This guide provides the agriculture teacher or cooperative coordinator with an overview of and information on planning and operating cooperative agricultural education programs. Introductory materials discuss supervised occupational experience (SOE) in general and cooperative agricultural education in particular and compare components of three types of SOE in agriculture. The section on program planning considers these topics: role of work experience coordinator and teacher, initiating a program (guidelines, registration requirements, program planning), jobs in agriculture, and determining agricultural employment needs. Areas covered in the section on program operation include recruiting students, locating agricultural employers, providing related instruction, hazardous occupations, unique characteristics of agricultural employment, minimum wage standards, agriculture skills and competencies, training plans, training agreements, evaluation, agricultural experience records, and youth leadership opportunities. Appendixes contain these sample forms: training plan, training agreements (work experience and business enterprise), employer rating form, and employability profile. (YLB)