High quality teachers are an essential piece of the agricultural education model and directly influence the quality of the total program. However, there has been a steady consolidation and elimination of agricultural education teacher preparation programs in New England. In order to understand how this trend affected agricultural education in this region, an investigation into the background, preparation, and certification of the New England agriculture teacher workforce was conducted. In addition, current inservice needs of agriculture teachers were assessed using the Borich (1980) Needs Assessment model. The population for this study included all agriculture teachers currently employed in the six New England states (N = 288) during the 2010-2011 school year. Data were collected using both electronic and paper-based questionnaires. A total of 164 questionnaires were completed resulting in a response rate of 56.94%. The majority of respondents worked in the agricultural industry for a minimum of five years. Over two-thirds of the respondents completed a traditional teacher preparation program, mostly through on-campus programs at New England land grant universities. The majority of respondents also held a professional (highest level) teaching license in agricultural education and served as the FFA advisor. In addition, SAE participation was found to be much lower than FFA participation in agricultural education programs throughout New England. The inservice needs of New England agriculture teachers were prioritized based on mean weighted discrepancy scores (MWDS). The top inservice needs included writing grant proposals for external funding and managing and reducing work-related stress. Alternatively certified teachers were found to have higher inservice needs than traditionally certified teachers in areas of instruction and professional development. Beginning teachers were found to have higher inservice needs than experienced teachers in areas of instruction, FFA activities, and building the program's image. Results indicated that the agriculture teacher workforce in New England is in a transitional stage. Many new teachers are being alternatively certified due to the lack of traditional agricultural education preparation programs in the region. In addition, SAE development was found to be the weakest component of the total agricultural education program in New England. In order to improve agricultural education throughout New England, high quality professional development programs need to be developed for different groups of agriculture teachers based on their identified needs. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]