This activity prepares students to interview someone in an agricultural career. Students will gain a greater awareness of the role agriculture plays in the American economy, practice oral and written communication skills, and learn about numerous agricultural careers.

One class period plus 2-3 weeks to conduct interviews

For the class:

• A list of potential people for students to interview or potential contacts for locating interviewees

For each student:

• Worksheet: An Agricultural Interview

1. Discuss the importance of agriculture in your state and nation. Statistics can be obtained from various resources and websites. 
2. Discuss the goals of the assignment with your students. Prior to this discussion you should have reviewed the purpose of the lesson and the content standards emphasized. Revise the lesson to meet the needs of your students. When appropriate, discuss and role play how one should and should not act during an interview.
3. Inform the students that they will work in teams of two and are responsible for the following:
   • Identifying an owner or manager of farm, ranch, or agribusiness that they will interview.
   • Obtain the basic information on the company and person to be interviewed and complete the appropriate section of the interview sheet.
   • Set up an interview time and location.
   • As a team, determine whether the interview questions need to be altered and write several questions they wish to ask the person.
   • Upon arrival, the students should provide a brief greeting and introduction and then conduct the formal interview.
4. Allow two or three weeks for students to conduct interviews. Distribute a clean copy of the interview sheet to recopy their work and/or have the students write a summary of what they learned about the person they interviewed and what they learned about agriculture
5. Have each team present their findings to the class.
6. Have the students write thank you letters to the people they interviewed. Perhaps the school can provide envelopes and postage.

Additional Activities:

• Tour the farm or business and write a summary of what you saw and learned.
• Make a photo gallery or PowerPoint presentation of your experience.
• Interview another employee of the same operation and compare and contrast the information you obtain.

Pamela Emery

California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom