CHS Grants for K-12 Teachers Available - $1,500 Awarded for Use of Ag-Based Lessons

CHS is providing five Classroom Grants through the National Agriculture in the Classroom. The $1,500 grants will be awarded to kindergarten through 12th grade core education teachers whose innovative classroom projects use agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, nutrition, science and/or social studies. The deadline for grant proposals is September 15, 2015. Recipients will be notified by email on or before October 1, 2015.   

The CHS Classroom Grant Program is designed to fund projects that will educate K-12 students about the importance of agriculture and allow teachers to use agricultural concepts to teach core subject areas. Those who receive one of the five grants will be required to use at least two lesson plans from the National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix or two lesson plans from a state Agriculture in the Classroom program.

In addition, grant proposals must demonstrate how local farmers, ranchers or agriculture industry representatives will be involved in the project. 

Grant reviewers will use this CHS Grant Rubric. 

CHS will highlight the winning classroom grants at its annual meeting in December 2016.

Timeline:
Grant proposals must be submitted online by midnight (PST) September 15, 2015.
Awards will be announced via email October 1, 2015
A final report due to the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization by June 1, 2016.

For more information, visit http://www.agclassroom.org/get/chs_grant.cfm. 

Owensboro Farmer Provides Home-Grown Education for Community Kids

Suzanne Cecil White, a produce farmer in Owensboro, knows the value of education and learning by doing. She is also a strong advocate of healthy eating and providing her community a personal connection to her farm. By adding these passions together, this former high school math teacher has a formula for success.

Two years ago, Suzanne wanted to create a program that allowed kids to get their hands dirty and understand how fruits and vegetables are produced locally. Once a week for six weeks, she hosted a "Farm Camp" for kids ages 7-10. The kids were able to plant and harvest their own vegetables while learning about farming along the way. They also visited other farms in the area to learn about livestock and different farm enterprises. The camp was a huge success, and several parents asked if it would be offered again.

The produce season of 2014 came with a new addition to her family, but she knew she wanted to continue providing educational programs through her farm.

Earlier this year, she connected with a local Boys and Girls Club (Cliff Hagan Boys and Girls Club) through her involvement in area leadership organizations. The club was offering a locally-funded program called "Positive Sprouts" and Suzanne wanted to offer her expertise and her farm for their curriculum.

Suzanne provided the club a small plot on her family's produce farm (Cecil Farms Produce). They planted on March 31st and have been tending it at least once weekly ever since. The kids are now enjoying harvesting the vegetables, and they sell it at the local farmer's market, use it for meals at the club, or provide it for their families. The money the kids make at the farmer's market goes back to the program.

"This has been a very successful program," Suzanne said. "The kids love it. The community members love it. The farmer's market customers love it. I had a customer start crying because she saw the joy on the kids' faces when they shared their experience with her. This has had such a positive impact on everyone involved.

Ag in the Classroom Launches National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix

The National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix is an online, searchable, and standards-based curriculum map for K-12 teachers. The Matrix contextualizes national education standards in science, social studies, and nutrition education with relevant instructional resources linked to Common Core Standards.

Search the instructional, classroom-ready resources >>

Kentucky Hosts Successful National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference

Kentucky Farm Bureau's Betty Farris checking out a few
agriculture resources at the NAITC in Louisville.

More than 400 educators from around the country learned the ‘Unbridled Possibilities’ of using agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, science, social studies and more at the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization’s (NAITCO) National Conference held at The Galt House Hotel June 16-20 in Louisville, Kentucky.

NAITCO, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food & Agriculture and Kentucky Agriculture in the Classroom, held three days of workshops that showed kindergarten through 12th grade teachers how to use agriculture to teach core subject areas. In addition, conference participants went on traveling workshops of nearby farms and university research facilities to learn about the equine, soybean and bourbon industries, among other stops. The conference also honored several national teacher winners and a national Ag Advocate winner for the innovative ways they use agriculture to teach students about an important industry.

The Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom was sponsor of the state coordinators annual meeting. Executive Director Jennifer Elwell and Vice Chair Becky Kinder (Kentucky Soybean Board) attended meet program coordinators and educators from across the country as well as showcase KyAEC programs and resources.

KyAEC Vice Chair Becky Kinder and Executive Director Jennifer Elwell. 

This activity that encourages students to learn where key commodities are produced
was a huge hit with the conference attendees.

Kentucky teacher Leslie Meredith

Kentucky was also honored to have a local recipient of the 2015 Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award, which is sponsored by the USDA-NIFA and Farm Credit. Seventh grade science teacher Leslie Preston Meredith earned the award for featuring agricultural concepts to teach across the curriculum to foster in her students’ minds a love of the environment and an appreciation of the importance of agriculture.

Kentucky Farm Bureau also played a large part in helping plan the conference and schedule the local tours. They also provided scholarships for several Kentucky teachers to attend.

For more conference coverage, visit http://www.agclassroom.org/conference2015/index.htm.

Becky Kinder and Judy Hayden sharing a blanket for warmth in a typical hotel conference setting. 

Kentucky auctioneer David Neville (Capstone Produce Market) encourages bids during the live
auction to raise funds for the NAITC program. He sweetened the pot on several occasions. 

A group of educators from California were the winners of the Kentucky sponsored
gift basket and tickets and Churchill Downs. 

Kentucky group sharing stories and laughter. 

Kentucky teacher Judy Hayden leads addresses the group and asks for God's blessing on the meal. 

 

Kentucky Farm Bureau's Scott Christmas played a huge role in organizing the conference. 

Kentucky farmer Sharon Furches addressed a dinner crowd. 

Next year's National Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom's Conference will be held in Phoenix, AZ, June 20-24, 2016. Learn more at www.agclassroom.org. 

Derby Week is a Great Time to Celebrate our Horse Heritage

The running of the Kentucky Derby and our rich equine heritage definitely make life unique in our great Commonwealth of Kentucky. We have put a few quick lessons and resources together to help introduce your students to the equine industry and "the greatest two minutes in sports."

Lessons on Horses & The Kentucky Derby - http://www.teachkyag.org/equine.html

http://www.teachkyag.org/equine.html 

Many thanks are provided to the Kentucky Horse Council and the Kentucky Equine Education Project for their support of our programs. 

KyAEC Awarded Additional Grant for Agriculture Education Projects

On Friday, the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, chaired by Gov. Steve Beshear, approved an additional $72,500 for curriculum and educator training projects during its April board meeting. This amount is in addition to the $71,384 awarded at the March board meeting for a new Mobile Science Activity Center. The grants are being provided for half the cost of the following programs:

• Mobile Science Activity Center - new trailer designed for use in eastern Kentucky.
• Video and activity guide production for use with the Mobile Science Activity Centers
• Development of "ag day" curriculum tools and displays for use by agricultural organizations
• In-classroom agriculture literacy resource development - print and web based
• Development of Kentucky agriculture booklet for use by farms and agriculture organizations
• Training workshops for volunteer agriculture educators and farms offering school tours and agritourism
• Agriculture curriculum workshops for student teachers.

Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom will work to implement these programs over the next two years and thanks the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board for their commitment to advancing agriculture literacy. 

Earth Day is April 22: Learn how Kentucky Farmers are Conserving our Land and Water

Some say that every day is Earth Day for our farmers, as they rely on the health of their soil and water supplies to produce safe, quality foods. While all farmers make a special effort to conserve resources, we wanted to highlight farmers that have been recognized by the Leopold Conservation Award the past two years for the conservation methods they have implemented on their Kentucky farms.

Literacy Activities for Earth Day

Have students read any or all of the following Kentucky farmer profiles (download the pdf). Discuss and/or have students complete the corresponding ELA Informational Text Worksheet.

Videos of the farmers may be viewed on our website.

Students may also be given the following writing prompt:

How are Kentucky farmers protecting our land wand water? After reading the farmer profiles and informational texts and/or watching the videos, write an essay in which you describe how Kentucky farmers are currently using sustainable methods to grow food, fiber, and energy. Support your article with evidence from the texts and videos.

DID YOU KNOW that NO-TILL crop farming (the practice of not breaking the soil before planting) has its roots in Kentucky?

Christian County farmer Harry Young, Jr. planted the first commercial no-till crop 50 years ago. While the goal was to reduce soil erosion, additional benefits included reduced fuel use, increased organic matter and water holding capacity, and higher soil quality. Today, about 70 percent of the state's wheat acreage, 50 percent of the corn acreage, and 80 percent of soybean acreage is no-till.

Read the article: Kentucky celebrates 50 years of no-till farming | View the Video

DID YOU KNOW that all Kentucky farms are required to develop and use an Agricultural Water Quality Plan?

The Kentucky General Assembly passed the Kentucky Agricultural Water Quality Act in 1994 to protect surface and groundwater resources from pollution as a result of agriculture and silviculture (forestry) activities. The Agricultural Water Quality Act requires all landowner/land users with 10 or more acres being used for agriculture or silviculture operations to develop and implement a water quality plan using best management practices.

Read more about the Kentucky Agricultural Water Quality Act and Plan