2002 pears pals---100 · web view5th grade bags included the beef princess of practical county with...

100. AG LITERACY

* Calhoun, "AITC and FFA Partners" – The purpose of this program was

to be a mentor to FFA students and help them financially with their Land

Lab. This was a new project for them. We talked with school officials

along with the Ag Advisor and FFA Alumni members to get permission to

use some of the school property for the lab. The school board gave

permission. FS and Monsanto came on board and donated seed and

chemicals and we secured a $500 grant through the Illinois Corn

Marketing Board to secure funds for signage and brochures. There were

25 FFA members, the Ag Advisor, 4 alumni members to assist the FFA

members and 2 AITC and 2 WC members involved in the project. We

achieved our goal as many students stated this was the biggest hands on

experiences they had been involved with. Brochures and a sign directing

them to the Land Lab recognized the IL Corn Marketing Board and all

contributors. The brochures noting the results of the plots will be handed

out to farmers this fall at our local elevator. Media was placed in our local

newspaper, FFA , FFA Alumni and the FB newsletter over 40,000

distribution.

Edwards, "Teacher Visit" – The FB adopted a 2nd grade teacher and

classroom to teach them about agriculture and rural America. After a visit

by several members of the FB this spring, the teacher decided she wanted

to visit the county. Various agricultural tours and visits we set up. Since it

/tt/file_convert/5ad4fe0f7f8b9a1a028c8bbb/document.doc

-1-

100. AG LITERACY

was also county fair week, she got to experience that highlight as well.

While in our county for 4 days, Gina visited a farmer’s grain storage

complex; rode in a sprayer to learn about GPS technology; visited a

GROWMARK/FS cooperative; visited a meat packing plant; watched

livestock shows and the livestock auction; visited the county historical

society; visited a dairy farm; participated in the milk mustache contest; and

ate meals with several FB families. 40 volunteers

Pulaski-Alexander, "Spring Forward for Teachers" – 8 volunteers

coordinated a spring forward kickoff for AITC in the spring. Over 100

teachers were given reusable grocery bags to welcome the spring

season. The teachers bags were divided by grade level taught. 1st Grade,

3rd Grade, and 5th Grade Teachers across 4 counties were given the

bags. 1st Grade Bags included Who Grew My Soup Lesson Plans and Ag

Mags, 3rd Grade Bags included Little Joe Book with the Lesson Plans and

Ag Mags. 5th Grade Bags included the Beef Princess of Practical County

with Lesson Plans and Ag Mags. Teachers were delighted with the bags

and it helped to encourage the teachers during the Spring Semester. The

bags were a great way to show appreciation for our teachers and to

promote the AITC programs. 33.3% CFB

Pope-Hardin, "Summer Reading Program" – The annual Summer

Children’s Reading Program held in July at our two local Public Libraries


-2-

100. AG LITERACY

was a big success with 26 children attending. The program was planned

by our 6 member volunteer committee and 4 other volunteers. Children

listened to a book being read, and then completed the following AITC

activites Seed House, Food Pyramid Bracelet, and a Stick Horse. Our

goal is to encourage them to read and learn about the importance of

agriculture in their lives.

Johnson, "4-H Participation Award" – Our County Farm Bureau wanted

to increase participation in our County 4-H Program. Our County

Extension was unable to offer premium dollars this year, so we decided to

offer a participation award to 4-H participates that were dependants of our

members regardless of project area. 4-H’ers were asked to submit an

application for the award following the County Show. We offered up to

$2000 dollars and paid out $50 to participating 4-H’ers. The program was

greatly appreciated and we even signed 2 new members. Volunteers –

13, Staff - 2

Douglas, "Environmental Stewardship Day" – September 2010, 21

volunteers, 100% committee. Our Ag Literacy Committee, in cooperation

with the women’s committee, FSA, U of I Extension, local SWCD

personnel, Ag Literacy Coordinator and 21 volunteers conducted this

program in an effort to educate 6th grade students about environmental

issues. Sixth grade students from six area schools, including 13 classes


-3-

100. AG LITERACY

and 215 students, attended our 17th Annual Environmental Stewardship

Day. The event was held at a state park in the county. The program was

broken into ten different stations. The stations our listed below:

• Forestry: This station showed the importance of trees in our

environment as well as the proper way to protect forest land by an

Extension Specialist.

• Water Quality: This station showed the importance of the water

cycle and the dangers of pollutants to the water as well as water

conservation.

• Water Safety: A Conservation Policeman went over water and

boating safety at this station.

• No-Till: The Soil Conservation Service specialists set up a station

where the students learned about no-till, watersheds, hydrology,

and grass waterways. Students also saw how terraces control soil

erosion.

• Soils: The sixth graders were able to hear a soil conservationist

explain how soils were formed and experiment with different soil

type textures as well as soybean samples.

• Wildlife: A wildlife specialist discussed wildlife and examples of

wildlife preservation.

• Aquaculture: Fish Specialist: This station showed the importance

of the ecosystems and let students touch several fish, turtles, and

salamanders.


-4-

100. AG LITERACY

• Vermiculture: This station showed the importance of earthworms to

agriculture.

• Grain Safety: Monsanto demonstrated how to be safe around grain

bins.

• AITC Skit: IAA Foundation and 50 Bike Riders

Members of the AITC Committee served as coordinators and escorted

groups from station to station. The committee also served ice cream

treats to the participants. We were featured on the front page of a local

newspaper reaching over 10,000 people and a three county newspaper

reaching over 36,000.

* Edgar, " Skype From The Field" – This year the volunteers wanted to

bring the students to the field; however with reduced travel funds for

schools, there was no way that the schools could come to the farm. The

AITC Committee got creative and decided to bring the farm to the students

using a free service called Skype. The coordinator and manager worked

to set up times for the classrooms to log into Skype, talk with a farmer and

ride in the combine while harvesting corn and soybeans through a

computer in the field and the Smartboard in the classroom. The FB

Manager established the internet connection in the field and coordianted

the farmers to talk with the students. The students virtually rode in the

combine and tractor, helped unload grain, haulled it to the elevator, and

learned more where their food comes from, as well as had the opportunity


-5-

100. AG LITERACY

to talk with the farmers and learn the different aspects of farming. For

many of the students, this was their only opportunity to ever experience

farming. There were 12 farmers who helped teach the 42 classroom

lessons and a total of 1,008 students who skyped with farmers.

Perry, "Teaching Garden Extravaganza" – An area school kicked off a

program designed by the Heart Association called “The Teaching

Garden”. Designed to get students’ hands dirty, educators and our AITC

Coordinator taught children how to grow their own food. Raised gardens

were created in the school yard, and students helped plant fruit and

vegetables that would be harvested and included in their school menu.

Over 400 students participated in this all-day event and planted a variety

of veggies including: tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, zucchini,

strawberries, lettuce, and onions.

Clay, "AITC from A to Z” Adopt a Classroom Program" – 2010-2011

School Year. The PT helps out the CFB by visiting AITC Classrooms. The

Prime Timers decided to adopt two local 1st grade classrooms. For the

project a new “AITC from A to Z” booklet was made to highlight each letter

of the alphabet to correspond with important agriculture facts from the past

and present. Example: A is for: Acres of Animals Out at the Farm or C is

for: Illinois Crops of Course. Each letter has its own activities and lessons.

A lined paper is handed out for story boarding which helps students learn


-6-

100. AG LITERACY

agriculture vocabulary and helps them hone their language skills which

they are tested on at the state level. New coloring sheets are made for

each letter and each classroom also participates in either an in the

classroom art project or a take home project that corresponds with

commodities or other farm related information. Once per semester a Prime

Timer volunteers to accompany the CFB Manager to the classroom to

relate a specific lesson. During the past spring semester the Prime Timer

talked about Life After School when they were in 1st grade. Pictures were

shown and a letter was read that spoke about life on the farm 50 years

ago. The Prime Timers believe this project is important for relating a

positive agricultural message to young students and it keeps the past alive

as those students grow older.

Washington, "FFA Commodity Challenge" – Our YL and Marketing

Committees offered agriculture students with an opportunity to compete in

our second “Commodity Challenge” contest. The event centered on an

online, interactive commodity game, using current market prices that

allowed participants to test their knowledge and practice their marketing

skills without the financial risk. Through the exercise, participants traded

corn, soybeans, and wheat on the cash, futures, and options markets to

help them learn about the “ins and outs” of today’s commodity markets. In

total, fifteen (15) students, two (2) Advisors, and one (1) FS grain

merchandiser from the county tested their marketing skills against each


-7-

100. AG LITERACY

other. At the conclusion of the event, $300 in cash prizes was awarded to

the top three traders from each chapter. This year’s event experienced

good growth from last year’s numbers of 1 chapter and 7 student

participation.

Union, "FFA Acquaintance Day" – 14 CFB's teamed up with a local

university to bring together one of the largest programs in the state on

January 25, 2011. 325 FFA students adorned the halls of the college for

the morning program. A manager began the program by introducing the

Dean of the College of Agriculture. The Dean explored the many

opportunities students have with curriculum. The students were dismissed

to attend 5 workshops. They were; "Farmer George" presented by county

AITC Coordinators, where students learned various Ag in the Classroom

programs to teach young children; "The Farm Bureau Organization"

presented by Mariah Dale-Anderson from Illinois Farm Bureau, "Careers

in Ag" by Kelly Robertson, an Agronomic Consultant, and "FFA After High

School" presented by the Collegiate FFA Chapter. President Philip

Nelson spoke to the crowd about his start in FFA and the future in

agriculture that students will help shape with their skills and knowledge

they acquire through high school and beyond. The program had many

features mentioned along with the meals provided by each respective

county. 14 county Farm Bureau staff & volunteers all worked together to

bring this great program to the FFA students. Planning included 2


-8-

100. AG LITERACY

organizational meetings, staff trips to the college to work out details,

university staff printing up flyers & securing rooms and more.

Wabash, "Tractor and Truck Pull for Ag Literacy" – For the second

year in a row, the Young Farmers sponsored a Tractor and Truck pull

benefiting the county AITC and 4-H programs. Each member was

responsible for obtaining sponsorship for the pull, and the event was more

than paid for thanks to all of the sponsors. Many more classes were added

this year, and the turnout of participants and spectators was more than

expected. It was estimated that over 500 people were in attendance.

Many came out just to help raise money for the kids. A local 4-H club

provided the concessions for the event as a fundraiser. Both organizations

were grateful for the large donations that we were able to give. A lot of

hard work goes into putting on an event this large and the committee

plans to continue this event and to make it even more successful in the

coming years!

* Christian, "Interactive Farm 2011" – July 2011. The display included an

entire building of large and small animals, a full sized “mock dairy cow”,

roping steers, a chicken coupe with wooden eggs, a mock apple tree,

pedal tractor obstacle course, ag in the classroom activities, and farm

prizes, along with county/Illinois Farm Facts and food v. fuel

demonstrations. We added very seasonal/colorful landscape and industry


-9-

100. AG LITERACY

displays as a finishing touch to the exhibit. The idea started with a goal of

bringing a taste of agriculture to the fingertips of families and children. As

children entered the Interactive Farm, they were asked, “Would you like to

help us with today’s chores?” Children were awarded agriculture prizes if

they milked the mock dairy cow, gathered eggs, picked apples, along with

other miscellaneous activities at the farm. This exhibit was extremely

popular and reached more than 3000 children and/or families during the

2011fair week. This event was coordinated 100% by CFB & FFA

volunteers. In addition, Interactive Farm 2011 improved our interaction

with local FFA students and provided non-farm FFA students with an

opportunity to use this week-long activity as part of their Supervised

Agricultural Experience Record Book Project. Interactive Farm was a huge

success and one of the most innovative exhibits ever at our county fair!*

Knox, "Puppet Barn Stage" – Year Round. 30 vol/4,000 students. CFB’s

AITC coordinator, with the help of a local FFA Chapter, constructed a barn

which acts as a stage for a farm safety puppet show. Our coordinator

takes the puppet stage to various classrooms to educate students on

safety around farm animals. The puppets for the show include: a horse,

goat, pig, chicken, cow, sheep, turkey, donkey, and a dog. These puppets

help teach students the importance of safety on and off the farm and

stress the importance that learning farm safety is not just for farm kids, but

also for kids who live in town that might visit the farm.


-10-

100. AG LITERACY

Shelby, "Memorial Tractor Drive & Show" – 97 tractor drivers

participated in the 3rd Annual Tractor Drive and Show. The drive offered

a 28 mile route for tractors maintaining 12 mph and a 18 mile route for

tractors maintaining 8 mph through the north west corner of the county

beginning on the fairgrounds. Lunch was served and the tractors were on

display for a tractor show from 12-2 p.m. Top 5 plaques were awarded

based on the a 5 member selection committee. The drive registration fee

and silent auction raised over $6,000 for the CFB Foundation scholarship

program. 45 volunteers helped with the event.

Mercer, "Dr. Seuss Day" – Our County Ag Literacy Coordinator hosted a

Dr. Seuss Day at one of the elementary schools in the county. The

school’s FFA chapter assisted with the program. Thirteen students

volunteered to assist with the program. 230 students rotated among six

different stations. The first station was “Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?” At

that station students learned about dairy and received an ice cream treat.

The next station was “Green Eggs and Ham” where the students received

a green egg with a pig eraser and learned facts about pork and poultry.

The third station was “The Cat and the Hat.” At that station the students

learned about the many different hats that a farmer wears. The fourth

station was “McElligot’s Pool” where the students learned about

aquaculture and enjoyed fish crackers. The fifth station was “O Say Can


-11-

100. AG LITERACY

you Seed.” The students received a “beanie baby” at this station and

learned about plants. The final station was “Hop on Pop” where the

students learned about corn and the many uses of corn. They even

received bubble wrap to pop to go along with the story. The program was

very well received by the students and they stated that they learned a lot

about agriculture all while having a blast!

Monroe, "Behind the Scenes Tour of the County Fair" – Last year the

committee invited daycares to the county fair for a Behind the Scenes

Tour to increase children’s understanding of agriculture. A sub-committee

of four members met to expand the tour. Committee members invited

children from 10 daycares in the county; 6 of them participated. 9

committee members and FFA members served as tour guides taking 243

students, ages 4-12, and 25 teachers through each barn. This was an

increase of 80 children from last year. YL’s Committee, FFA & 4-H

members and livestock producers served as presenters to show students

what the animals eat, how they are cared for, and why we need them.

Petting the animals and listening to them communicate were highlights for

the students. Seeing the large farm equipment, fruit, vegetable, and crop

displays sparked interest among the groups. Despite the hot

temperatures, the kids loved the tours. Ag Mags and coloring books were

given to each student as well as activities for the teachers to use in the


-12-

100. AG LITERACY

future. The program will expand to include day cares who couldn’t

participate due to transportation issues this year.

Boone, "2nd Annual Family Wellness Night" – 1 local beekeeper and 1

staff created and worked the FB booth at the local elementary school for

their Family Wellness Night for 1.5 hours that focused on nutrition,

physical activity, and personal hygiene. The elementary school is

considered a small neighborhood school with approximately 300 students;

consisting of a low income level of 64%. 10 booths were set up by

different organizations and those that attended were given a schedule of

events and their locations in the school. This is the second year that the

CFB was invited to participate in this event. This year the FB focused on

our dependence on honey bees to provide many of our fruits and

vegetables as well as the medicinal uses and benefits of honey. An

observation hive was brought in and each student who found the queen

bee received a sticker and a honey stick. Handouts on the benefits of

honey and various activity sheets were provided. Approximately 100

people attend the event. Through educating students about honey bees

we hope to broaden their understanding and tolerance for honey bees and

encourage them to add more fruits and vegetables to their diet and look at

honey for medicinal needs such as burns, allergies, coughs and sore

throats.


-13-

100. AG LITERACY

* Whiteside, "Farm in the Park" – Our goal was to provide a fun, learning

experience for kids and their parents that educated them on the role

agriculture plays in their daily lives. The planning was done by Farm

Bureau staff, the Ag Literacy Coordinator, and Extension's 4-H director,

with guidance/input provided by the four-member Education & Safety

Committee. It was decided to hold the event at a park with a large

pavillion. The park district was contacted and a pavillion was secured for

June 4. We made a barn that kids started at to get their bag filled with

take home materials, including ag mags. Each kids also got to pick their

own "farmer's cap". We had several local ag businesses donate more

than 300 caps. We decided to offer seven stations:

Jackson, "Farm Tours for Tikes" – Our Ag In The Classroom

Committee wanted to provide students with a look at agriculture in action.

We have a local farmer that raises row crops, swine, and cattle close to

town that was willing to work with us. We then contacted first grade

teachers around the county to tell them about this great opportunity. Ag In

The Classroom material was supplied to the teachers for use in their

classrooms two weeks prior to the tour. Two days were then scheduled for

the tour. The host farm family showed the students various pieces of farm

equipment and discussed their use on the farm. Students then viewed and

discussed the swine and beef enterprises and how they play a role on his

farming operation. To explain how crops get from the field to market, each


-14-

100. AG LITERACY

class was told they represented a combine. Students were then taken out

to the corn fields where they picked and shelled corn by hand into

baskets. After the baskets, which represented farm trucks, were full, they

were hauled to a local elevator and weighed. The students then carried

their corn to the pit and dumped it, just like the trucks would do. Before

leaving the corn field, students were shown various products made from

corn that they would recognize. 10 volunteers were used to make this a

very successful project. 150 students and 8 teachers were reached. 100%

AITC Committee

Stephenson, "Farm Fun Zone" – Now in its fourth year, our 40x60 tent

at our county fair was again a huge hit with fair visitors. Our primary focus

is to provide a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere filled with activities

and educational opportunities. A new Case-IH tractor (promoting our

member discount) and prominent signage greeted visitors at our entrance

along the main road, with a shaded area and park benches adjacent. We

had live animals on display including 2 sheep, 3 goats, 3 piglets, a dairy

calf, and 2 rabbits. Again this year we hatched chicks and had them

housed in a terrarium (the first ones hatched the night before the fair

began, and thirteen more hatched throughout the first three days). The

animals are always a huge attraction, as is the 10' feed trough filled with

corn and farm toys (it's constantly surrounded by smiling kids). We had

numerous hands-on activities and games for kids, ag videos playing in a


-15-

100. AG LITERACY

rotation, an antique tractor and engine raffle, and displays by Farm

Bureau, FSA, SWCD, and COUNTRY Financial. Each day was a different

commodity theme (pork, beef, corn, soy and dairy) with free popcorn on

Thursday and cheese sticks on Saturday. Daily door prizes were given,

and the final round of public voting was held for our third annual photo

contest to determine the 12 winners. We had a viewpoint survey for our

voting members to complete (printed in our FarmWeek county page the

prior two months) for which they received $4 in “Fair Bucks” (122 surveys

were completed). A local radio station did live remote broadcasts

Wednesday-Friday afternoons, and some of our FB leaders were

interviewed. We estimate over 2000 people came through the tent during

the five days. Our local ag literacy coordinator cooperates with us in

planning and executing the project, and over 30 volunteers assisted. We

are already working on plans for an expanded presence and new activities

for 2012.

Randolph, "Pull & Cast for Agriculture Education" – Our board of

directors joined forces with the neighboring County Farm Bureau to offer

the Pull and Cast for Agriculture, a multi-faceted fund raiser for AITC. The

two boards recruited assistance from Extension, FS, IFB, Farm Credit,

and IDNR to pull off one of the best 1-day shooting and fishing event in

the Midwest. Countless hours of preparation went into the event including

developing a scoring data base, obtaining sponsors, prize donations,


-16-

100. AG LITERACY

volunteer recruitment, creating and implementing a registration process,

designing an on-line registration web page, shooter recruitment, cost and

fee analysis, filling a worker schedule, working through contracts, and

partnering with IDNR to facilitate our shoot. The day of the event 24

volunteers helped and 117 sporting clay shooters from 3 states have a

great day of competition and camaraderie; this included youth participants

from 9 different schools. We had numerous classes for each event and

gave out over $4000 in prize and money during the event. There were

also 3 different games and a raffle available to all participants. One of the

features of our event included a $500 adult shootout and a $350/$150

Youth Shootout, which is very unusual for fundraising events. Overall we

raised around $5000 for our local AITC programs.

Williamson, "Kindergarten Equine Experience" – May 23rd of 2011,

101 kindergarten students and 40 volunteers visited a horse farm. Eight

learning stations were set up for the groups of children. It started with a

volunteer showing how to properly handle, groom and saddle a horse,

then they broke up into small groups for 1) horse identification of colors, 2)

proper grooming & feeding, 3) The tackroom and what is tack, 4) roping

area with dummies for the kids to rope, 5) Stick horse barrel racing, 6)

Water relays, filling one trough from another with small buckets, 7) each

student got to ride a horse being lead by a volunteer, 8) petting zoo, where

children got to view and touch, chickens, goats, cows and a donkey.


-17-

100. AG LITERACY

Grundy, "Draw Down" – The 2nd Annual CFB Foundation Draw Down

was held to increase support from the CFB to other Ag organizations

within the community, including the CFB Agriculture In the Classroom

Program. The committee began meeting monthly in November 2010 and

decided to organize the fundraiser for March 2011. Committee members

sold 250 tickets at $50 each which admitted 2 people for the evening and

included the meal, beverages, and entertainment by a local DJ. Silent and

live auctions were also held during the Draw Down. The event consisted

of a meal, entertainment tables, and music. 3 subcommittees were

created to organize the silent/live auctions, entertainment/food, and

sponsors. Through ticket sales, event sponsors, silent & live auctions, and

raffles during the evening, the event brought in over $25,000! The CFB

Foundation will use the proceeds to support local Extension & 4H

programs, county FFA chapters, the CFB AITC program, to sponsor

teachers for the Summer Agriculture Institute and other educational

training opportunities for leaders of the County Farm Bureau. Plans are

underway for the 2012 event to occur the last Saturday in March 2012.

* DeKalb, "Farmers Ag Mag" – We interviewed and photographed 6 area

farmers to feature in a full-color, 4-page, 11”x17” Ag Mag titled

“_________ County Farmers”. The publication included articles on how we

depend on farmers, how farms/farmers are different, percentage of family


-18-

100. AG LITERACY

farms, personal glimpses of the 6 farmers, and a guide to common farm

structures. 3 local agribusinesses readily agreed to sponsor the first

printing of 3,500 copies. The Ag Mag was designed to accompany our

new 4th grade AITC presentation, “Mapping Illinois Agriculture”, and to also

be appealing and educational for students and adults of all ages. A

subsequent printing enabled its use as a special Ag Week insert in our

March FB newspaper. IMPACT: 770 students, 6,500 FB members, 450

general public. NEEDS MET: This educational piece puts a face on our

local farmers and has been/will be distributed for events such as AITC

presentations, Ag Day at a university football game, a local steam power

show, the Foods Resource Bank Harvest Celebration, and more. Our Ag

Mag builds on the popularity of those created by Illinois AITC while

increasing appreciation and understanding of our local farmers and ag

production.

DuPage, "Pizza, Plants, Summer School" – Extending AITC into

summer school. With the goal to provide youth with learning opportunities

that teach the value of agriculture education, the implications for their

careers and the value to our nation’s economy, our summer school

programs reached hundreds of students that otherwise may not have

heard our message. These students come from families of diverse

ethnicities, high-density populations, and suburban middle class working

poor. Our multi-targeted approach mixes AG production, careers,


-19-

100. AG LITERACY

science, environmental awareness, and nutrition. Our Pizza lesson

addressed the broad scope of the AG industry from the grains farmer to

the pizza restaurant. Students learned about the dairy, grains, and

livestock industries, vegetable growers, and the vast number of careers.

The Food Pyramid Nutrition lessons taught how pizza satisfies the basic

food groups. The Plants/ Seeds lessons taught biotechnology and how

science guides farmers to aid in weather forecasting, fertilization, and

seed development. The lessons prepared students to be better able to

make informed decisions when considering national concerns. The Plants

and Seeds lessons provided hands-on planting, understanding soil’s

importance, germination, seed parts, and the growing cycle. At the end of

the summer school, students consumed their harvest thus illustrating the

farmer’s role as steward and producer. Students learned about food

safety, animal rights, environmental concerns and water quality. We

delivered 19 sessions to 315 students.

LaSalle, "Adopted Legislator 4th Grade Essay Contest" – In an effort

to promote National Agriculture Week and encourage young urban

students to learn more about agriculture, our county farm bureau

legislative committee co-sponsored an essay contest for the 4th grade

classrooms in our adopted legislators’ district. The winning classroom

would receive an all expenses paid trip to our county fair in the summer.

We met with our adopted legislator and with the help of our Northwest


-20-

100. AG LITERACY

Legislative Coordinator, developed a set of criteria upon which the essays

were to be judged. Each participant was required to submit a 100-300

word essay on “Why Agriculture is important to Me”. In addition to the

students essays the teachers were asked to submit one as well detailing

“Why Agriculture is important to my students”. All essays were to be

returned to the legislator’s district office to be judged. In all, 162 student

essays were turned in along with five teacher essays. The winners were

then selected by our adopted legislator and notified by our county farm

bureau and arrangements were made for transportation and lunch on the

day of the event. We had a total of 40 students and two teachers

participate. Our adopted legislator accompanied the group on the bus. On

the day of the trip, we made arrangements for the them to stop at a local

implement dealer who talked to them about the various implements

needed to produce a crop. They were able to climb on the tractors and

combines to get a better idea of the size of the piece of equipment. After

the trip to the implement dealer they arrived at our fair. While on the bus

our Legislative Chairman greeted them and talked about what they were

going to see and divided them out into 6 groups to be lead around the

fairgrounds by our 6 legislative committee members. The students were

able to get a hands on experience with the livestock and other 4-H

projects as they toured the livestock barns. The local media was on hand

to follow the kids around and ask them questions about what they

experienced. They then ran an article on their front page detailing the


-21-

100. AG LITERACY

children’s experience and comments. We definitely feel this project met

our goal of helping urban youth have a better understanding of where their

food comes from and the important role agriculture plays in their lives.

Will, "AITC Electronic Newsletter" – 12 volunteers. 200+ schools,

10/10. This newsletter has been an innovative way to connect with

teachers and get the AITC message to many schools. The newsletter

informs teachers of upcoming AITC events, resources, teacher

scholarships and grant opportunities. A topical one page lesson plan is

included. This newsletter is sent to every school within the county and

several individual teachers who have requested the newsletter. The list of

individual teachers asking to be added grows every month because they

want to make sure they get the information! The committee was happy to

save postage and paper and believes that the information is being

distributed to a greater, more diverse group of educators.

Winnebago, "Children’s Farm at Local Park District" – 24 vol. from the

AITC, PT’s, a local FFA Chapter and 4-H Clubs worked to provide Ag

education opportunities to students and the public. The 2 CFBs set up

several displays on Bee’s, Pigs, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Oats, Apples,

Pumpkins, Sheep and Chickens. Kids of all ages learned about the

animals, growth of a pumpkin and made corn plastic along with other

agricultural related activities they could take home at the pumpkin festival.


-22-

100. AG LITERACY

120 K-3rd grade students participated in the fall Apple Day program.

Apple day included a look at a local apple orchard through the different

seasons; meeting an employee/ family member of the orchard; learning

about apple production and practices; making apple chains; as well as

touring the park’s barnyard. 128 K-1st grade students participated in the

spring soybean program. This program included a look at how soybeans

grow; the many different products that are produced from soybeans;

beanie baby activity; as well as touring the park’s barnyard. CFB

volunteers hatched chicks and the kids made horse bookmarks, wool-

covered bars of soap at Animal Mania. Approximately 3000 visited the

park to participate in the different activities. The program continues to

grow as we look to expand the number of days we do programs at the

park and are continuing to involve more farmers, FFA and 4-H members in

doing the activities at the park.

Kane, "SPROUTS" – Reading to Urban Teachers & Students. May 9 - 13,

2011. 4th year of program to help students learn about ag, how it affects

their lives and prepare 3rd grade students (and teachers) for CFB

programs, curriculum and materials offered in 4th grade. Reading

volunteers attended a March training session to prepare to go to

classrooms to read "Heartland" to students and use hands on activities

and visuals to help with comprehension. Teachers are provided follow up


-23-

100. AG LITERACY

activities and "Farmer George Plants a Nation" for class libraries. 16

volunteers read to 50 classrooms, reaching over 1700 students.


-24-

2002 pears pals---100 · web view5th grade bags included the beef princess of practical county with...

Documents