The New Generation and Agriculture Education

 The world population is predicted to reach 9.7 billion by the year 2050. With that increase, agriculture production must increase to feed this growing population. Yet, we still have children avoiding agriculture classes because of a stereotype associated with the agriculture industry. 

Children observing and working in a greenhouse 

How can we get this new generation of students interested in agriculture and better prepare us for the future?

The answer to this question tends to have a more complex answer but is actually very simple. Students need to be in agriculture classes in order to see the driving force behind our state, country, and world.  With a stigma that agriculture classes are only for kids who grew up on a farm or kids who want to be a vet, students do not realize the opportunities that lie ahead of them by participating in agriculture education. In some school systems, these students have the opportunity to be involved in agriculture education and the FFA from 7th and 8th grade on. The ag classroom provides students with hands-on learning while building life skills. The FFA mission statement says that the point of the organization and the classroom as well is to develop premier leadership, personal growth, and career success. 

Even if students know they are wanting to pursue a career outside of agriculture, the education of where their food comes from, how the industry works as a whole, and the lifelong impact it will have is enough to get them into the classroom. From there, they may find a career pathway they never knew about or at least gain knowledge so they can advocate for the industry while also developing character and work ethic. With a new generation that is disconnected from the outdoors and mostly connected to technology, agriculture is an eye-opener to reality that gets students in the field, barn, shop, greenhouse, and more.

Me receiving my FFA American Degree

I grew up on a cattle farm in rural Tennessee. I grew up in agriculture and never knew the life outside of it. I knew the day I started high school that I would be in agriculture classes and the FFA all four years. I can hardly imagine how my life would be if that was not the case, but I have often thought how different my life would have been without the agriculture classroom. I would still be farming, I would still be advocating for agriculture, but would I have majored in agriculture education? Would I have met the life long friends I made throughout high school and college because of my ag classes? Would I have gotten the same experiences and met the many influential people I have met because of it? 

My hope and dream is that in the upcoming years students realize the significance agriculture plays in our world and make the step into that agriculture classroom.