Utah 4-H, a Dynamic Youth Program BY D A N I E U A. J O H N
S I N C E THE FIRST TRIBE OF ROAMING HUNTER-GATHERERS tired of running down big game and began looking for a more consistent food supply, agricultural education has meant the difference between feast and famine. A clay tablet found in Iraq detailed instructions for sowing grain and harvesting it. This 3,700-year-old extension-type bulletin is the oldest known work by a long-forgotten "county agent." 1 T h r o u g h o u t the turbulent history of civilization and underlining each successful culture is the ability to grow food. T h e rise and fall of an empire may hinge on the success of its farms. Mr. J o h n teaches history at J u d g e Memorial High School in Salt Lake City. This article is adapted from his master's thesis, "The History of Utah 4-H" (Utah State University, 1982). 1 Harold C. Sanders, ed., The Cooperative Extension Service (Englewood Cliffs, N J.: Prentice-Hall, 1966), p. 206.
Raising healthy livestock was a major goal of farm youth enrolled in Utah 4-H. Photograph courtesy of Fern S. Kelley.
