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/ 

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.