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Tennesseed Talks 'Food Prices'An Agriculture Ambassador Newsletter from
The Tennessee Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom
P. O. Box 313Columbia, TN 38401
Phone: 931.388.7872Fax: 931.388.5818
STAFF AND PROGRAMPERSONNEL
Lacy UpchurchPresident, TFBF
Charles CurtisDirector of Special Programs
Chris FlemingAssociate Director of Special Programs
Kristy ChastineAssociate Director of Special Programs
Teresa RagsdaleAssociate
EDUCATIONALCONSULTANTS
Barbara DavisMontgomery County
Linda FowlerWeakley County
Lou NaveCannon County
Tanna NicelyGrainger County
Herbert ParksClaiborne County
Leah ThompsonMaury County
Amy TuckWeakley County
Carole WillisCoffee County
December 2011
It‛s Turkey Eating Time in Tennessee!
We have so much to be thankful for this year. The Foundation has concluded another
year with growth in participation from teachers, students and donors. We were able to reach 1,178 teachers with AITC materials ... all at no charge to the schools, teachers or districts!
We have received 16 county nominations for the White-Reinhardt Scholarships. The
recipients of this scholarship will receive up to $1,500 toward their trip to the national AITC conference in Colorado. County nominees will receive recognition at the TFBF Women's Leadership Committee District meetings in March. The national winners will receive a paid registration, travel and hotel accommodations (in a shared room) to the national conference held in Loveland, Colorado, June 20-23, 2012. Winners will be announced in March 2012.
The holidays can be more than just a day to enjoy the bountiful harvest and express
our thanks as our forefathers did. If you have attended an AITC University workshop in the last few years, you have met our good friend Cowboy Dan. We are working on more videos that tell the story of agriculture and promote the "culture" of agriculture (character education).
During this Thanksgiving and Christmas sea-son, listen for Dan's radio spot about being
thankful. And if you think farmers deserve a little of that thanks, why not post your message of thanks on the tnfarmbureau.org website? While you are there, check out the "Where Does Thanksgiving Dinner Come From?" poster that you can download from the AITC page. It is a great tool to use with geography. For our fourth grade teachers, consider participating in the "Where Do We Get Our Food?" poster contest. Seventh grade students can enter the "What Is A Farmer?" essay contest.
The retail cost of menu items for a classic Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, stuff-
ing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the basic trimmings increased about 13 percent this year, according to the American Farm Bureau. AFBF’s 26th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.20, a $5.73 price increase from last year’s average of $43.47. The 13 percent increase tracks closely with the organization’s 2011 quarterly marketbas-ket food surveys (available online at http://newsroom.fb.org) and the federal government’s Consumer Price Index for food (available online at http://data.bls.gov/).
Will what you put on your plate meet the guidelines set out by the Center for
Nutrition Policy and Promotion, an organiza-tion of the U.S. Department of Agriculture? The Center was established in 1994 to improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans. Toward this goal, the Center focuses its efforts on two primary objectives: 1. Advance and promote dietary guidance for all Americans, and 2. Conduct applied research and analyses in nutrition and consumer economics.
The MyPlate symbol recently replaced the pyramid/rainbow logo that included physi-
cal activity as a vital part of determining your dietary needs. We are currently attempting to modify our lesson plans to comply with the new symbol. The only significant difference, other than the "look" is the name change of the "Milk" group to the "Dairy" again. We hope this con-stantly changing symbol does not dampen your efforts to include nutritional education in your classroom. What am I thinking? As educators, you work in a constant state of change!
Classic Thanksgiving Dinner Costing More in 2011
TENNESSEE FOUNDATIO
N
AG
RIC
ULTURE IN THE CLASSROO
M
for
�anksgiving Dinner Cost
1986 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
55
45
35
25
15
2011
2011
In�ation – Adjusted Cost
Cost
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lars
Source: © 2011 American Farm Bureau Federation®
A n e w l y updat-
ed website has great ideas for t e a c h e r s and stu-dents!
The “Kids' Z o n e ”
p a g e , located at agclassroom.org/kids is a one-stop location for science projects, agriculture facts about all fifty states, and vir-tual tours.
The site is maintained by the USDA AITC program and has resources from lesson plans to E-zines for teens.
Clicking on the "Farm & Fun Food" cloud brings links to sixteen additional resources.
Science Projects are a great way to get students actively researching. This allows them to use and
develop the skills that are emphasized in Tennessee's standards.
Are you having trouble getting your middle school stu-dents to realize the importance of chemistry? The
IPNI Academy (accessed through the "Science Projects" cloud) has animated games and fact sheets dealing with fertilizer elements: nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.
Virtual Agriculture in the Classroom?
NOW AVAILABLE AT AGCLASSROOM.ORG!
We hope to see you in the new year!
The Tennessee Foundation for AITC is constantly looking for ways to better serve you the teacher. Our Advisory
Council encourages us to do more each year: produce and distribute more standards-based materials and lesson plans; provide professional development for more teachers; train more student teachers; assist with more local Farm Day Tours; and recognize more students and teachers for their participation in our poster and essay contests.
In an effort to do just that, we are currently developing virtual classroom activities that can be "piped" into your
classroom through video conferencing equipment. We have a Polycom HDX 7000 video conferencing setup that will al-low us to connect with schools across Tennessee. Our goal
is to provide pre-session lesson plans that will prepare the students for the one-hour "live" interactive presentation. Follow-up lessons can be used to extend the learning. Pre- and post-tests can be used to evaluate the sessions.
We are in the planning stages right now, so if you have suggestions for subjects, topics and methods, let us
know. In the mean while, you can visit CILC.org and check out Kings County, California's two video conferences. One is about cotton and the other is about milk. These ses-sions cost $75 for schools outside of California. Our goal is to provide our presentations just like our materials and professional development events -FREE!! Please email your suggestions to [email protected]
Tennessee Foundation for Agriculture in the ClassroomP O Box 313Columbia TN 38402-0313