Logan-Rogersville FFA Puts Leadership Into Action With Ag Moves
By Lauren Quinlan
When passion meets purpose, great things can happen.
Take Logan-Rogersville FFA, for example. Throughout the 2025-2026 school year, 12 chapter officers taught Agriculture Education on the Move™ (Ag Moves) curriculum to 201 elementary students in Southwest Missouri — providing early exposure to agricultural topics and meeting an important need in their community.
“We teach students in our Agriculture Science 1 class that there is a disconnect between people and their knowledge of where our food comes from,” says Mr. Patrick Holt, an agriculture educator and Logan-Rogersville FFA advisor. “They get to see this firsthand and play a part in somewhat closing that gap.”
Set Up to Succeed
Creating enriching experiences starts with spending significant time preparing. Before leading an Ag Moves lesson, Logan-Rogersville FFA partner educators dedicate a full week of class time — about an hour per day — to reviewing the presentation, interactive student worksheet, and hands-on activity. All of these materials are provided at no cost to participating schools and FFA chapters.
“Watching our students take an interest in this has been fun,” Mr. Holt says. “They have started to naturally identify areas they want to teach in more detail because they are learning what the kids will know and what they will not know.”
The officer team also attended an FFA Partner Training Day at Ozark Technical College earlier this year. Training days are hosted annually on college and university campuses statewide and aim to equip, engage, and empower FFA members to deliver Ag Moves in their respective regions. In addition to providing an in-depth overview of the curriculum, training days explore classroom management strategies, offer networking opportunities, and serve as a time to ask and answer questions.
“The training was educational and demonstrated all of the lessons thoroughly,” says Lillian Pascoe, a Logan-Rogersville FFA member and chapter officer. “It helped us better understand the material and made us better instructors to our future members.”
A Strong Support System
This chapter’s outstanding efforts would not be possible without the support it received from community members, teachers, and school administrators. One of these noteworthy individuals is Logan-Rogersville Elementary Principal Brittany Payne, who was instrumental in establishing the partnership. Executive Director of Secondary Learning Dr. Greg Katzin and Logan-Rogersville Superintendent of Schools Dr. Rocky Valentine also visited third grade classrooms and experienced Ag Moves lessons in action.
“I have seen the FFA members demonstrate high levels of leadership and communication skills, specifically with public speaking and the ability to support and engage these younger learners,” Principal Payne says. “They carry out [these lessons] with our students in a professional manner.”
Eva Dedmon, a third grade teacher at Logan-Rogersville Elementary, has loved seeing her students’ curiosity take root as they explore where their food comes from and how agriculture affects their everyday lives.
“It’s something different that many have never seen or learned about,” Ms. Dedmon says. “The hands-on activities are great, and students have been able to understand things that go on in rural areas, not just small neighborhoods and towns.”
Room to Grow
Logan-Rogersville Elementary plans to continue its Ag Moves and FFA partnership in the future. Principal Payne says increased student engagement, skill development, and interest in agricultural opportunities are a handful of the positive outcomes she’s seen in classrooms this year. Mr. Holt agrees, noting that students aren’t the only ones who benefit.
“Ag Moves has made things as simple as it gets for us instructors,” he says. “They provide a grade-level curriculum that is ready to teach, and they provide all of the materials for the hands-on portion of the lessons. I would definitely encourage other chapters to get involved with this program.”
Your Next Step
Follow the Ag Education on the Move Facebook page for details about upcoming FFA Partner Training Days, and explore how you can get involved as an Ag Moves contract educator, a partnering elementary teacher, or a 4-H or FFA partner.
Info Box: What Is Ag Moves? Ag Moves is a series of 10 STEM-focused, hands-on lessons for elementary students that explore crops, livestock, soil and water conservation, nutrition, and careers in agriculture. The lessons align with Missouri state learning objectives in science, math, social studies, and language arts and show students how agriculture is entwined in their daily lives. Lessons are delivered to classrooms by passionate FFA members, professional educators and collegiate interns. Curriculum, materials, and trained educators are supplied at no cost to participating schools by the Missouri Farmers Care Foundation.
Info Box: 2025 Ag Moves By the Numbers: Ag Moves engaged 13,682 elementary students in 2025, reaching one in six Missouri third graders. 952 FFA partner educators played a vital role in sharing Ag Moves with 219 schools.