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Ag Educators

A group of nine people, wearing casual jeans and jackets, stand in front of a large agricultural machine at an indoor event. They pose for the photo with smiles. The setting appears industrial with exposed beams and concrete flooring.

Teaching Life Skills

In the far reaches of northwest Missouri, there’s an FFA program where students operate two full greenhouses, an 8-acre row crop farm raising corn and soybeans, and a 3-acre livestock farm. This organization has two, 300-gallon tanks to raise catfish and tilapia and an aquaponics system that uses water from […]

Two men proudly hold a sign reading Missouri High School BBQ Association 2022 1st Place Ribs at an Osceola event. The man on the left sports a green plaid shirt, while the man on the right dons a camo jacket. Behind them, a yellow wall and counter set the scene.

Project-Baste Learning

Osceola students win national BBQ championship. National champion. That’s something few Missouri FFA chapters achieve. National food champion. That’s something no Missouri FFA chapter has ever achieved until the Osceola High School FFA BBQ team, directed by Charles (“Chuck”) Simpson, did so at the World Food Championship in Dallas in […]

A group of people, mostly students in matching dark blue jackets, pose in rows inside a church with two large circular stained glass designs on the walls. A man in a light shirt stands to the left. The setting is bright and formal.

Unconventional Lessons Prepare Slater FFA Students for the Future

Becoming an agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor at Slater (Mo.) High School was a no-brainer for Zach Crews. His father, Paul Crews, was a Slater schools agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor for more than 20 years and a Slater high school principal for seven. His father even had […]

Two people are observing animals in a pen. One person is wearing a blue face mask and a white shirt, while the other wears a jacket. There is straw on the ground, and a pig can be seen in the background.

Elsberry FFA Emphasizes Diverse Ag Experiences

“There’s a little bit of everything for any type of personality or interest group,” ag teacher Sarah Ray said of the Elsberry (Mo.) FFA Chapter, which she leads with Jason Vandivort. That may be an understatement. Elsberry FFA students have one of the widest ranges of hands-on learning opportunities, which […]

Three people stand indoors. Two men hold framed certificates with gold seals and red, white, and blue ribbons. A woman stands between them, wearing a dark blazer and a white blouse. They appear to be at an official event.

What role does FFA have in the 21st Century?

Jason Dieckhoff and Marshall Streit teach ag at the Cass Career Center in Harrisonville, Mo. The center, which draws about 120 ag students from five area high schools, has had great success. Neither teacher likes to boast, though maybe they should. The two were named Harrisonville Community Teachers of the […]

A group of people on stage wearing blue jackets and smiling. One person holds a trophy. A blue backdrop with diagonal stripes is behind them.

Paris FFA Named Top Chapter in America

The Paris (Mo.) FFA chapter won the National Model of Excellence, the award for the top chapter in the country, at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October 2021. How do you become No. 1 among nearly 9,000 chapters? By going beyond teaching basic ag and science, bake and […]

A group of young people and an adult pose for a selfie in a crowded indoor setting. Some wear navy jackets with yellow embroidered emblems. Two individuals wear paper hats with multicolored ears. They are all smiling.

Tapping into a Historic Rivalry to Fund FFA Activities

Brookfield wins! Brookfield FFA, that is. The prize: a cowbell. Not just any cowbell; the FFA version of the Bell Game prize. The annual Bell Game, between the high school football teams of Brookfield, Mo., and nearby Marceline, is one of the oldest sports rivalries in America. It is called […]

A man in a cowboy hat shakes hands with a younger man in a blue jacket at an indoor event. The younger man holds a plaque, and they both smile. Other people are visible in the background.

Beefing Up Learning

More than half the students at Ash Grove High School are food insecure. That’s a shocking figure for Lawrence County, Missouri’s top county for beef cattle. It’s especially astonishing considering southwest Missouri is among the leading cattle production areas in the country, and the Show-Me State is home to the […]

Man with glasses, dark curly hair, and a beard, smiling. Hes wearing a white shirt and a patterned tie, standing against a plain background.

Chad Murphy Leads ‘an Average Chapter’ That is Anything but Average

Chad Murphy is the ag education instructor for Versailles High School, Morgan County R-II, and sponsors the local FFA chapter, which he humbly characterizes as “a well-rounded program, a good average chapter.” He teaches Agriculture Science I for freshmen, Agriculture Science II for sophomores, Agriculture Construction (shop work, welding), a […]

A smiling graduate in cap and gown stands beside a woman in a floral top. They are inside a gymnasium with red and black bleachers and championship banners on the walls.

It’s About the Kids

Lesley Newsom, ag instructor and FFA advisor for Senath-Hornersville High School in Senath, Mo., keeps busy with lesson planning, teaching topics ranging from plant science to animal husbandry to biotechnology, and even welding and construction. And that’s not counting the fundraising, bus driving, early mornings, after-hours work and weekends she […]

Not Just Cows and Plows

Dean Reichel, ag teacher and FFA advisor at New Bloomfield R-III, goes above and beyond to make a difference. That’s a cliché in today’s cynical age, but it’s true in his case. He’s making lesson plans for eighth to 12th grade ag education classes that, thanks to COVID-19, he knows […]

A group of smiling people dressed in dark jackets stands around a Thompson Hall sign outdoors, with trees in the background.

Embracing the Art of Teaching Ag

Ag Educators Series Life changed in spring 2020. People stopped going to work, the movies and restaurants. They even stopped hanging out together. It was literally a matter of life and death. But ag workers kept working. You don’t get days off on a farm. That includes school farms, like […]

Ag Educators

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