Ed Mueller, retired agricultural education teacher, was inducted into the South Dakota Agriculture Teacher Hall of Fame at the recent South Dakota Association of Agricultural Educators conference held in August 2018, at Rapid City, SD.
Only one agriculture teacher may be inducted in a given year. To be eligible for induction, a person must have taught for at least 25 years, be retired from teaching, have demonstrated an exceptional teaching career, and should have served in a leadership role in the state association. Once a name is placed on the ballot it can only remain on the ballot for five years at which time the person becomes ineligible for the Hall of Fame.
Mueller began his teaching career in North Dakota where he taught at Parshall, Drake, Minot and Westhope over a seven-year span followed by a one-year stint at North Dakota State University to obtain his Masters Degree in Agricultural Education.
In 1988 Mueller was hired as the South Dakota State Supervisor of Agriculture Education, a job he held for six years before returning to the field of teaching. During his tenure as State Supervisor of Agricultural Education, Mueller was noted for overseeing a major revision of agricultural education curriculum. The shift went from predominately traditional production agriculture to also include horticulture, ag business management, biotechnology, ag processing, and natural resources. As a result, enrollment in agricultural education classes at the high school level rose by more than 20%. Mueller also served as State Advisor to the South Dakota FFA Association and South Dakota Postsecondary Agriculture organization.
The last 22 years of his career Mueller served as the Agriculture Education instructor and FFA Advisor at Garretson High School, Garretson, SD. Mueller was known for his innovative approach to teaching where he developed an individualized, self-paced agricultural curriculum. Students could choose from thirteen different semester classes at a time that best fit into their schedule making ag classes more accessible to them. In 2003, the Garretson Ag program was named one of the top six programs in the United States.
As the Garretson FFA Advisor, Mueller guided the chapter to a #1 state rank- ing 13 of the 22 years he taught there. Under his direction, the Garretson FFA was also named #1 FFA chapter in the United States in 1999 and 2003, receiving a top ten rating in the country six times during his tenure. He had numerous students win state proficiency awards and several named State Stars. The highlight of his FFA advising career was when two of his sons qualified for national proficiency awards and one was named National Star over America in Agribusiness. Mueller retired from teaching in 2016.
In retirement, Mueller continues to operate a sheep farm and work at Animal Health International. Mueller is a 1976 graduate of Hillsboro High School, ND and 1980 graduate of North Dakota State University. He is the son of the late Earl and Barbara Mueller.
