Woodbridge students drive tractors to school to celebrate National Agriculture Day

GREENWOOD, Del. - First cars are a big deal for high schoolers. They're a sign of freedom and growing up. In western Sussex County, however, a group of Woodbridge High School students traded their cars, trucks and school buses in for tractors to celebrate National Agriculture Day on March 19.

"Your school might be cool... but is your school 'Drive your tractor to school in honor of National Ag Day' cool?" the Woodbridge School District shared on Facebook Tuesday morning. The post included photos of a group of tractors ranging from a riding lawn mower to a large green combine.

Blake Allen is a Woodbridge High School student and Future Farmers of America member who participated on Tuesday. He works on his family's crop farm and has been driving equipment like tractors since he was 10. Allen said he saw this as an opportunity to promote agriculture production and how farmers provide food.

"It gives me an appreciation for hard work and allows me to carry on the family tradition of being a farmer," Allen said. "I like that no day of work is the same and it helps me to be flexible with my schedule and time management. It helps me gain a lot of different skills."

Tractors in the school parking lot are just one way rural communities across the country are raising awareness for the farming industry. The National Agriculture Council of America organizes a day each year to celebrate agriculture and the stories of farmers, with 2024 being the 51st annual Ag Day.

More than 22 million full- and part-time jobs, or 10 percent of all U.S. employment, are related to the agricultural and food sector according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. On-farm jobs in particular represent about 2.6 million jobs. 

The USDA refers to Delaware as a "small state that is big in agriculture." There were over 2,150 farms across the state at the time of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, which was also the time during which Delaware was estimated to have broken the million person mark in population. Broilers and other meat-type chickens are one of the largest categories, with over 240 million sold in 2022 and the majority coming from Sussex County. 

"From the food we eat and the fuel for our vehicles to the fiber in the clothes we wear and the oil used to make kids' crayons, agriculture touches everyone in some way," Jenny Picket, National Agriculture Council of America president, said in a public statement. "Students' participation in National Ag Day activities provides a glimpse of the future of agriculture. It's exciting to learn from the students, what they think agriculture will be like in the years ahead and how their involvement will shape the industry and America as a whole."

On March 5, 99 students from throughout the first state received their blue corduroy Future Farmers of America jackets during the Delaware Farm Bureau's Blue Jacket Bonanza, which was held at Delaware State University. The blue jackets are part of the FFA's official dress and are seen by many in the organization as a symbol of community and pride.

"One of my favorite parts of the national FFA organization is that it doesn't wait for leadership to find you," said Milford FFA Secretary Lucy Chorman while addressing the crowd at the event. "Instead it recognizes that a true leader is not defined by age, rather by compassion."