Four Agricultural Education teachers have been selected as recipients of the 2026 John Deere | CASE Ag Equipment Maintenance and Technology (AEMT) Scholarship. This prestigious award package supports advanced professional development and hands-on learning opportunities in agricultural mechanics and technology.
The 2026 scholarship recipients include:
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Beca Breckenridge, Brighton High School, Brighton, Tennessee
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Abigail Lyell, Graves County High School, Mayfield, Kentucky
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Eric Sawatzke, West Central Area, Barrett, Minnesota
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Tori Barka, Kerkhoven Murdock Sunburg, Kerkhoven, Minnesota
With an estimated value of $25,000 per agriculture education teacher, the scholarships are made possible through a generous donation from John Deere. The comprehensive award package is designed to enhance the quality of agriculture education by providing teachers with the tools and training necessary to facilitate inquiry-based instruction in Ag Mechanics. The CASE AEMT course is an ag equipment maintenance and technology course designed to provide students with the skills needed to enter the career field as an agricultural technician.
The scholarship package includes an all-inclusive trip to the John Deere Training Center in Orlando, Florida, where each teacher will get hands-on training directly with John Deere technicians. In addition, teachers receive a full-ride scholarship to the CASE AEMT Institute at SUNY Cobleskill in New York, where they will work with CASE Lead Teachers to review and train in a 170-day curriculum to implement in their local classroom. Each teacher’s Agriculture Education program will also receive materials to support their classroom instruction.
