FINAL Press Release 4: Agriculture in the Classroom
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 27, 2009
Utah Farm Bureau Federation
9865 S. State St.
Sandy, UT 84070
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN KIDS AND AGRICULTURE
Agriculture in the Classroom Reaching out to Students and Teachers across Utah
SANDY, Utah – Utah is taking strides to teach children about agriculture by taking part in Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC), a nationwide program supported locally by Utah State University Cooperative Extension, the Utah Farm Bureau Federation and several other agriculture commodity groups.
As the population of family farms started to decrease, agricultural education in schools shrank along with them. AITC was established to help fill the void in education and give teachers the resources to teach proper information about agriculture. When children openly admit to believing chocolate milk comes from brown cows, there needs to be some intervention.
Debra Spielmaker is the AITC project director of Utah and works countless hours out of Utah State University’s Cooperative Extension, organizing ways to teach students and teachers the benefits of agriculture. Although the amount of production in Utah is small compared to other states, agriculture is still a significant contributor to the state’s economy, especially in rural communities.
“Even though Utah is a small agriculture state, residents need to understand how things work in the agriculture world,” Spielmaker said. “It’s not just about us, it’s about the world and how we share our resources.”
With the help of Spielmaker and the AITC program, teachers along the Wasatch Front have received hands on experience and are realizing the importance of agriculture in their areas. JoAnn Hobbs, an elementary school teacher in Ogden, expressed concern about urban development wiping out areas of long-time agriculture in her county. Hobbs said residents in the area do not seem to realize the importance of those farms and ranches.
“The best way to get people to understand the importance of agriculture is to teach it to their children,” Hobbs said. “We’re trying to spark the students’ interest about a world outside of their classroom.”
Not only do teachers realize the frightening gap between agriculture and the community, farmers and ranchers realize it as well. Karen Shepherd runs a poultry operation with her family out of Spanish Fork, Utah and said the issue should be addressed sooner rather than later.
“Many of the children in school these days are so far removed from agriculture, they don’t understand what goes into making the food they eat and the fiber that goes into their clothing,” Shepherd said. “Sometimes parents don’t even understand, and that is troubling.”
The AITC program in Utah receives strong support from several in-state organizations, including the Utah Farm Bureau. Aurline Boyack is the Director of Member Services and Women’s Committee Coordinator at the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. Boyack and the organization’s Women’s Committee are heavily involved with the AITC program.
“We want to encourage a healthy interaction between the different communities, agriculture and non-agriculture, so that we can benefit from one another,” Boyack said.
Teaching children about the benefits of agriculture can start at any level. If you’re passionate about agriculture an interested in getting involved, contact the AITC program or your local County Farm Bureau office and tell them you’d like to be a part of educating Utah about agriculture.
The Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) program was established in 1981 when the United States Department of Agriculture realized an increasing gap between children and agricultural education. Utah’s AITC program is run out of Utah State University’s Cooperative Extension with support from several agricultural organizations including the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. For more information about the AITC Program, check out its Web site at http://agclassroom.org/ut
Media Contact:
Lisa Janssen
lisa.janssen@aggiemail.usu.edu
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