An agricultural education program is made up of three integrated parts: Classroom instruction, FFA and Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE).
Students with an SAE learn by doing. SAE's are planned, practical activities conducted outside of class time that help students develop and apply agriculture knowledge and skills learned within the classroom. With help from their agricultural teachers, students develop an SAE project based on one or more SAE categories:
Entrepreneurship Student owns and operates an agricultural business such as: a lawn care service, a pay-to-fish operation or a holiday poinsettia production and sales operation.
Placement Student gets a job or internship on a farm or ranch, at an agriculture-based business, or in a school or factory laboratory.
Research and Experimentation Plan and conduct a scientific experiment. (e.g. Determine whether the phases of the moon affect plant growth, or test and determine the efficacy of different welding methods.)
Exploratory Explore careers in agriculture by attending an agriculture career fair, or creating a report or documentary on the work of a veterinarian.