Tuesday, September 8, 2009 9:46 PM CDT
From farm to fork, Ag in the Classroom keeps kids informed
Annual cycling event this week raises funds for program
By DAWN SCHABBING, Features Writer
dschabbing@jg-tc.com
Agriculture is the heartbeat of this region, so promoting its importance to school-age children is vital, according to educators and ag leaders.
Each school year, the Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) works to put agriculture into the hands of young people through a program called Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC).
Kevin Daugherty, education director for the IFB in Bloomington, said the program strives to provide students and teachers with information on how production agriculture impacts daily lives.
“The classroom visits combined with teacher training are to show how consumption agriculture works,” he said.
Daugherty said county farm bureaus send out ag professionals and volunteers to teach “farm-to-fork” lessons. The program, among many things, teaches the process of how food gets from the farm to the table.
“We try to show how food in the U.S. is more safe, most affordable, and most abundant than anywhere else in the world,” Daugherty said.
The AITC program also teaches that farming equals food, fiber and fuel. All of the lesson materials are linked to the Illinois learning standards and assessments framework.
Materials are available online at the Web site: www.agintheclassroom.org. The site also directs teachers to programs available, grant applications, and other information that can be used in the classroom.
Amy Rochkes, manager of the Shelby County Farm Bureau, said the lessons are cross-curricular, with activities in language arts, math, science, social studies, physical fitness and art, and are designed to help teachers meet state standards in teaching.
“Farmers are the original stewards of the land,” she said. “Farmers care for the land that they live and work on and they care for the animals because both — the land and the animals — are the livelihood of the farmer.”
Lessons in Shelby County are shared with about 1,200 students in kindergarten through fourth grade, each with age-appropriate lessons.
“I like to say ‘Agriculture is everywhere, every day.’ It is the food and fiber system and the most important economic driver for Illinois and the United States,” Rochkes said.
But all of these resources to teach the concepts don’t come without hard work from people willing to raise money to educate children about agriculture.
One annual fundraiser set for today through Thursday is the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom Bike Ride. The 14th annual event will bring volunteer cyclists through counties in eastern Illinois.
Susan Moore, director of the IAA Foundation, said the ride attracts between 20 and 120 cyclists each year, and a new route is chosen each year.
This year, the ride highlights routes through Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Jasper, Moultrie and Shelby counties.
The ride each day starts and ends in Mattoon. Riders of all skill levels participate, and a SAG vehicle accompanies the riders. In addition to the entry fee, riders are encouraged to try to raise additional funds for the program, and incentives are awarded.
Cyclists stop at approximately 25 schools along the ride to provide students with a skit stressing the importance of agriculture and also include a portion on bicycle safety.
“We hope to raise $35,000 on this ride. Overall, our campaign goal is $650,000 for the state’s Ag in the Classroom program,” she said.
Daugherty said AITC can be traced back to the 1930s. In 1981, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture John Block established the formal program through the USDA.
Contact Dawn Schabbing at dschabbing@jg-tc.com or 238-6864.
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