Urban Ag in the Classroom

           “Do all farmers wear overalls and straw hats?” “Silos hold milk, right?” “How long does it take a quarter of beef to grow back?” - And then there is the classic- “If white milk comes from white cows, does chocolate milk come from brown cows?”

These questions are just a few of many that are asked when Agriculturalists share their knowledge about agriculture at state fairs and expos where livestock are present. People are completely serious when they ask these questions. How could they be so naïve about different agricultural processes? It is for this reason that Urban Ag in the Classroom events were started.

Urban Ag in the Classroom events were developed to teach elementary and high school students on the process of how their food gets from the field to the grocery store. This is accomplished through workshops, hands-on activities, and the ability to bring livestock into the learning area. A typical workshop will start by the volunteer asking what agriculture means to the students and how they are affected by it. Students are surprised when they realize that they are affected by agriculture every day whether it is through the food they eat; the gas they put in their cars; the toys they play with; or the clothing and make-up that they wear.

            Bringing animals for the students to see is highlight of Urban Ag in the Classroom events. For a lot of the students it is their first time seeing any type of livestock- much less touch them. In an event put on by the Morris and Dassel-Cokato FFA chapters, cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses were brought to the school for the students to pet. By each animal there was an information booth where agriculturalists talked about each animal and different by-products that were made as a result of the animal.

In another event put on at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, over six hundred 5^th graders were brought in from local schools to go through different booths about agriculture, meet agriculturalists, see livestock animals, and get a free meal put together by the Minnesota Cattle Growers Association. It is through events like this that children get a glimpse at what it is like to be actively involved in agriculture and what agriculture really means. Agriculture educators stress the importance of agriculture and the diversity of it. It is because of people like them that students know the correct answers to “Do all farmers wear overalls and straw hats?” “What do silos hold?” “How long does it take a quarter of beef to grow back?” and “Where does chocolate milk come from?”

 For more information on Urban Ag in the Classroom events, see your state’s Department of Agriculture>Ag in the Classroom website.

Resources:
http://www.agclassroom.org/
Morris FFA Chapter- Ag in the Classroom: http://www.morrisareaffa.org/UrbanAgintheClassroomProject.aspx

Related Websites: 

http://www.nd.gov/ndda/program/ag-classroom
http://www.nd.gov/ndda/program/ag-classroom
North Dakota AgMag: http://www.nd.gov/aitc/ag_mag/
Minnesota Ag Mag: http://www.mda.state.mn.us/kids.aspx

A tribute to The Blue and Gold

“I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words but of deeds”. This phrase, followed by the rest of the National FFA Creed has been repeated thousands of times all over the United States for the past eighty-six years. The National FFA Creed was written by E.M. Tiffany and was adopted at the third National FFA Convention. This document has been the foundational component for many FFA chapters as it describes the goals of the organization and the leadership that its members are entitled to. For more information on the National FFA Creed, see the link below.

With February 20-27^th, 2016 being National FFA Week, I wanted to give tribute to everything FFA has done for me. I became involved in FFA through my crazy, passionate and enthusiastic Ag teacher, Natasha Mortenson.  At the time, I was a shy ninth grader who had a lot to learn about agriculture and FFA.   I am the daughter of a farmer and love horses. With this as my background, my Ag teacher encouraged me to get involved with the chapter by going to meetings, participating in CDE’s, attending leadership camps, and running for chapter offices. Over the next four years she encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone. I did this through several different areas: I joined the horse evaluation team and for the last two years was the coach and taught younger students how to judge horses; I wrote lesson plans and gave horse lessons to local FFA members; I participated in Farm Bureau Discussion meet for four years; I served as the FFA Region III Vice President where I created and facilitated workshops for regional FFA members; and, lastly, I started my own radio show called The Ag Blast where I research, interview, write, and record a five minute flash on agriculture. 

I have had the opportunity to do great things with in the National FFA Organization, however, they did not come without hardships. For example, my first year competing in the Farm Bureau Discussion Meet, I made it to the state competition. Going into the state meet, I was prideful and over-confident. I had not researched the material like I should have and was rudely awakened to the fact that hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. For the next three years, I studied the material and interviewed agriculturalist so that I would have more of a background as to what the topics were about. Because of my determination, I was able to achieve my goal by winning the Farm Bureau Discussion Meet my senior year of high school.

Another example of challenging situation occurred through the production of The Ag Blast. I started The Ag Blast in 2012 after not receiving at chapter officer position for the second year in a row. I was crushed. I had wanted to contribute more to the FFA Organization and did not know how to do that outside of an officer position. My advisor suggested that I start my own radio program, so I did. In the beginning, I was very nervous while recording because I did not know what people would think of the show. Overtime, I gained more confidence and started interviewing agribusiness people for my show as well! I competed with The Ag Blast SAE at the state level and received second place. However, I wanted to do better. Over the next year, I interviewed more people as well as trained in a younger FFA member to help me produce the show. The next year I competed at the state level and I won! My application then went on to the national level and I received word that I had made the final four. This meant that I would have to compete in live interviews at the National FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. Preparing for nationals was hard. I traveled for several hours for practice interviews with people and put in over a hundred hours studying agricultural topics- all while being a full time college student. It took a lot of researching, mock interviews, speech lessons, and encouragement from others for me to win the 2015 National Agricultural Communications Award.

Although I have been successful with in my competitions, I have learned valuable life lessons along the way. One of the main lessons that I have learned is that even when doors close on you, there will always be another one to open- you just have to be willing to take them. FFA has offered me many opportunities; however, I am not the only one that has reaped the benefits it has to offer. According to the National FFA Organization website, there are currently 629,327 FFA members, aged 12-21, in 7,757 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with great agricultural experiences being offered to them. The National FFA Organization goal is to develop students in areas such as premier leadership, personal growth and career success and it has done just that. In the interview conducted by the Red River Farm Network with the North Dakota State FFA President Clair Endres in regards to National FFA week, she says, “National FFA week is all about celebrating our organization and all the great things that it does for members. It’s all about educating our classmates and the community about the FFA and enjoying the week itself, because FFA has done lots of things for a lot of people.” National FFA week is a reminder to present and past FFA members on the opportunities that have been made possible through FFA. It is also a time to raise awareness for how important agriculture really is in our daily lives. FFA members are the future of agriculture. With all of the opportunities that the organization has to offer, the future of agriculture looks pretty good.

Resources:

National FFA Creed: https://www.ffa.org/about/who-we-are/ffa-creed

History of the National FFA Creed: https://www.ffa.org/SiteCollectionImages/Historical%20Perspectives%20of%20the%20FFA%20Creed-Connors-Velez-2007.pdf

National FFA Statistics: https://www.ffa.org/about/what-is-ffa/statistics

Red River Farm Network Interview with ND State President “Celebrating Blue and Gold”: http://www.rrfn.com/news.php
National FFA Emblem: https://www.google.com/search?q=national+ffa+emblem&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwij0rbT7YzLAhWEAxoKHcoBC9MQ_AUIBygB&biw=1517&bih=741&dpr=0.9#imgrc=jrBIfcECKAguxM%3A

More information from my blog on FFA and Agricultural Education “Agricultural Education in a nutshell”: http://theagblast.blogspot.com/

Agricultural Education in a nutshell

When it comes to agricultural education, there are three components that are involved- Classroom Instruction, Supervised Agricultural Experience, and FFA Leadership. These components are known as the three circle model of agricultural education. Through classroom instruction, students develop their core knowledge of the diversity of agriculture and the essentials of what goes on behind the scenes of livestock and plant production, as well as the process of how food goes from the field to the table. According to the Teach Ag website, there are fourteen different classes that an Ag teacher can teach- Animal Science, Welding, Horticulture, and Food Chemistry are just to name a few. To see the full list you can visit the NAAE website or follow the link below.

The second element of agricultural education is Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE). This is where students get a hands-on learning experience outside of the classroom. The four categories of SAE’s are as follows: Entrepreneurship (which is where you own and operate your own agricultural business such as a lawn care or picking rock service); Placement (which is where you get a job or internship for an agricultural business, farm, ranch, or laboratory); Research and Experimentation Plan (which is where you create a hypothesis and then conduct your own scientific experiment); and Exploratory (which is where you explore possible agricultural career opportunities by attending a career fair or shadowing a person in the agricultural work field). SAE’s are a great way for students to find what their interests are in agriculture and how they can use their own talents in the agricultural work field.

The final section of agricultural education is FFA Leadership.  According to the National FFA Organization, “FFA is committed to the individual student, providing a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.  FFA helps the next generation rise up to meet their challenges by helping its members develop their own unique talents and explore their interests in a broad range of agricultural career pathways.” One of the ways that FFA helps students find their interests in agriculture is through Career Development Events (CDE). CDE’s are agricultural competitions which are based off of real agricultural careers. There are twenty-four different events that students can participate in ranging from public speaking to mechanics to floriculture. Through these competitions, students are tested on their knowledge and ability to do different tasks within their competition field. Another area of FFA is leadership camps. Through this opportunity you can meet with other students who have a passion for agriculture on a regional, statewide, and national level. At these camps they stress the importance of sharing a positive message of agriculture with others, help you develop a lifelong Living To Serve plans, as well as challenge youth to step outside of their comfort zones to find their passions in agriculture.

Classroom instruction, Supervised agricultural experience, and FFA leadership all play a critical role in developing students knowledge of the diversity of agriculture, where their food comes from, and what role they can play in the future of agriculture. Without this knowledge, people will make uneducated decisions when it comes to political and social issues which in turn will have a huge impact on the future of agriculture production.  

Resources:
National Teach Ag Campaign Website: http://www.naae.org/teachag/faq.cfm
National FFA Website: https://www.ffa.org/about/what-is-ffa

Three Circle model picture: https://www.google.com/search?q=three+circle+model+of+agricultural+education&biw=1821&bih=897&tbm=isch&imgil=pkz1Fk_Lno6DHM%253A%253BvAQ5v-AW1IewKM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Frider.ffanow.org%25252Fdefault.aspx%25253FID%2525253D6363&source=iu&pf=m&fir=pkz1Fk_Lno6DHM%253A%252CvAQ5v-AW1IewKM%252C_&usg=__KAmflgapA6UtOjDMhL-USw0nafA%3D&dpr=0.75&ved=0ahUKEwjOipeVzvfKAhVLGB4KHffwD-4QyjcINA&ei=s6LAVo7lN8uwePfhv_AO#imgrc=zmpXUgvcgekSDM%3A