A study was made of the opinions and programs of a selected group of 77 vocational agriculture instructors to determine the status of supervised occupational experience (SOE) programs among secondary agricultural instructors who had been identified as some of the best in the states surveyed. Of particular interest was the relative role that the three primary options for obtaining SOE (supervised farming, placement, and school land laboratory) played in these selected programs. From the information gathered from a mailed survey of the teachers, the study found that 91 percent of students in secondary agricultural education were involved in the SOE program and that supervised farming is the most often used option, although none of the SOE options has a majority of agricultural students. Older teachers had more of their students in supervised farming, while younger teachers had more of their students in the land laboratory. Most teachers in the study felt that SOE was more important in their programs today than it had been in the past. No differences were found in teachers' opinions by age, teaching experience, type of school, or size of programs, although rural teachers placed more emphasis on SOE than did urban teachers. Teachers indicated that they expect to place more emphasis on SOE programs in the future. Recommendations were made for further study and for placing more emphasis on preparing teachers to supervise SOE programs. In addition, the study called for more rewards for the placement and land laboratories options, since they are used about as often as the farm practice option. (KC)