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Agricultural Education
Ag Ed in Missouri
Developments
shaping food, fiber and natural resource systems
Agricultural
Industry Employment
The
Vision and Mission of Agricultural Education
Agricultural
Education Delivery Systems
Missouri
Agriculture Enrollment Trends
Secondary
Agricultural Education in the Public Schools
Course
Offerings and Enrollments
Postsecondary
Agricultural Education
Adult
Agriculture
The
Development of Professional Teachers of Agriculture
Agriculture
as a Part of General Education
Agriculture and the food, fiber and natural resource system is
America’s most creative, productive and basic industry. Much of
this country’s success in agriculture can be attributed to sound
program of education. To advance a dynamic and efficient
agriculture, food & natural resource system and to assure the
continued well-being of our society, first-rate education must
continue to be a high priority. A cooperative effort among
educational institutions, government agencies and food, fiber and
natural resource-related businesses will help Missouri provide
leadership for the future through enhanced education.
Developments shaping food, fiber and natural resource systems
Participants representative of the food, fiber and natural resource industry were asked to identify the most important trends and developments over the next 30 years that will shape the future of agriculture and the food, fiber and natural resource systems. Five trends emerged as most important.
Accelerating globalization of
markets
Economic
globalization with increasing population and falling trade barriers
is taking us
toward a more competitive international marketplace for agricultural products in
which more countries will produce more kinds of foods and market them
on an international scale.
Growing public demands for
environmental protection and safe foods.
As
production increases worldwide, pressures will grow everywhere to protect prime
farmland from urban sprawl, conserve soil, safeguard water quality and
fisheries, use water more efficiently, protect remaining wildlife habitats, and
ensure a safe and healthy food supply.
Increasing reliance on
technology.
Advances in
computers, communications, information, biotechnology and other areas of
technology will greatly affect education, agriculture, and the operation of the
food, fiber and natural resource systems.
Decline public understanding
of Agriculture, Food, Fiber and Natural Resource Systems.
The general
population is increasingly cut off from both direct experience and education related
to Agriculture, which has serious repercussions in terms of ill-informed
consumer behavior, public opinion, regulation and political decision-making.
A more highly trained and
diverse workforce.
A more
diverse, highly trained workforce will be needed to manage the development of
food, fiber and natural resource systems so that they will be competitive in the
global marketplace and successful in an industry whose structure is
changing.
Agricultural Industry Employment
Agriculture
employs one out of every 6.6 workers in Missouri. (MDA, 2004)
Agriculture/agribusiness
provides 540,268 jobs which is more than 16.8% of Missouri's employment. (ERS, 1995)
Missouri ranks 13th
in the U.S. in agriculture employment.
The number of middle-size
farms (as measured by sales) is diminishing, while small and large farms are growing in
number.
Three of four farms are
operated by part-time farmers.
Missouri
has 107,000 farms which rank second in the nation. (Missouri Farm
Facts, 2003)
The Vision and Mission of Agricultural Education
A vision and mission statement for Agricultural Education was developed in 2000 through the Reinventing Agricultural Education for the Year 2020 Task Force; a cooperative effort of practitioners, students, government and industry. The statements have been adopted by the National Council for Agricultural Education family to guide future progress and emphasis. They are as follows:
Vision: All people value
and understand the vital role of agriculture and natural resources
in advancing personal and global well-being.
Mission: Prepare students for successful careers and a lifetime of informed choices in the global agriculture and natural resource systems.
Agricultural Education Delivery Systems
Agricultural education prepares secondary, postsecondary and adult students for a variety of careers and for advanced college or technical training. Career opportunities for students range from the traditional entry-level positions in farming to positions in agribusiness, horticulture and forestry. Agriculture training is delivered by the following programs: four-year "cluster" programs at comprehensive high schools and area vocational schools; two-year community/junior college "specific" programs; and "supplemental" and "specific" adult education in high schools, area vocational schools and community/junior colleges. At each level, training programs consist of three interrelated components:
A. Classroom/laboratory instruction using the "problem-solving" technique.
B. Supervised agricultural experience in
which each student gains "hands-on"
experience outside the classroom.
C. Leadership development through the FFA
in high school, PAS at the
postsecondary institutions, and Young
Farmers for adults currently employed in
agriculture
Missouri Agriculture Enrollment Trends
The following table shows total enrollment in secondary, postsecondary and adult agriculture programs. High school agriculture enrollment has increased steadily since 1985 and is currently at an all time high. This reverses a trend of declining enrollment that began in 1977. Factors which contribute to the increasing enrollment have not been formally studied, but teachers and others indicate they believe that: 1) the economic improvement of agriculture affects attitudes of parents, students and counselors toward enrolling; and 2) while high school graduation requirements and college admission requirements appear to be making it more difficult for some students to enroll, agriculture programs have increased flexibility. Postsecondary enrollment has also increased in response to a changing agriculture and the public attitude about the future of agriculture and has experienced increases since 1987-88. Adult enrollment has fluctuated since reaching a peak enrollment in 1984-85.
|
Total Student Enrollment |
|||||
|
Year |
No.
of |
Secondary |
Junior High |
Post secondary |
Adult** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2004-05 |
301 |
25,162 |
10,798 |
|
|
|
2003-04 |
294 |
23,827 |
9,611 |
2,797 |
2,630 |
|
2002-03 |
291 |
22,952 |
9,850 |
2,756 |
2,637 |
|
2001-02 |
286 |
21,800 |
9,850 |
3,102 |
2,373 |
|
2000-01 |
284 |
21,174 |
7,665 |
950 |
2,435 |
|
1999-2000 |
277 |
21,196 |
7,146 |
728 |
2,308 |
|
1998-99 |
266 |
20,616 |
7,620 |
661 |
3,181 |
|
1997-98 |
266 |
20,942 |
7,678 |
702 |
3,068 |
|
1996-97 |
263 |
20,169 |
6,717 |
842 |
2,906 |
|
1995-96 |
258 |
19,048 |
5,571 |
672 |
3,340 |
|
1994-95 |
253 |
18,205 |
4,545 |
672 |
2,594 |
|
1993-94 |
249 |
17,441 |
4,428 |
651 |
3,076 |
|
1992-93 |
247 |
16,652 |
4,071 |
681 |
2,704 |
|
1991-92 |
245 |
15,132 |
2,950 |
680 |
3,007 |
|
1990-91 |
245 |
13,920 |
|
602 |
3,650 |
|
1989-90 |
244 |
13,993 |
|
477 |
4,190 |
|
1988-89 |
243 |
13,705 |
|
405 |
3,803 |
|
1987-88 |
244 |
13,555 |
|
371 |
3,721 |
|
1986-87 |
244 |
13,443 |
|
471 |
3,852 |
|
1985-86 |
245 |
12,865 |
|
408 |
5,743 |
|
1984-85 |
245 |
13,325 |
|
517 |
6,243 |
|
1983-84 |
242 |
14,360 |
|
649 |
5,224 |
|
1982-83 |
240 |
14,474 |
|
613 |
5,073 |
|
1981-82 |
238 |
14,721 |
|
838 |
4,947 |
|
|||||
|
Secondary Agricultural Education in the Public Schools
Agricultural
education has been a part of the public education system
throughout the history of our country.
When the Latin grammar schools gave way to the
academies of the late 1700s, agricultural courses were
sometimes included in the curriculum.
While these were general theoretical courses, many
states made them a requirement for graduation.
With the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917,
many general agriculture courses were replaced with a course
called "vocational agriculture."
This change from a general to a vocational focus was
not well accepted by certain groups, and therefore the new
courses were not included in all public school curricula.
The goal of the vocational agriculture program was
"to prepare young people for employment in farming.”
After the National FFA Organization was founded in
1928 and became an integral part of vocational agriculture,
the total program was adopted by many public schools. |
|||||
|
Course
Offerings and Enrollments |
|||||||||
| Courses | 96-97 | 97-98 | 98-99 | 99-00 | 00-01 | 01-02 | 02-03 | 03-04 | 04-05 |
|
Ag Science I |
246 |
263 |
255 |
263 |
268 |
274 |
291 |
294 |
292 |
|
Ag Science II |
218 |
227 |
234 |
238 |
241 |
237 |
263 |
266 |
261 |
|
Agricultural Mgmt/Economics |
118 |
11 |
107 |
103 |
88 |
98 |
101 |
91 |
98 |
|
Animal Science |
112 |
123 |
114 |
109 |
120 |
112 |
156 |
136 |
124 |
|
Crop Science |
49 |
53 |
33 |
47 |
39 |
46 |
34 |
34 |
39 |
|
Agricultural Sales & Marketing |
87 |
86 |
88 |
79 |
86 |
95 |
92 |
95 |
82 |
|
Agricultural Power I |
58 |
84 |
72 |
68 |
73 |
72 |
74 |
76 |
69 |
|
Agricultural Power II |
15 |
20 |
20 |
18 |
21 |
18 |
17 |
17 |
21 |
|
Agricultural Machine |
15 |
27 |
24 |
28 |
31 |
35 |
38 |
32 |
44 |
|
Agricultural Structures |
114 |
115 |
123 |
114 |
117 |
108 |
133 |
123 |
127 |
|
Agricultural Construction |
198 |
225 |
193 |
196 |
208 |
206 |
287 |
289 |
284 |
|
Soil & Water Management |
12 |
12 |
8 |
11 |
11 |
5 |
11 |
11 |
9 |
|
Floriculture |
45 |
50 |
42 |
46 |
46 |
45 |
72 |
62 |
64 |
|
Greenhouse Operation/Mgmt. |
86 |
107 |
107 |
117 |
122 |
142 |
174 |
170 |
179 |
|
Nursery Operation & Management |
20 |
17 |
19 |
13 |
19 |
17 |
25 |
22 |
16 |
|
Turf Mgmt. |
10 |
11 |
12 |
10 | |||||