Throw a dart at the map, and someone with an Agricultural Education and Advocacy degree from the University of Kentucky just might be working there.  

The program, which is housed in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Department of Community and Leadership Development, prepares students for many career paths, said Rebekah Epps, associate professor and director of graduate studies.  

After first being known as career and technical education then as agricultural education, the program added advocacy to its degree name in 2024 to more accurately represent where its graduates ended up — as teachers but also beyond “the four walls of a classroom.”  

“Agricultural education can take place as a commodity educator for pork or tobacco or soybean. It can take place as an Extension agent or sitting on the back of a pickup truck talking with a local farmer,” Epps said. “We’re working on advocacy so that they learn to teach the importance of agriculture to anyone who will listen.”  

Teaching and training the next generation 

Growing up in Taylor County, Samantha Clark Gaddie knew as a high schooler that she wanted to be an agriculture teacher. Like many others, she was influenced by her own ag teachers.  

“I had two really good ag teachers, and they were both instrumental in my life,” Gaddie said. “I wanted to be able to shape and give back in that same way.”  

Gaddie graduated from UK in 2014 and has since worked at Green County High School.  

As an undergraduate, Gaddie had the chance to do research and present at a conference. She and her research partner were very excited to receive an award for innovative ideas. 

“I think that's what really sparked my interest in research and was probably the first step in me considering getting a doctorate,” said Gaddie, who earned her doctorate in agricultural education from Texas Tech.  

Gaddie said it’s very rewarding to see the impact that her classes have on her students’ lives. One FFA student completed an agriscience project that fostered her interest and led to her studying food biosciences at UK. Other students are currently in college to be agriculture teachers themselves.  

“It’s really awesome, when a student sees you work in your job and they’re like, ‘I want to do that job,’” Gaddie said. 

Using education as an Extension tool  

Lindie Huffman’s grandfather, the only other member of her family who had attended college, went to UK — so of course Huffman went to UK, too. Deciding what to study was slightly more difficult.  

“I couldn't select just one area of agriculture — because my passion was for all of it and for sharing its impact with others,” Huffman said. “Agriculture is rewarding in so many deep ways: It is rooted in family tradition, grounded in community and filled with the promise of tomorrow through the faith of planting seeds or tending livestock.”  

Huffman found the right fit in agricultural education: "the perfect opportunity to explore the breadth of agriculture while also engaging with people.”  

As a student in 2011, Huffman had two life-changing experiences: completing an internship with the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service and studying abroad in Scotland.  

“That experience opened my eyes to the power of community development — something I once found intimidating, but instead showed me how education can drive meaningful, lasting change,” Huffman said. “When I discovered how Extension blends agriculture, education and real community impact, it felt like a natural fit.” 

Since graduating in 2012, Huffman has been the agriculture and natural resources agent for the Pendleton County Extension Office. The agricultural education program gave her a “strong foundation” that she uses every day, thanks to the program’s flexibility that allowed her to take courses in everything from agricultural economics to forages to leadership. That broad exposure to agriculture helped her meet people where they are — a crucial part of Extension work.  

“Choosing Extension allowed me to continue my passion for agriculture and education, but in a much more informal setting — where I can teach outside the classroom, connect with diverse audiences, and create programs that are practical, hands-on, and rooted in real community needs,” Huffman said.  

Being innovative in agricultural education   

As a child, even though no one in his family was an educator, Brian Welch would put his stuffed animals in a circle, give them paper and teach them school lessons. By the time he was a high schooler involved in FFA and 4-H, Welch knew he wanted to be an ag teacher.  

“I’ve been very goal oriented ever since then to get as much exposure and experience in ag education as I possibly could,” Welch said.  

Originally from Owensboro, Welch graduated from UK in 2015 — after four years in the program, even though he was so excited to get into the classroom as a teacher that he almost graduated a year early. Mentors like Epps encouraged him to stay and take advantage of more opportunities, like studying abroad in Australia.  

Welch is now entering his 10^th year at Madisonville North Hopkins High School, which is where he did his student teaching. He primarily teaches the school’s ag power pathway, which includes small engines, construction skills and agriculture structures.  

This pathway has allowed Welch to reach students whether they want to be farmers or not.  

“It's all the same concepts they could then take back onto the farm if they're building their own pole barn but also reaches a kid that's maybe not going into specifically ag,” Welch said. “But they’re going to have that foundational work ethic that ag likes to teach people and has the ability to teach people that they can apply to whatever world they want to go into.”  

In his classroom, Welch emphasizes community service. One of his favorite projects was converting a shipping container into a medical clinic, which is now in use in Liberia. He and his students have also framed houses for Habitat for Humanity.  

Sharing his students’ work with the community is a vital part of advocating for agriculture, Welch said.  

“We don't necessarily go the traditional route," he said. “So part of our thing is to keep innovative and to let people know we are doing things is to tell our story.” 

Advocating for the agriculture industry   

When Misty Bivens was a state FFA officer, people were always saying to her, “When you’re an ag teacher...” even though she didn’t want to be an agriculture teacher. 

She’s now in her 25^th year in that role at LaRue County High School.  

“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she said. “The impact, as an ag teacher, you get to have on students is unlike most jobs." 

Studying agricultural education at UK was an important step along the way. Even as the university and the agriculture industry changes, the connections Misty made during her education remain vital.  

“I tell my students that are going to college that it’s as much about the connections you make as it is about what you learn,” she said.  

While a UK graduate assistant, Misty started dating her now husband Ryan Bivens, also a Martin-Gatton CAFE graduate. Though both had agriculture in their background — Misty in Garrard County and Ryan in Spencer County — neither had a family farm to move back to.  

“I was determined: I wanted to farm the rest of my life,” Ryan said.  

Once they settled in LaRue County, Ryan published an ad in the paper: “Ambitious young farmer looking for a start.” The first year the Bivens planted soybeans, it was on 34 rented acres. This year, they planted about 7,600 acres — 1,500 of which they own. 

The family’s on-farm experience is useful to Misty in the classroom and to Ryan in his role as a Kentucky state representative. Ryan said his perspective as a farmer allows him to be a voice for agriculture.  

“We’ve stood up and we’ve advocated for our industry,” Ryan said. “It’s not just about what me and Misty are doing today. It’s about the groundwork we’re laying for the next generation.” 

High expectations 

Epps said the highlight of her role as a UK professor is seeing students grow and develop, both during their time as undergraduates and beyond.  

“We have high expectations of our students,” Epps said. “We’ve learned that if you set high expectations, they will meet them.”  

Learn more about UK agriculture education and advocacy at https://cld.ca.uky.edu/ukaged. Learn more about Kentucky’s All in for Agriculture Education Week at https://www.kyagr.com/marketing/ag-education-week.html.  

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Writer: Bailey Vandiver, bailey.vandiver@uky.edu; Contributor: Jennifer Elwell; jennifer.elwell@uky.edu    

The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services to individuals and institutions that provide equal opportunities for qualified persons in all aspects of institutional operations and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information or social or economic status.