Summer Agriculture Institute

Summer Agriculture Institute (SAI) is a three-credit, week-long, graduate level class for K-12 educators with little or no background in agriculture offered through Oregon State University.
The goal of SAI is to help educators use agriculture as a context (or theme) for teaching academic standards (science, math, social studies, etc.).
Current, factual, scientific information about agriculture is presented. Participants are provided with educational materials to incorporate agriculture into their curriculum.
SAI shows how farmers and ranchers care for the land and water they use.
Teachers learn the procedures for ensuring consumers a safe food source.
They are exposed to the complexities of agricultural marketing and economics, both of which play an important role in agriculture today.
The participants gain first-hand experience with agriculture through tours of processing plants, farms, nurseries and businesses.
The highlight of the week is an overnight stay on a working farm or ranch where the teacher has an opportunity to meet and work with agriculturists.

*Host family stay is a required part of the course. Host farm families graciously welcome teachers to their farm and show them their operation.

SAI increases participant’s knowledge and understanding of important agricultural issues and applications.
SAI provides information that will contribute to the goal of helping people make well-informed decisions about agriculture.
SAI Materials are extremely effective. 90% of the participants were using SAI materials five years after attending SAI.
Teachers indicated a very high rating for usability of materials received at SAI.

Each participant is responsible for a $600.00 registration fee which is to be submitted with the SAI application. In exchange, SAI participants receive tuition for (3) graduate level credits, hotel accommodations, meals, transportation, classroom-ready curriculum and resources.

Since its inception in 1989, over 450 teachers have attended.
In 1996, SAI was awarded the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Progress Award for Education.
In 2014, SAI won the Excellence in Education Award from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
We depend on private, commodity, organizational and agri-business financial support to fund the remaining costs.
To aid in that effort, SAI became a project of the Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation (OAEF) in 1991. The foundation is a recognized 501(c) (3) non-profit organization.

Debbie Crocker, Session #1 Coordinator, Corvallis
Phone: (541) 740-5073
Email: sai.1.westoregon@gmail.com
Kim McKague, Session #2 Coordinator, La Grande/Union
Phone: (541) 562-5129 ext 21
Email: sai.2.east@gmail.com