The Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation recently awarded funds to five projects teaching students and adults about agriculture.

These Agriculture Literacy Challenge Grants encourage organizations to teach agriculture to people who aren’t familiar with it. The intent is to increase ag awareness and knowledge among all ages. The five winning applications are:

Celebrate Community, Celebrate Cattle. Organized by Ag 4 All at Orient, this project will share the message of how Iowa cattle producers raise and care for their animals to ensure quality and safe food products. The message will be delivered to people attending community celebrations. The program will use interactive displays and trained volunteers. Samples of beef jerky will be provided. Activities will be featured at multiple community events.

iPads for FarmChat Programs. Organized by the Scott County Farm Bureau at Eldridge, iPads would be used to conduct FarmChat programs. The iPad will also be used to conduct Journey 2050 programs, a simulation activity that teaches sustainable agricultural practices and targets seventh- to 12th-graders.

Mitchell County FarmChat. Starting this summer, Mitchell County Extension at Osage will complete one FarmChat program per month. The programs will take students on a virtual field trip of a farm or agribusiness. Students in their classroom will interact live with a farmer via a video conferencing platform.

Ag Education Weeks. North Central Iowa Ag in the Classroom at Garner will visit school districts in an eight-county area for their Ag Education Weeks and provide every student with an ag lesson that meets standards, is age appropriate, fun and hands-on. The project provides educational take-home items the students can also share with their families.

Science of BBQ, Growing in the Garden. The Jackson County Ag Extension at Maquoketa will offer a day camp called the Science of BBQ. This program introduces participants to grilling methods, including cooking with gas and charcoal. Youth will explore various meat cuts, and how cooking temperatures and composition of the meat can affect the barbecuing process. Participants also will learn how to incorporate meat into a healthy diet, food safety and techniques such as using rubs, marinades and seasonings.

The Growing in the Garden program provides garden-based, nutritional, environmental and agricultural education to youth of all ages, through hands-on lessons and activities that connect learning in classrooms and after-school programs with living on planet Earth.

For Iowa, 1 in 5 jobs in ag

All Iowans are involved in agriculture by eating food and wearing clothes, notes Will Fett, executive director of IALF. Nearly 1 in 5 jobs in the state is in the ag industry. Yet most Iowans have no direct connection to ag production or the ag industry. These recently awarded grants are in amounts up to $1,000 to help teach agriculture to the public.

“The youth participating in these programs will learn about how plants grow,” says grant recipient Amber Matthiesen, of the Jackson County Ag Extension district. “They will see how plants are grown as crops to produce things we use every day. The youth will play in the dirt as they learn about the importance of soil in growing healthy crops.”

“This FarmChat program we have will enhance student awareness of local and Iowa agriculture by giving them an up-close look at ag and farming practices. That’s something these young people would not otherwise have available to them,” says Olivia Logue of ISU Extension in Mitchell County.

“By coupling the virtual farm tour with fun, hands-on learning activities supported by the 4-H learning model — do-reflect-apply — our hope is this will create a memorable learning experience for the young people participating, and that this memory will last a lifetime.”

These grants can be used to fund innovative lessons, activities, classroom resources, guest speakers, outreach programs, fieldtrips and other projects. Organizations that have ag education as a part of their mission or purpose are eligible to apply. 

“The educational experiences provided will enhance the understanding of both youth and adults,” says Deb Hall of Ag 4 All. “It will not only heighten consumers understanding of Iowa agriculture, but also help producers and Ag 4 All develop a better understanding of the concerns of consumers.” 

For more information on grants and other IALF programs, visit iowaagliteracy.org.

Source: IALF, which is responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and its subsidiaries aren’t responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.