Stone Langford

Interview With: Mr. Gene Robinson,

Collierville High School Agriculture Teacher

February 24, 2026

“Ag is the industry that messes up the world, but ag is also the same industry that protects and re-develops the World.”  – Gene Robinson

Mr. Robinson has always understood what it means to “give back” and remembers important people in his childhood leading up to adulthood that were teachers of his. Robinson stated, “most of the ones that I remember were teachers of mine, all the way back to elementary.” And “you think about the stages of your life, outside of your family a lot of times there is going to be a teacher or more that has a great influence on you.”. Robinson went on to state that at his current age of 56 he still remembers teachers from when he was in elementary school that set him on the right path. And since he recognized at a young age the impact his teachers had on him, Robinson stated, “I wanted to give back”.

Robinson has been a teacher for 30 years and has a variety in the subjects and grades he has taught. He has taught all the way from preschool to college and has taught Science, Math, Agriculture etc. Currently Mr. Robinson is an agriculture teacher with Collierville Highschool and when asked what he enjoys most about being an Agriculture teacher he says, “versatility and the fact that it ranges so much and getting people to realize its more than just Dirt.”, Robinson also states that people have veered away from ag because they think it’s just dirt, crops, bugs and cows.

Robinson talks on how now tech has given people in the ag industry lots of different ways to get jobs done. He adds, “Ag has become a part of the biotech world.” And says” Ag has grown just as well as the tech world”. He then followed up by talking on the ways ag has evolved saying, “farmers are using drones and GPS signals to measure PH and moisture.”. He is referring to indirect measurement or remote sensing, and the drones show moisture levels and monitor nutrients. He went on to state while being an ag teacher the most difficult task is to keep people engaged or interested. Referring to if people already have their career chosen, they typically don’t pay attention or have interest when being taught Ag.

Then the question on “Skills needed to be an Agriculture teacher”, arose and Robinson claimed that being opened minded is one that falls under the radar, stating “a sense of being open minded, Scientific skills, Lab skills, Speaking skills, measurement skills.”. He went on to state, those are small skills we take for granted and being good at those skills can not only help when teaching Ag, but being in the Ag industry in general. He also claimed having a business mind or mindset is most important. Thinking about it more, when it comes to ag if people do not have that mindset, they will not profit off their work and contributions to the industry. And running a farm or an ag related business, you need to be able to work with other people to ensure that both parties succeed. Lastly Robinson talked on general advice for Students wanting to go into the Ag industry wethere3 that be a teacher, farmer, salesmen etc., he said that there is so many opportunities and money out there for aspiring Ag workforce people. Robinson said” Ag has grown so much and there is so much money out there for ag especially for college.” Going on to say, “there are so many scholarships for Agriculture and so many different departments that money goes back to the government each year because people don’t take advantage of it.”.

Robinson went on to reiterate agricultures diversity and why he recommends it to people looking for a degree in college, stating “if you want to go to school try to get a scholarship in ag, you can always work in ag and come out of ag and work in the industry.”. He went on to say how vice versa it’s a little more difficult when it comes the transition from “the industry” to ag. To support his claim, he stated” you can be an ag mechanic and come out of ag and be a general mechanic, you can be in law, come out of ag law and do some other type of law, like civil law.”. He went on to name multiple different jobs in ag and stated that because of agriculture’s diversity it’s one of the industries that will never go away.