Unlike his new classmates, he has no intention of following an agricultural career after graduating, although he envies them for already having set goals for their lives and the pursuit of their dreams.

An anime television series adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures aired for two seasons between July and September 2013 and January and March 2014 on Fuji TV's Noitamina block.

After failing to pass the entrance examinations for the high school he planned to attend, mild-mannered student Yuugo Hachiken moves away from his suburban home and enrolls at the rural Ooezo Agricultural High School (大蝦夷農業高等学校, Ōezo Nōgyō Kōtō Gakkō)—often abbreviated as Ezonō (エゾノー, 'Ezo Ag')—in the countryside.

After the completion of her successful fantasy series Fullmetal Alchemist, author Hiromu Arakawa and her publisher Shogakukan agreed that she should begin the more realistic Silver Spoon as a way to challenge herself as a manga artist and recruit new readers.

For instance, characters such as the piggery teacher Ichiko Fuji and members of the Holstein fanclub are based on individuals she knew in her high school.

[5] Though the story contains matters like the protagonist Yuugo Hachiken's ethical dilemma over animal slaughter, Arakawa insists Silver Spoon is not a "green" manga.

She states that she simply wants to tell the story of a high schooler's maturation, similar to how Fullmetal Alchemist focuses on the development of the main character Edward Elric rather than promoting alchemy.

[6] It was serialized regularly until August 2014 when Arakawa announced she would slow the pace of producing new chapters of the manga so that she could care for a family member in declining health.

Taku Kishimoto wrote the scripts, while Jun Nakai served as character designer and chief animation director, and Shusei Murai scored the music.

Kento Nakajima played Yuugo Hachiken, with Alice Hirose as Aki Mikage and Tomohiro Ichikawa as Ichiro Komaba.

It became the fastest Shogakukan title at the time to reach the mark of one million first printing copies, a year and three months after the manga was launched.

[84] Publishers Weekly concluded that the work is "a side of Japanese high school life seldom seen in manga, making for an irresistible series.