Plant Yourself in Ag Day

Held in conjunction with National Teach Ag Day, the third Thursday of September, this program also serves as a capstone experience for Agricultural and Extension Education (AEE) undergraduate students who gain firsthand experience in planning and delivering ag education programming.

This all-day event showcases Penn State's cutting-edge agricultural research and provides School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) students and their teachers with opportunities to explore career across agricultural sciences, technology, and environmental stewardship.

Following the strong success of our 2024 pilot, we worked to scale our impact in 2025. In 2026 our goal is to develop sustainable support for the program. And in 2027, replicability will be focus our efforts so we can continue to offer robust program content year after year.

• Target 300 SBAE students (up from 100 in 2024, 200 in 2025) plus thier teachers from a dozen regional high schools
• Include AEE pre-service teachers as research translators and program co-presenters
• Fifteen Penn State research-based teams (up from 3 in 2024, 12 in 2025)
• A new "Here to Career" session for all participants to hear from recent graduates in various fields of agriculture, sharing their journey from high school to careers
• Interactive stations, farm tours, science demonstrations, and a career and college EXPO
  Value for Stakeholders

This initiative meets the shared priorities of Penn State, agricultural industry stakeholders, sponsors, and secondary educators by:

• Supporting teacher training and workforce development
• Creating direct connections between students and industry professionals
• Fostering excitement for agriculture as a modern, STEM-rich career field
• Providing a learning laboratory for preservice teachers in the undergraduate AEE program
• Mentoring graduate students as they translate their science for diverse audiences, fostering the development of the impact identity of research scientists
• Creating program infrastructure for researchers to include in their research impact portfolio

Sponsors

A program of this scale is only possible with sustained engagement from many partners. We welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss how Plant Yourself in Ag Day can align with your workforce priorities, outreach goals, and community impact strategy.

In 2025 the Plant Yourself In Ag Day program was made possible by the generous time, in-kind gifts and financial support from the following:

• Research labs from across the College of Agricultural Sciences
• College of Agricultural Sciences Office of Undergraduate Education
• Recruiting and Advising Committee (RAC) of the College of Agricultural Sciences
• Office of the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences
• Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center
• Center for Professional Personnel Development
• Pasto Agricultural Museum
• John Deere LandPro
• Friends of Farm Show Foundation
• Pennsylvania FFA Alumni and Supporters
• Penn State University Libraries

Presenters at Plant Yourself in Ag Day 2025

View a listing of presenters and presentations.

Photos from Plant Yourself in Ag Day 2025

View a gallery of photos from Plant Yourself in Ag Day 2025.