Supervised Agricultural Experience Program

The Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) program involves practical agricultural activities performed by students outside of scheduled classroom and laboratory time. SAEs provide a method in agricultural education for students to receive real-world career experiences in an area of agriculture that they are most interested in. Supervised Agricultural Experiences are an important component of agricultural education and are required element of all Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (AFNR) courses as explained by the Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 130, Subchapter A.

FOUNDATIONAL SAE
All students enrolled in an AFNR course (at all grade levels) are expected to have an SAE.  Foundational SAEs support a student's career interest.  Projects and experiential learning activities for all types of SAEs will develop the student in each of these five Foundational component areas: 

1. Career Exploration

2. Employability Skills & College Readiness

3. Personal Financial Management

4. Workplace Safety

5. Agricultural Literacy Immersion SAEs (traditional SAEs) are developed here.

IMMERSION SAE

Immersion SAEs are an extension of the Agricultural Literacy component of the Foundational SAE and will contribute to a student's growth in all of the Foundational components in an authentic, contextualized manner.  The five Immersion SAE categories build upon the Foundational SAE components in a real-world application. 

1.Placement/Internship SAE:  The student is in an employment setting (paid or unpaid).  This experience must provide opportunity for development and advancement of skills and abilities aligned  to the AFNR Technical Standards and Career Ready Practices.

2. Ownership/Entrepreneurship SAE:  The student operates an individual business which provides goods and/or services to the marketplace in the ownership aspect.  The student transitions to an entrepreneurship SAE once the ownership SAE is enhanced to contain or meet additional criteria.*Raising and selling animals of any species is production agriculture and does not fit the agribusiness category.*

3. Research: Experimental, Analysis or Invention SAE:  The student will be involved in an investigation of materials, processes and information to establish new knowledge or the validation of previous research. 

4. School-Based Enterprise SAE:  A group of two or more students will work cooperatively outside of normal class time to create a business enterprise that provides goods and services.  They operate their enterprise from the school campus utilizing facilities, equipment and other resources provided by the AFNR program or the school.  

5.  Service Learning SAE:  Conducted by one or more students in which they plan, conduct and evaluate a project designed to provide a service to a school, public entity or the community.  It must provide benefits to another organization, group or individuals other than the FFA chapter.