Agriculture education teacher cultivates confidence through student achievement

James Horn has been the agriculture education instructor and Future Farmers of America advisor at Newton High School for the past 16 years, and in that time he has never once gotten tired of seeing a shy freshman transform into a confident leader able to speak at giant convention halls in front of thousands of people.

“That’s pretty neat to see them build their confidence,” Horn said.

It is a story of growth that Horn is all too familiar with. As a student and a farm kid and a member of FFA, Horn cultivated valuable skills that he believes drove him to become a teacher and share his passion of agriculture with kids. Of course when you’re the ag teacher in a rural school district, you’re also the FFA advisor.

Which is fine by Horn, whose classroom is adorned with the National Blue and Corn Gold hues of FFA. Although in agriculture education the “classroom,” per se, extends beyond the school books and desks. Oftentimes Horn teaches lessons in the nearby greenhouse or garage, or even out in the fields.

Agriculture education is a three circle model: classroom instruction, supervised agricultural experience and FFA. The latter is a leadership organization that allows students to develop their own unique talents and explore interests in a broad range of agricultural career pathways. FFA is still going strong in Newton.

“FFA is a year-round activity. It’s throughout the school day and after school and during the summer,” Horn said. “The FFA allows kids to kind of compete and show off what they have learned in the classroom and through their SAE (supervised agricultural experience) projects.”

Competitions occur year-round so there are always opportunities for students to compete. Newton FFA has seen big successes, too. Especially this past year.

In October 2023, Newton FFA’s state champion Agronomy and Ag Mechanics teams represented Iowa during the 96th National FFA Convention.

Both teams earned high placements. The Agronomy team, consisting of Lauren VanManen, Austin Storm, Breanna Leaming and Madelyn Adkison, placed eighth in the nation. Meanwhile, the Ag Mechanics team of Tyler Guy, Colin Cummins, Landon Menninga and Wesley McElroy finished third in the nation.

During the Iowa FFA Convention this past April, nine members of Newton FFA received the Iowa FFA Degree, which Horn said is the highest degree students can earn at the state level. One member received a Reserve State Champion Proficiency Award for his achievements in his SAE project.

Newton FFA’s Farm Business Management team placed fifth at state convention, a team competed in the poultry judging contest and the Greenhand Quiz contest — the list goes on and on. Which is par the course for FFA. The amount of activities and competitions is practically endless, making it very accessible.

“There is so much going on all the time,” Horn said. “There is something for everybody as long as they are interested in agriculture and it’s within the ag program and within FFA … We’ve had some good success in the past few years. We had a horse team that also went to nationals the year before. It’s great.”

Degrees and awards are great, and Newton FFA students do love to set their sights on taking home a trophy, but Horn said the values they learn and their appreciation for agriculture they pick up along the way are more essential than any hardware they may earn.

“As our society gets further and further away from knowing where their food comes from, it’s essential that kids have some ag education in the school,” Horn said. “The FFA allows them to experience leadership opportunities on the local, state and international level that they’re not going to experience anywhere else.”

Currently, there are about 90 high school students who are members of the Newton FFA. While decreasing enrollment has had some effect on membership numbers, it is worth noting that FFA grew every year for 15 years since Horn took over as advisor.

Word of mouth spreads fast, and Horn said the best recruiters are the current FFA members who are enjoying what they are learning and what they are getting out of the program. Horn said he is fortunate enough to have the best students ever, many of which have him as a teacher all four years of high school.

“Which makes it kind of a special teacher-student bond there,” he said. “I’m very blessed with the kids that I have.”

What makes students want to stay in ag classes all four years? Horn said the hands-on learning process is a likely contributor. Although there are some farm kids in the class, Horn said a vast majority of his students do not come from farms or have any kind of farm background. For them, it’s a new experience.

“Probably 90 percent of my students don’t come from a farm … But it’s different than other classes,” he said. “I enjoy seeing kids reach potential they didn’t know that they had in leadership and academics and competitions. I like just seeing how good these kids can become within our program.”

Q&A WITH JAMES HORN:

What is your background with agriculture and FFA?

Horn: So I’m a graduate of Newton High School and I took ag classes here and grew up on a farm outside of Newton. Been around it my entire life. We currently farm as well south of town. It’s just always something I’ve had a passion for. I enjoyed the FFA in high school and I thought maybe I could do this for a living. Here I am.

What can you say about the status of ag education in Iowa?

Horn: As far as ag education, programs in the state are growing. We are adding new chapters every year. FFA membership in the state is growing. We’re at nearly 20,000 members across the state. National membership is growing. It’s hot right now. It’s a good time to be in agriculture. It’s a good time to be in ag education because the demand out there is tremendous.

So it sounds like the interest in agriculture is growing?

Horn: I mean yeah we’re seeing urban schools adding ag education courses. It’s an exciting time to be in the industry. We’re attracting maybe more non-traditional students due to the fact there is so much high technology in agriculture right now. There is a place for everybody within agriculture and with ag education, I think. It’s just growing by leaps and bounds.

What do you look forward to about coming to school every day?

Horn: I enjoy the challenge. I enjoy that I get to do something different every hour of the day. We get to be inside, outside. We get to go to competitions. So yeah there is always something fun around the corner to look forward to.

And you get to wear boots!

Horn: (laughs) And I get to wear boots.