Focusing on the History of Agricultural Education and Rural America
In February of 2008, Clint Hostler, a FFA member at Northwest High School in Grand Island, Nebraska wore a shirt that said “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Red Tractors.” The occasion was a FFA week event where FFA members drove Continue reading Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Red Tractors (3/27/2026)
How many songs can you name about tractors? The Keno Tractor dealership in Keno, Oregon lists what they consider to be the top five tractor songs. They are: Big Green Tractor by Jason Aldean A Man on a Tractor by Rodney Atkins Continue reading The John Deere Waterloo Boy Model N (3/20/2026)
Today we have a special guest columnist, Dr. Troy White from the University of Nebraska. He will educate us about the various contests that have been held for agricultural students in Nebraska for over 100 years. Take it away Dr. Continue reading The Nebraska State High School Agriculture Contests (3/13/2026)
This week the Friday Footnote travels to Nebraska. We start our Nebraska journey in 1913 by asking five questions: What is a Shumway Act School? In addition to agriculture, what two other vocational subjects were to be taught in Shumway Continue reading What is a Shumway Act School? (3/6/2026)
While reams of paper have been written about various aspects of the history of agricultural education one sees little in print about the veterans’ on-the-farm training program. All states, including Montana, operated training programs for World War II and Korean Continue reading On-The-Farm Veterans Training in Montana (2/27/2026)