On the Radio with Across Kentucky

Excitement for our programs is building, and we shared that excitement with Kentucky Farm Bureau's Across Kentucky radio program today. Thank you for the love, Mike Feldhaus!

Listen to the interview: http://kyfbnewsroom.com/across-kentucky-december-18-2014/ 

Holiday Farm Fun in the Classroom

We have been searching the internet for a number of resources and facts that tie together agriculture and Christmas. Be sure to check out our Pinterest page for all of our favorites. 

Christmas Tree Fun Facts 

Developing the Informed Consumer

This post originally appeared in The Farmer's Pride:

For this month’s column, I am putting on my “youth education” hat.

Those of you who read The Farmer’s Pride on a regular basis may know that I recently changed jobs. I am now the executive director of the Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom, a coalition of agriculture community members dedicated to growing agricultural and environmental literacy across the Commonwealth. While I have always been thankful for my work with the Kentucky Corn Growers and Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association members, I know that I will be able to serve a broader audience in my new role.

Over the past several years I have come to realize how important agriculture literacy is during a child’s education. Going beyond “kids need to know where their food comes from,” we are developing the future consumer. Once a person leaves the nest and begins to make their own purchasing decisions, they may have already formed some pretty staunch opinions about the products they want to buy, especially food. It is our job to provide all of the facts and data we have available as early as possible so future decisions can be based more on science and critical thinking rather than emotion.

The challenge is getting this information into the classrooms. We are competing with core content standards testing, one hundred other interest groups that want their materials used, time, and occasionally, strong conflicting views of our educators.

Egg Cooking Demonstrations and Product Rebates Provided for Kentucky FCCLA Classrooms

The Kentucky Poultry Federation and Kentucky Egg Council are providing rebates on chicken and eggs used in Kentucky family and consumer science/FCCLA classes for the 2014-2015 school year. Qualified teachers may receive up to $21 on egg purchases and up to $20 on chicken purchases once they fill out a questionnaire and provide cash register receipts. Paperwork must be received by June 1, 2015.

View the questionnaire and rebate instructions.

In addition to providing the rebates, the Kentucky Egg Council also provides egg cooking demonstrations and poultry information in Kentucky's classrooms. Cassinda Bechanan, also known as the "Egg Lady," visits schools across the Bluegrass and is looking to increase the number of schools she attends.

Kentucky Poultry Federation Executive Director Jamie Guffey says the rebate and demonstration programs are great ways to help teach young consumers about Kentucky's top commodity while giving back to educators and schools.

For more information about either of these programs, contact Cassinda Bechanan, KPF Promotions Coordinator, at (859) 749-4677 or cbechanan@kypoultry.org. 

2015 Kentucky Agriculture Poster and Essay Contest

Entry Deadline is January 27, 2015.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has opened its 2015 Poster and Essay Contest to Kentucky students in grades K-12. The theme of the contest is Kentucky Agriculture: Growing the Next Generation of Farmers. All submissions must be exclusively created by the student.

Winners will be notified by February 20, 2015 and will receive $100 in addition to being recognized at the Kentucky Agriculture Day Celebration on March 13.

For more information, go to http://www.kyagr.com/marketing/poster-essay-contest.html or contact Jordan Spalding at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture at 502-782-4125 / jordan.spalding@ky.gov.

The contest is sponsored by the Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom, Inc.

KyAEC Featured on the Jean-Marie Ag Show

KyAEC Executive Director Jennifer Elwell had the opportunity to visit with the Jean-Marie Ag Show today about their cooperative education programs and why it is important to provide agricultural literacy. 

Listen to the pod cast here.

New Cooking Series Designed for Young Students

UK College of Agriculture chef gives hands-on instructions for locally-sourced Kentucky dishes

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Today First Lady Jane Beshear and Nancy Cox, dean of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, launched “Plant, Harvest, Eat” - a cooking demonstration series for elementary and middle school students.

“Plant, Harvest, Eat” features the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture’s Chef Bob Perry with third, fourth and fifth-grade students from Hartstern Elementary in Jefferson County, as well as students from Jessamine, Garrard and Calloway counties. The cooking demonstration series features students preparing easy and delicious recipes, using Kentucky-grown, raised and value-added food products.

“Plan, Harvest, Eat” will be available for viewing in the Capitol Education Center, located on the Capitol grounds and can be accessed here: http://bit.ly/1BoIRVW.

“I am extremely excited that we are able to utilize the renovated Capitol Education Center as a classroom to teach Kentucky children about locally-grown foods and healthy eating,” said Mrs. Beshear. “One of the roles of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is to educate our youth, and we are honored to have them as a partner in this initiative.”

“It was a pleasure for the college to work with First Lady Jane Beshear on a project that makes choosing and cooking food fun for kids,” said Dean Cox. “Our role in the college is to educate not only our students on campus but all the citizens of the state whether that is youth through 4-H or adults through the Cooperative Extension Service and other programs. We are particularly interested in helping people learn how to grow fruits and vegetables and in encouraging children and adults to enjoy fresh, locally produced products.”

The five recipes featured in the demonstrations include herbed pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes, roasted Kentucky Proud vegetables, a broccoli frittata, strawberry lemonade muffins and soy and sorghum glazed chicken wings with carrots and celery sticks. Many of these recipes are from the Plate it Up Kentucky Proud program.

Plate it Up Kentucky Proud is a partnership project between the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the School of Human Environmental Sciences in the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. This project provides healthy, great tasting recipes using Kentucky Proud products for the people of Kentucky.

You can find these recipes along with many others at the Kentucky Proud website: http://kyproud.com/kentucky-proud-recipes.aspx. Kentucky Proud is the official state marketing program for agricultural products.

Jennifer Elwell Named Executive Director of Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom, Inc.

Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom, Inc. (KAEC), a non-profit organization supported by Kentucky’s agricultural community, has named Jennifer Elwell Executive Director. In her new role, Elwell will develop, manage and promote collaborative educational projects that focus on food, fiber and renewable energy resources for Kentucky’s educators.

Elwell previously worked for the Kentucky Corn Growers and Kentucky Small Grain Growers Associations as their director of communications for more than 16 years, where she developed a number of educational tools, including the nationally-recognized virtual field trip series, Kentucky Farms Feed Me. She also has a passion for advocating for Kentucky’s farmers. Elwell writes and speaks about agricultural issues on a regular basis and earned the 2012 Kentucky Farm Bureau Farm Public Relations Award. She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture and the Kentucky Agricultural Leadership Program.

“Words cannot express how excited I am to be serving Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom and its members,” said Elwell. “I find so much joy in sharing the positive impacts of our farming community with others, and I am excited to be facilitating new programs that will bring the agriculture community together in a more unified effort.”

KAEC was formed in 1992 under the leadership of Jeff Rice and Billy Joe Miles of Owensboro, the late Buddy Adams of Bowling Green, and former Commissioner of Agriculture Ed Logsdon. The mission of the organization, in 1992 and as it is today, is to encourage and promote a partnership between agricultural and environmental groups and the educators of the Commonwealth in order to integrate the important concepts of agriculture and environment in the classroom.

“Building a larger support base and strengthening the relationships between our community and the education community are critical pieces of the puzzle for our success,” said Tod Griffin, and KAEC Chairman and Executive Director, Agribusiness Association of Kentucky. “We believed it was time to take our organization to the next level and have a dedicated and passionate individual to facilitate the change. The board of directors and I and are happy to have Jennifer Elwell on board and expect great things to come.”

​For more information about KAEC, its members, and its programs, visit www.teachkyag.com.