SUE Pratt and Carolyn Johnson have a few things in common, but a shared passion for teaching agriculture would probably top the list.

Sue is South Australia’s lead agriculture teacher – a role appointed last year to help boost agriculture teaching in the state – and Carolyn is Karoonda Area School’s ag teacher.

Sue said teaching agriculture in schools was “crucial” for the future.

“Students are more disconnected than ever from where their food and fibre comes from, and as consumers many are making buying decisions without personal experience of farming,” she said.

“An agriculture program can explain different production systems and encourage informed debate based on facts not emotions.

“We know that many schools do not have teachers with experience or confidence in teaching this area, so programs like the one Carolyn is delivering at Karoonda are beneficial for the students and highly valued by the community.

“There are also incredible career opportunities within agriculture and having ag as a subject at school can be the key to exposing students to the possibilities and sparking the interest that leads them into rewarding and interesting careers.”

Karoonda Area School has long had an agriculture program, starting as far back as in the 1970s under the stewardship of Sandy Loffler.

It is a compulsory part of the middle school curriculum, relating to other STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects, along with being highly relevant to Karoonda’s farming community.

“Students learn about a diverse range of agriculture, with a focus on local industries,” Carolyn said.

“Topics include farm safety, rearing poultry, agricultural zones, rearing calves, sheep and cattle, broad acre cropping, vegetable gardens, farm management, ag tech, biosecurity and more.

Students find it relatable but it also helps context them with job opportunities in our community as well as expanding their experiences to jobs they may have not heard of.

“Some students thrive due to the increase of engagement in their learning, as it is a way for them to apply knowledge in a practical way.”

Karoonda students learn the entire paddock to plate experience, including cooking the end products, and exhibiting at the Royal Adelaide Show – where the school has had considerable success, for example bringing home overall champion school wether fleece and best presented show team. 

“We have a small orchard and vegetable garden where we harvest apricots, peaches, plums and zucchinis to produce jams, pickles, and sauce,” Carolyn said.

“It is driven by wanting the students to see the paddock to plate complete process, where students participate in producing raw commodities and then value add to produce a saleable product to our community.

“Students always enjoy practically learning new skills and applying the theoretical concepts that they learn.

“Preparing animals for the Adelaide Show is always a highlight, and in recent years we have added our school’s Show Day where students showcase what they have been learning in agriculture to peers, school community and parents.”

Sue said learning agriculture also teaches key skills such as teamwork, taking responsibility and problem solving.

“The practical nature of agriculture in schools can be very important in providing balance for students in their school day,” she said.

Having the opportunity to be outdoors and working with their hands is very beneficial on many levels like keeping an active body and mind, (while) engaging with living things is always therapeutic.

“I have certainly seen that students really appreciate how ag can provide perspective and purpose in ways that are not so easily achieved in other subjects.”

She said with food production having to double within our lifetime to feed the world, ag studies were becoming increasingly important.

“Learning about agriculture at school is absolutely vital to attract the best and brightest minds in agriculture and help solve this global problem in ways that take care of the people, the environment and the future,” Sue said.

“I would like all South Australian schools to have strong ag programs that reflect the innovative and tech-rich nature of commercial food and fibre production.

“This would mean a serious investment in training more ag teachers and also infrastructure for school farms to ensure programs are vibrant, engaging and meeting industry expectations.

“If you work in primary production or anywhere across the food and fibre production chain, contact your local school and see how you can help to make sure every South Australian student is learning about farming, how it is evolving and where it can take them.”