Federal funding under the Agricultural Instruction Act, and special grants and assistance from Ontario's Department of Education provided incentives to schools to implement a course of study in agriculture.

And while a rigorous academic approach to the subject taught students about the "nature of soil and plant life" and "insectivorous pests," lessons involved much more than studying from textbooks. Instruction also emphasized observation and experimentation through practice. Rural schools were encouraged to maintain their own school gardens and flower beds. These would not only provide an opportunity for practical experience in agriculture, but would also improve the appearance of school grounds and give the students a sense of accomplishment and pride in their hard work.

School fairs also played an important part in agricultural education. They were enormously popular social events for rural schools, second only to Empire Day celebrations, and would involve the whole community not just the students and teachers.

The agricultural school fairs gave the students an opportunity to display, with pride, the fruits of their labour (quite literally). Students would enter a selection of their best - vegetables, grains, baked goods, woodworking projects, or school projects - in school board and county-wide competitions.

These would then be judged by school officials or agricultural representatives and prizes awarded depending on the quality and skill put into the final product. School fairs also involved games and competitions, such as the soap-carving contest in the photograph below; demonstrations with livestock and presentations of class projects.