asp?CHID=3283&File=AgReport07%5FWeb.pdf.

The 4-H Mission and Direction Committee, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. (2003). California 4-H youth development program: Directions for the decade ahead. Retrieved October 22, 2007, from California 4-H http://ca4h.org/4hinfo/md/YDPRptBk10.pdf

Discovering America's past: Customers, legends, history & lore of out great nation. (1993). Pleasantville, N.Y.: Reader's Digest Association.

Dittmar, D. (2007). Characteristics of Illinois agricultural education. In Building bridges: 2007 Illinois agricultural education report. Retrieved October 22, 2007 from Illinois Agricultural Education. http://www.agriculturaleducation. org/Clearinghouse/FileDownload.asp?CHID=3283&File=AgReport07%5FWeb.pdf

Fravel, P. M. (2004). A history of agricultural education in South Carolina, with a special emphasis on the public school system. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University.

Fritsch, J. (2013). Learning to learn: Why the supervised ag experience is key to agricultural education. Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, 88 , 30-33. Retrieved December 6, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/ login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=917 54642&site=ehost-live

Hassen, J. (2013). The potential of a multimedia open educational resource module in enhancing effective teaching and learning in a postgraduate agricultural program: Experience from AgShare project model. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 17 , 51-61. Retrieved December 6, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90022505&site=ehost-live

Hess, A. (2018, January 12). Ag education: The one profession where you gain a family. Ag Daily. Retrieved October 24, 2018, from Ag Daily. https://www.agdaily.com/ffa/ag-education-profession-gain-family/

Industrial College of the Armed Forces. (Spring 2010). Final report: Agribusiness industry. Fort McNair, Washington, DC: National Defense University. PDF retrieved December 6, 2013 from http://www.ndu.edu/icaf/programs/ academic/industry/reports/2010/pdf/icaf-is-reportagribusiness-2010.pdf

Moore, G. E. (2007). Evolution of American Education. PowerPoint presentation for Agricultural Education, Schools and Society (AEE 500), Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University. Retrieved October 21, 2007, from http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/leap/aee500/evolution%5Fof%5Feducation%5Ffiles/v3%5Fdocument.htm.

Morrill Act. (1862). Accessed October 22, 2007, from High-Ed.org http://www.higher-ed.org/resources/morrill1.htm.

National Research Council, Board on Agriculture. (2007) Understanding agriculture: New directions for education. Retrieved October 21, 2007, from National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record%5Fid=766

Robertson, R.W. (1955). History of the American economy. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.

The status of agricultural education prior to the Smith-Hughes Act. (1987). The Agricultural Education Magazine, 59. Retrieved October 22, 2007, from the the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/aee501/ moore.html

Walker, R. H. (1967). Everyday life in the age of enterprise, 1865-1900. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Zekeri, A. A., & Warren, R. (2013). Functions on the job in relation to data, people, and things among agricultural students from southern land-grant universities. College Student Journal, 47 , 373-378. Retrieved December 6, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/ login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=88413467&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2007). Agriculture in the classroom. Retrieved December 10, 2007, from http://www.agclassroom.org/

Ingram, M., Sorensen, T., Warnick, B., & Lawver, R. (2018). The influence of school-based agricultural education on preservice agriculture teachers’ choice to teach. Journal of Agricultural Education, 59(2), 64-78. doi:10.5032/jae.2018.02064. Retrieved October 24, 2018, from EBSCO online database, Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=130869697&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Irby, T. L., Wynn, J., & Strong, R. (2012). A descriptive evaluation of agricultural education eLearning courses: Students' perspectives. NACTA Journal, 56 , 70-76. Retrieved December 6, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search. ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=85114482&site=ehost-live

Knutz, M. (2007). 4-H delivery to homeschool audiences. Journal of Extension, 45 , 17-17. Retrieved October 23, 2007, from EBSCO online database, Education Research Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/ login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=25734785&site=ehost-live

Moore, G. E. (1988). The involvement of experiment stations in secondary agricultural education, 1887-1917. Agricultural History, 62 . Retrieved October 21, 2007, from the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/aee501/stations.html.

Newcomb, J.H., McCracken, J.D. & Warmbrod, J.R. (1992). Methods of teaching agriculture. 2nd edition. New York: Prentice Hall.

Talbert, B.A. (2005). Foundations of agricultural education. Danville, IL: Professional Educators Publications.