S.A.E. Supervised Agriculture Experience

Agricultural education is built on a powerful three-part model: classroom instruction, FFA involvement, and Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE). The SAE is a vital, hands-on component of every student’s journey in ag education — and it’s where classroom learning truly comes to life.
Every student in our program participates in an SAE project tailored to their interests and career goals. Whether it’s raising animals, working in ag mechanics, exploring plant science, or interning in the veterinary field, students gain valuable real-world experience.
SAEs help students:

• Discover and explore career paths
  
• Build technical and professional skills
  
• Practice workplace responsibility and safety
  
• Apply academic knowledge in real or simulated work settings
  

From entrepreneurship to research to paid placements, SAE projects prepare students for success after high school by helping them develop a strong work ethic, a clear vision for their future, and confidence in their abilities.

To further define the types of SAE programs available to and appropriate for students in school-based agricultural education, refer to the following examples:

Ownership/Entrepreneurship – Students with an ownership/entrepreneurship SAE own the enterprise, equipment, and supplies. They make management decisions and assume financial risks when producing a product or providing a service. All products or services must be related to agriculture. Examples include raising and selling animals or crops, building and selling agricultural equipment, buying and reselling feed, seed, or fertilizer, owning a pet care business, or operating a business that programs and installs computer equipment in tractors.

Placement/Internship--Placement/Internship programs involve the placement of students in agriculture, food, or natural resources-related businesses to provide a "learning by doing" environment. These experiences may be paid or unpaid. Examples would include working on a farm or a ranch, in a farm supply store or a food testing laboratory, or in an agriculturally related non-profit organization.

Research--In a research SAE, students plan and conduct major agricultural experiments using the scientific process and discover new knowledge. As part of the research, students verify and demonstrate or learn about scientific principles in agriculture. Research SAEs can be entrepreneurial or placement. Research SAEs can be conducted alone or cooperatively with other students or mentors/employers. Examples would include conducting research on the most efficient feed supplements for livestock or the best fertilization methods for plants. Research could also be done to study consumer reactions to agricultural products or to determine the best method of welding to hold together a plow.

Exploratory -Exploratory SAEs are appropriate for all agriculture students. This SAE activity is usually beginner level, short-term term and designed primarily to help students become literate in agriculture and/or become aware of possible careers in the AFNR career cluster. Exploratory SAEs should help students create a larger, more focused SAE.

School-Based Enterprise -This type of SAE is student-managed, can be entrepreneurial or placement, and takes place in a school setting outside of regularly scheduled class time. The project needs to provide goods and services that meet the needs of an identified market and should replicate the workplace environment as closely as possible. Examples of school based enterprises may include, but are not limited to, cooperative livestock raising in a school facility; managing or working in a school garden, a land lab or a greenhouse; agricultural research done at the school; agricultural equipment fabrication or equipment maintenance services done using school facilities; or managing or working in a school store.

Service-Learning -Service-learning is a student-managed service activity where students are involved in the development of a needs assessment, planning the goals, objectives, and budget, implementation of the activity, promotion, and evaluation of a chosen project. It may be for a school, a community organization, a religious institution, or a non‐profit organization. The student(s) are responsible for raising the necessary funds for the project (if funds are needed). A project must be a stand‐alone project and not part of an ongoing chapter project or community fundraiser. Service-learning SAEs may be individual or a small group effort among students.

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