Sowing the Future: Why Agriculture Education Must Be a Core Subject
- Jenna Girman
- Sep 7
- 5 min read
Here’s the thing: we eat food every single day, yet most people couldn’t tell you the first thing about where that food actually comes from.
Don’t believe me? A recent survey found that 7% of American adults think chocolate milk comes from brown cows. That’s about 16 million people. And it doesn’t stop there — nearly 1 in 5 adults didn’t know hamburgers come from beef, and in some schools, 40% of kids didn’t know hamburgers come from cows either.
I wish I was joking.
This isn’t just funny trivia for awkward small talk — it’s a symptom of a much bigger problem: we’ve failed to teach an entire generation the basics of agriculture. And before you roll your eyes and say, “Well, I don’t need to know how to farm,” hear me out: this isn’t about turning everyone into a farmer.
This is about giving people the tools to make smarter choices about their food, their health, and their future.
Right now, agricultural education has been treated like an optional hobby instead of what it should be: a core subject — right up there with math, science, and English. And the result? A massive knowledge gap, a public vulnerable to misinformation, and a generation completely disconnected from one of the most basic human needs: food.
How We Got Here
In the 1800s, U.S. education reformers created what became our “core subjects” — reading, writing, and arithmetic. Over time, science, history, and literature joined the list. These subjects were considered “universal” knowledge — the stuff everyone needed to function in society.
Agriculture? It got shoved into a box labeled “vocational.” In 1917, the Smith-Hughes Act funded agriculture programs in schools — but only under career and technical education. Translation: if you were a farm kid planning to raise cattle, you took ag. Everyone else? You moved along.
Fast forward 100 years, and less than 2% of Americans work on farms, compared to about 90% in 1790. But instead of recognizing that this disconnect makes agricultural literacy more important than ever, we doubled down on math, science, and English — and quietly let agriculture slip off the priority list entirely.
Today, most schools only offer agriculture as an elective… if at all. And let’s be honest: electives are often treated like filler, not essentials. That’s a huge problem when we’re talking about the thing that literally keeps us alive.
The Agricultural Literacy Crisis
When less than 2% of the population grows the food, the other 98% are left with almost zero firsthand exposure to where it comes from. The result? Widespread confusion — and a population that’s primed for fear, misinformation, and manipulation.
Scroll social media for five minutes and you’ll find endless claims: “Chemicals in your
vegetables,” “Hormones in your meat,” “GMOs are going to alter your DNA.” Fear-based headlines trend because most people don’t have the background knowledge to fact-check any of it.
And it’s not just about grocery store panic. Agricultural illiteracy affects policy. Laws, regulations, and public debates on everything from GMOs to sustainability are often shaped by voters who don’t know the science or economics behind farming. That lack of understanding leads to decisions based on feelings, not facts — and corporations know it, which is why you see food labels plastered with terms like “natural,” “chemical-free,” and “hormone-free,” even when they mean absolutely nothing.
It also hits home for health. Studies show that when kids learn where their food comes from — when they grow vegetables, understand milk production, or care for livestock — they’re more likely to make better food choices. They eat more fruits and vegetables. They’re more adventurous with new foods. Knowledge literally changes habits.
Why Agriculture Belongs in the Core Subjects
If we can require kids to understand calculus, Shakespeare, and the periodic table, we can require them to understand the system that sustains their life.
Agricultural education teaches:
• Science — Plant biology, soil health, animal nutrition, and climate impacts
• Math — Calculating yields, analyzing sustainability, budgeting for crops
• Economics — How food prices, trade, and policy affect everyone
• Health & Nutrition — How food choices shape lifelong wellbeing
• Environmental Stewardship — How agriculture interacts with our land, water, and climate
This isn’t about memorizing tractor brands or forcing kids into farming careers. It’s about basic literacy in the system that feeds us all. And right now, we’re failing at that.
Proof That It Works
The good news? We already know agricultural education works — and students want it.
FFA (Future Farmers of America) now has over 1 million student members across the country. And it’s not just rural kids — urban chapters are thriving, with students studying food science, sustainability, and agribusiness alongside leadership skills.
Agriculture in the Classroom brings agriculture into existing subjects for 5 million students annually, tying farming into lessons on science, economics, and history. Teachers report higher engagement and better comprehension when agriculture
connects to what students are already learning.
School gardens are transforming education. Thousands of schools now have kids growing produce, learning hands-on about biology, and in many cases, supplying their cafeterias. Kids learn more, eat better, and actually enjoy it.
Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences — a public magnet school on a 72-acre working farm — delivers a full college-prep curriculum alongside agricultural education. Students graduate at significantly higher rates than the district average, proving that ag education and academic rigor can work hand in hand.
The model is there. It’s time to scale it.
Where We Go From Here
This isn’t about making everyone a farmer. It’s about building a generation of informed citizens who understand the system that keeps them alive, make smarter food choices, and can tackle the enormous challenges ahead: feeding a growing population, navigating climate change, and securing sustainable food systems.
But here’s the hard truth: this won’t happen without action.
If we want agricultural education to be taken seriously, we have to start the conversation —
in schools, in communities, and with decision-makers. And that starts with us.
Here’s what you can do right now:
Share this blog with your local agriculture teachers, school administrators, and educators.
Post it on Facebook groups, tag your state FFA chapters, and bring it to your school boards. We need every voice at the table if we want #MakeAgCore to become reality.
Because here’s the bottom line: if we can require students to memorize the Pythagorean theorem, we can absolutely require them to know where their hamburger came from.
It’s time to plant the seed for change. Let’s make agriculture a core subject — together.
About the author:
Jenna is a graduate researcher, ag communicator, and current Ph.D. student who’s passionate about cutting through the noise surrounding food and farming. With years of experience studying consumer behavior and advocating for farmers and ranchers, she’s here to help you rethink what you thought you knew about your food—one myth at a time.
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