Abstract
Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) has been a critical component of School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) for decades. Formally called the ‘home project’, Rufus Stimson developed the concept of SAE in the early 20th century. This work-based learning concept provides students with experiential instruction that strengthens their employability and technical skills. While SAE has a long-standing tradition in SBAE, little is known about its national economic impact. This study utilized data collected through the Agricultural Experience Tracker (AET) system to assess the economic impact of SAE nationally. Overall, there are approximately 8,690 agricultural education programs nationwide, with 6,752 of those programs utilizing the AET system. Upon further analysis, 1,932 programs only utilized AET for FFA award applications and did not input SAE records into the system. These programs were removed from the study, and data from 4,820 SBAE programs were analyzed for economic impact. It was determined that the average SBAE program has $98,672 in investments and $64,212 in income annually. In addition, students’ SAEs account for approximately $857 million in direct spending. These figures were utilized to derive national economic impact estimates utilizing the IMPLAN Type II Model. Overall, it is estimated that student SAE projects have an economic impact of approximately $1.6 billion nationally. This impact has implications for agricultural education professionals nationally and should be leveraged with key stakeholders including legislative officials, educational administrators, and other CTE professionals to advance the mission and goals of SBAE.