Agriculturalists play a vital role supporting students’ supervised agricultural experience projects
Students across the country are actively engaged in agricultural education through supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs), but often require support to make these projects successful.
SAE projects enable students to apply what they learn in the classroom to the real world through hands-on learning. For students with financial, geographic or travel challenges, additional guidance and resources help make these projects a reality.
Due to the intense volume of project handling required, agriculture teachers are constantly looking for ways to bridge the gap for the students who need it most. Community leaders, farmers and agriculturalists can be valuable assets to provide mentorship and learning opportunities in related fields.
From grandparents teaching grandchildren to take over the farm, to neighbors offering advice across fence lines, in agriculture, the tradition of passing knowledge from one generation to the next runs deep.
Today, that same spirit is appearing in new ways, as farmers and local agribusinesses reach out to members of the National FFA Organization to help them launch and sustain their SAE projects. While their involvement may look different from project to project, even the smallest contribution can make a huge impact.
“Reach out to the ag teacher in your community,” said Kisia Holland, an agricultural educator at Alma High School. “That is the easiest way to get involved with the students and see what they are really needing.”
Much like FFA members across the country, students from the Alma FFA chapter have worked to connect with community leaders to strengthen their ties to the industry to create ongoing opportunities.
One student interested in agricultural mechanics partnered with a local fabrication company to powder coat her exhibit. Through that partnership, she improved her techniques and completed a metal goat walker for the Arkansas Youth Expo mechanics show.
Another student worked with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff to learn the importance of research. In doing so, he developed an interest in fish hatcheries. That connection led to scholarships, industry contacts and skills he can apply to his own research.
The National FFA organization defines SAEs into four different types: placement, entrepreneurship, research and exploratory. While the entrepreneurship and research SAEs allow students to take some creative freedoms and develop projects on their own, placement and exploratory SAEs solely rely on an outside individual with an established career.
A placement SAE project puts the student directly into the career, giving them an opportunity to learn and experience life in a career that interests them. This SAE is in many ways similar to an internship.
On the other hand, an exploratory SAE focuses more on observations and research. These projects dive deeper into what the career looks like as a whole and how to get there. Exploratory SAEs are great for students with very little or no agricultural experience to learn from those in the community.
“When someone local invests in our students, it makes our students more likely to come back home for a job,” Holland said.
It is relationships like these that remind students of the potential careers and opportunities they have available to them right in their backyard.
