Supervised Agricultural Experience

Students with an ownership type SAE own the enterprise, equipment and supplies, make the management decisions and assume the financial risks to produce a product or provide a service. All products or services must be agriculturally related. 

A few examples would include:

• raising and selling animals or crops

• building and selling agricultural equipment 

• buying and reselling feed, seed or fertilizer 

• owning a pet care business 

• owning a lawn mowing business 

• owning a wood cutting business

For more SAE Ideas scroll down to the links.

Placement/Internship programs involve the placement (working for someone or company) of students in agriculture, food or natural resources-related businesses to provide a "learning by doing" environment. These experiences may be paid or un-paid. 

Examples would include: 

• working on a farm or a ranch

• working in a farm supply store 

• working in a food testing laboratory 

• working in a agriculturally related store or business

• working in a agriculturally related non-profit organization.

For more SAE Ideas scroll down to the links.

Foundational SAEs have five focus areas – career exploration and planning, personal financial management and planning, workplace safety, agricultural literacy, and employability skills for college and career readiness these our often-called exploratory SAE projects.

Exploratory SAEs are appropriate for all agriculture students. This SAE activity is usually beginner level, short 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.

Examples would be:

• researching requirements for an agricultural career

• creating an agricultural awareness literature or program

• creating a shop safety presentation

• learning to tie fishing fly's

For more SAE Ideas scroll down to the links.

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 shop

• managing or working in a school store

For more SAE Ideas scroll down to the links.

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, religious institution or non-profit organization. The student(s) are responsible for raising 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 amongst students.  It must provide benefits to another organization, group or individuals other than the FFA chapter.   

Examples include:

• Organizing and running a canned food drive for a food bank.

• Planning and implementing a farmers' market

For more SAE Ideas scroll down to the links.

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 

• conducting research on the best fertilization methods in plants

• research could also be done to study consumer reactions to agricultural products 

• research to determine the best method of welding to hold together a plow.

For more SAE Ideas scroll down to the links.