Raise: What 4-H Teaches 7 Million Kids & How Its Lessons Could Change Food & Farming Forever

by Kiera Butler

When city-dwelling journalist Kiera Butler visits a county fair for the first time, she is captivated by the white-uniformed members of the 4-H club and their perfectly groomed animals. She sets off on a search for a “real” 4-H’er, a hypothetical wholesome youth whom she imagines wearing cowboy boots and living on a ranch. Along the way, she meets five teenage 4-H’ers from diverse backgrounds and gets to know them as they prepare to compete at the fair. Butler’s on-the-ground account of the teens’ concerns with their goats, pigs, sheep, proms, and SAT scores is interwoven with a fascinating history of the century-old 4-H club as it solicits corporate donations from top agribusiness firms such as DuPont, Monsanto, and Cargill. Her quest takes her from California’s cities and suburbs all the way to Ghana, where she investigates 4-H’s unprecedented push to expand its programs in the developing world―and the corporate partnership that is supporting this expansion.

Raise masterfully combines vivid accounts from a little-known subculture with a broader analysis of agriculture education today, using 4-H as a lens through which to view the changing landscape of farming in America and the rest of the world. Lively, deeply informed, and perceptive in its analysis, Raise provides answers to complex questions about our collective concern over the future of food.

Photographs by Rafael Roy.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up because of the angle. I was a 4-Her for 13 years, and I am always interested to see how the subject is addressed in the media. This book... eh?

While I am a huge fan of the way it addresses the agricultural aspect of 4-H, it almost completely ignores the non-agricultural projects, regarding them as a mere biproduct of the program. I was exclusively a non-livestock 4-Her during my time, but I learned about a variety of subjects. I explored issues of food safety, volunteered extensively through leadership programs, helped out with teaching young children how to fish, and more. It was a shame that this book, in its quest for "the perfect 4-Her", fails to move beyond its own preconceived notion of what 4-H is for a large number of participants.

For the agricultural angle? This book raises excellent points about the importance of education and the danger of corporate sponsorships. For everything else that 4-H was for me and for many of those I know? This book was disappointing.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom grew up being very involved in 4H (and since I'm a Master Gardener I'm very involved with the extension office these days) so I had a lot more knowledge of the 4H program than the author of this book when she started. I felt like I would have preferred more history and more depth (and more analysis about how 4H will “change food and farming forever”), rather than just following a couple families showing animals at fairs, but that might just be my preference. As it is, it was an interesting book, and did well showing how 4H is still relevant today.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, eh. While I appreciate the info on 4-H, it's a very important program and develops great kids with needed skills. I'm frustrated with her constant search for the "perfect 4-Her". I have a 4-H club with about 30 kids. They do over 60 different projects. Some do livestock and most don't yet they are all important to the 4-H program. I feel like she is short-changing the kids who do projects other than livestock.

As a 4-H leader, 4-H is SO much more than farm! I do hope you get your children involved in 4-H and they gains a lot from it. My children have gain self-confidence, public speaking skills, science skills thru trees and insects projects, math skills thru sewing, judging skills thru projects, leadership skills and so much more. One of my kids has gone on 3 national trips due to her 4-H involvement and we have no livestock or agricultural background. I'm passionate about 4-H and while thrilled with a book about 4-H felt this was off aim. (I also know kids who have competed nationally in shooting sport competitions.). Run to your Extension Office and give your children the opportunity to explore their interests and challenge them to "Make your best better."

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Good reviews from authors I’ve enjoyed, such as Novella Carpenter, Wendy McClure, and Tracie McMillan led me to this book. The author follows a year in the life of several teenage 4-H members, most raising livestock (and mostly urban families) in northern California. She also makes a side trip to Ghana, where 4-H members and their families have become enamored of a hybrid corn species provided by DuPont – free for one year, and then unaffordable for most after that.

The book summarizes how things have and haven’t changed in 4-H, lauds the way it teaches science to kids, and expresses concerns about some of the methods encouraged (e.g., in raising large pigs), as well as corporate sponsorship with possible ulterior motives.

The author clearly became very fond of the 4-H members she followed – this is reflected in the extensive coverage of their end-of-the-year competitions. These were a little too detailed for good reading, but I liked that she was so into it. Overall, the book is very readable and well-written. Nice final chapter with follow-up on where the kids are now (“now” being about two years later).

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

There isn't much better praise I can give this book than to say, after reading it, I want to get my daughter involved in 4-H. Brilliantly researched and written. This really shows what values 4-H is teaching kids, not just about how to farm now, but to farm sustainably into the future. This is a quick read, and until I read it, I really didn't understand 4-H. Coming from a suburban background, it wasn't a part of our lifestyle. It should have been. Now that we are in a rural setting, it is even more on target as it puts these children at the forefront of agribusiness and food production.

[Jesse Kraai · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of some turkeys that used to live in the back yard. It used to be a regular DIY slaughterhouse. Their cages are empty now, the frames sodden. I wish I could tell you I set the birds free. But really the wonderful back yard is mostly a forgotten place, full of raccoons and plants whose names I don't know. Everyone is too busy. We need some 4h.

[Linnaea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly well researched, an effective profiling of what 4-H offers as an experience for urban vs. suburban and rural youth, as well as the international program and ethical challenges associated with donor influence that 4-H faces in Africa.