IT WAS 2009 when Levi Parks, then 7 years old, posed with his prize-winning fainting goat, Hildie, at the Tazewell County Fair in southwestern Virginia. But the corn-fed image feels so classic, it could have been taken decades, even a century, ago. Clad in dungarees, a crisp white button-down, and a bolo tie, this clean-cut 4-H kid paints a reassuring picture of American agriculture as an honest pursuit unsullied by politics or private business interests.

In reality, the United States Department of Agriculture (or more specifically, the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture) designates millions of annual Cooperative Extension Program dollars for regional “youth development” initiatives – a total of $68 million in 2015, much of that going to 4-H. The youth organization also receives funding from the nonprofit National 4-H Council, which spent approximately $48 million last year, and accepts donations from a veritable who’s who of Big Ag: Monsanto, ConAgra, DuPont, and Altria each gave at least a million dollars in 2015.

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You may be tempted to draw a straight line connecting those corporate contributions with the corruption of an institution espousing old-timey ideals. Don’t. Though often viewed through the hazy lens of nostalgia, 4-H was always intended as an important step in the march toward modernization. Its roots can be traced back to the early 1900s, when many rural farmers were resistant to newfangled advancements, such as soil testing and better seed selection, suggested by scientists at land-grant universities.

Those university researchers began partnering with county school superintendents throughout the Midwest and South to develop corn, tomato, and other crop clubs for children. From the get-go, local businesses provided financing for projects and cash prizes for competitions. In 1911, Ohio Farmer magazine reported that the top 100 corn-club boys had produced an average yield of 133.3 bushels per acre, more than five times the U.S. average of 25 bushels per acre. According to 4-H National Program Leader Jim Kahler, “Parents who didn’t want to bet the farm on whether or not a new corn variety might work became believers when they saw those results.”

The USDA took notice, too. In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act formalized the relationship between land-grant universities and nearby farms, establishing the Cooperative Extension System to help underwrite the researchers’ outreach efforts. And by 1921, those disparate youth farming clubs had come together under the uni ed umbrella of 4-H – short for the “head, heart, hands, and health” members must engage “to make the best better.” Almost immediately, the USDA sought control over the organization, eventually gaining full ownership of the name and iconic four-leaf-clover emblem in 1939.