Ag Mag

Published November 02 2010


Ag Mag redesigned, now available to N.D. teachers

Jamestown Sun

North Dakota Ag Mag, a teaching tool that provides information about agriculture to thousands of North Dakota students, has a new look.

“Corn is the subject of the first full-color issue of Ag Mag,” said Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. “Corn is an increasingly important crop in our state, and this new magazine will help young people better understand the history of corn, how it is produced and the many uses we have for corn.”

Goehring said he hopes more teachers in grades 3, 4 and 5 will take advantage of the free subscriptions to Ag Mag.

“Ag Mag reinforces what teachers are already doing in the classroom,” he said. “It helps teachers integrate information about North Dakota agriculture across curriculum in science, math, language arts, social studies, and other classes.”     Read More

Having some type of “Ag Mag” available for school teachers is vitally important.  I’ve had friends whose kids have brought home material from the HSUS from school.  When these parents have questioned the teachers about why, the answer is usually the same.  It was free for them to use and they didn’t know that the HSUS is the world’s wealthiest animal rights group.  The next thing the teacher asks is if there’s something they can use that correctly teaches about farming and ranching.  That’s when we need to be able to provide them with something like the Ag Mag

Bringing Kids Out To The Ranch

Appreciating Ag
By Suzanne Jacobson
Payson, AZ
May 21, 2010

’Twas agriculture field day and not a video game was in sight. Rim Country kids played in a Rockin’ Rodeo, watched a branding, and learned how to harness draft horses all before night.
The Tonto Natural Resource Conservation District (NRCD) Agriculture field day offered about 100 students — fourth-graders from Payson Elementary School and 4-H members from Pine and Tonto Basin — the opportunity to learn about agriculture and gain an appreciation for food’s source.

“A lot of these kids don’t know where the milk comes from in the grocery store,” said Lori Brown, who hosted the event on her ranch.

“We’re all five and six times generational ranchers,” said Brown. Compare a rancher’s way of eating to today, where most people drive to grocery stores and buy processed, packaged food laden with hydrogenated everything.

“There’s this national push to reconnect children with nature,” said Hall. “Kids are spending unbelievable amounts of time in front of the computer and TV.”

Hall went into schools and taught kids where pizza comes from. “There was one little boy who thought there was a pizza farm someplace.” Read More

I always enjoy highlighting farmers and ranchers that take the time to host children for a tour. The smile on the faces of these kids is as wide as the prairie itself when they get to learn about where their food comes from and who grows it. Kids today are getting bombarded with negative messages about farmers and ranchers so it’s vitally important that we share with them the true story of agriculture. The only people that can do that best are the farmers and ranchers themselves. I hope all of you get the opportunity to be involved in teaching kids about ag at some point.

Learning From Agriculture

Agriculture, animal science classes gain a foothold in urban schools
By Jane Coaston
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Jan. 17 2010

ST. LOUIS — Kara Dalton is attempting to control chaos. It's Monday at the teacher's pre-veterinary science class at Gateway Institute of Technology high school, and that means baths for the dogs, cats, bunnies, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs and one elusive ferret named Riley.

Gateway Institute of Technology, 5101 McRee Avenue, is among a growing number of suburban and urban high schools nationwide offering agricultural and animal science classes. Such classes are also offered at Clyde C. Miller Career Academy in St. Louis and Edwardsville High School, among others in the region.

But the focus isn't predominantly on farming.

Instead, schools are increasingly using animal science as a springboard to teach math, biology and chemistry. Teachers use cats, dogs and guinea pigs as a hands-on way to teach animal physiology and development.

"I feel that specializing in one area, like ours does, will really allow an urban program to grow and be successful," Dalton said. "It doesn't have to be veterinary science. It could be horticulture, biotechnology or food science." Read More

It’s been exciting to see more schools embracing the lessons that agriculture can teach. Everything from responsibility and work ethic to chemistry and algebra can be learned. The perception of farmers being uneducated, unskilled labor is one of the biggest myths about rural America. It’s one of the most complex and challenging careers there is. By having students experience some of these challenges, they will learn lessons that they will carry for the rest of their lives.

The Ag School

Posted on Mon, Jan. 04, 2010
Agriculture focus helps rural Kansas school
BY RICK PLUMLEE
The Wichita Eagle

WALTON — On a recent frosty morning, Carol Budde had her fifth-graders attempting to dig post holes through snow and ice on school grounds.

It was just another hands-on science and math exercise at the Walton Rural Life Center.
The students were learning about how the weather affects Earth's composition. At the same time, they were applying what they had learned about figuring area and perimeter as they laid out a pen for the pigs they are raising.

"This is the fun part," fifth-grader Haley Southern said.

And fun in learning translates into better understanding of the information and a hunger to learn more. That's how it's working out for Walton since it began using agriculture in 2007 as the basis for its curriculum.

"We pull everything into agriculture," Budde said.

And she does mean everything, and for all grades, kindergarten through fifth. From math and science to reading and art, the school presents all subjects to students while incorporating an assortment of animals, chickens, a garden, a greenhouse and agriculture-related projects as learning tools. Read More

Teaching agriculture in our classrooms is very important. Our society has forgotten what it takes to put food on the table because most of them are so many generations removed from it. Congratulations to everyone involved with the Walton Rural Life Center. I know that not every school could move to this type of curriculum, but they have created a model that hopefully more schools can at least take a portion of and integrate. The one thing that I really want to point out is that part of the success is due to the farming and ranching families located nearby that volunteered to adopt a classroom to make it even more successful. We can’t sit back waiting for someone else to do things like this for us.

Hosting Farm Visits

USA - Animal rights citing Hallmarks is like calling all American KKK
16 Dec 2009

Animal agriculture has come under increasing attack by animal rights groups for everything from management practices to their very existence. The most visible action has been by the Humane Society of the United States and their state-by-state crusade to outlaw the use of gestation stalls, calf crates and battery cages. While those in animal agriculture see these as management tools designed for the health and protection of the animal, animal activists see them differently.

Charlie Arnot is CEO of the Center for Food Integrity, a non-profit organization which works to build consumer trust and confidence in the U.S. food system. He says this is going to be an on-going challenge because with each generation, consumers are further removed from the farm. “So everybody has to take a personal responsibility, whether it’s education your neighbor, being involved in a spokesperson program or participating in a more formal program to help tell the story who we are and what we do today in a way that is compelling and meaningful for consumers.”

In a case such as the Westland-Hallmark animal abuse video, Arnot says animal agriculture needs to be the first voice those consumers hear saying; “That is not acceptable, that is not consistent with our standards, we won’t accept it, we won’t tolerate it.” Read More

One area that Charlie Arnot hit on that I think is really important for all producers to think about is hosting tours of their farms and ranches. It’s especially important to give kids the chance to get out on a farm and experience the things we do for a living. Putting a smile on a kid’s face is as simple as putting them in the seat of a tractor or letting them get a close up look at some livestock. We always say in our presentations that if the school won’t let you bring the kids out to the farm, then take the farm to the school. I guarantee that you will be exhausted after it’s all over, but you will probably have just as much fun as the kids will.

Animal Ag Day

Animal Ag Day
by Jacqueline Hough
The Daily Herald Staff Writer
North Carolina

SEABOARD — About 240 Northampton County fourth graders had a chance Tuesday to see where their food originates.

It happened during the Northampton County Cooperative Extension Animal Agriculture Day where students made their way around 10 stations on the grounds of the Seaboard Lions Club. Stations included bees, goats, pigs, beef, 4-H, forestry, soybeans, agriculture and others.

Jean Sigmon said, “It is to educate youth of Northampton County where products come from and to learn they don’t just come from Wal-Mart and Food Lion.”

Before the event, students are given a pre-test at their schools to test their knowledge and after the event, given a post-test. “Last year, we had a 22 percent increase from the pre-test to the post-test,” she said. Read More

Here’s a great example of the things we can and need to be doing to educate kids about farming and ranching. Too many times they are exposed to misconceptions about animal agriculture. The easiest way to disprove these is to show the kids exactly what we do. What are you doing in your area to educate about animal agriculture? If you don’t have a good answer, maybe this is something that you could do. Congratulations to the Northhampton County Extension Office and everyone else who made this day a success.

More On Baltimore School's Meatless Monday

Baltimore Schools Embrace Anti-Meat Movement with ‘Meatless Mondays’

Tuesday, October 13, 2009
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) – The first graders lining up for lunch at Arlington Elementary School in Baltimore, Md., on Monday could pick a cheese sandwich or cheese lasagna and a bowl of mixed vegetables or broccoli. They could not, however, have meat for lunch now that cafeterias throughout the school district have adopted "Meatless Mondays."

Mellissa Mahoney, a chef and dietitian with the school district, said the idea started as part of a themed-approach to planning lunches for the school year. She said the plan changed after representatives from the Meatless Monday movement approached Mahoney and Food Services Director Tony Geraci.

“They met with us over the summer, before we even launched the new menu,” Mahoney told CNSNews.com. She said at first they didn’t realize that Meatless Monday is a national and international movement with ties to extreme animal rights activists. “We know now what they do, and we have collaborated with them,” Mahoney said.

J. Patrick Boyle, president and CEO of the American Meat Institute, sent a letter last week to Andres A. Alonso, CEO of the Baltimore City Schools, urging him to drop “Meatless Mondays” on campuses.

“I was disturbed to read about your school system’s decision to bow to an animal rights organization in holding ‘Meat Free Mondays,’” Boyle wrote. “This initiative is sponsored by the Grace Spira Project at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The name Spira refers to Henry Spira, who is widely regarded as one of the most extreme animal rights activists of the 20th century.”

When children at the table were asked if they liked the idea of “Meatless Monday,” one first grader was not shy about giving his opinion.

“No, because I love meat,” he said. Read More

Here is an update on the Baltimore School System’s decision to have meatless Mondays. The school’s chef that made the decision is now trying to play dumb by saying she didn’t know anything about the groups that were pushing this agenda. It’s also obvious that their goals are to continue pushing toward vegetarian lifestyles because they are telling the students that they can’t have meat on Monday because meat isn’t healthy for you. If anything, this should reinforce the need for those of us in agriculture to be active in our local schools. Whether it’s reading an accurate ag book to a classroom or running for the school board, we need to be there to make sure our kids are learning the truth about food production and eating healthy balanced diets.

Every Child Should Visit A Farm

Every child 'should visit a farm'
BBB News - Scotland
Oct 8, 2009

Every child in Scotland should have the chance to visit a working farm or croft so they can better understand the food they eat, a campaigner has said.

Hugh Raven, director of Soil Association Scotland, made the call in a meeting with Highland councillors.

He argued such visits would also help encourage more young people to pursue a career in agriculture.

The association promotes environmentally-friendly farming and food production.

Ahead of his meeting, Mr Raven said he hoped Highland Council could use its influence to ensure every child has the opportunity to visit a working farm or croft at least once.

"Very few things are more important to a child's welfare than respect for and understanding of food." Read More

If you have ever heard us speak, you know that we emphasize the importance of working with youth to educate them about agriculture. Like is mentioned in the article, we really need to let every child have the chance to visit a farm. They need to be able to meet the folks that grow their food. As I talk to people who are very critical of modern food production they all insist that the farmers and ranchers that they know are doing a good job, but it’s the farms that are further down the road that they have never been to that are causing all of the problems. That right there shows us the impact that a consumer meeting a farmer can have.

Baltimore Schools Feed Kids Unbalanced School Lunch

Baltimore schools adopt Meatless Monday
October 1, 2009 by Ken Anderson

The Baltimore City Public Schools system is the first school system in the U.S. to adopt Meatless Monday.

Meatless Monday is a campaign that encourages people to cut meat from their diet one day a week. Baltimore school officials say they hope their Meatless Mondays will help students understand there are other options than just “meat and potatoes” for every meal.

In conjunction with Meatless Monday, the Baltimore school system is working with local farmers to provide it with fresh produce. It has also introduced what it calls “a teaching farm” and has plans to establish a garden at each of the systems’ more than 200 schools.

Among those praising the Baltimore schools’ effort is controversial Cal-Berkely author Michael Pollan, a frequent critic of modern production agriculture. In his words, “If Baltimore can pull this off, it will be a sign that the effort is worth making.” Link

So rather than teach kids how to properly eat a balanced diet every day, they are going to encourage a radical fad diet that encourages ignoring an entire food group. School officials stated that they want students to understand that there are other options. Apparently it’s to show that there are options other than a balanced diet. This was obviously a political decision that’s being forced on students. As a parent, I want my kids to eat a diet in which they get the proper servings from all of the food groups.

Teaching Kids About Agriculture

Waco students learn about food production at World Hunger Relief

By Erin Quinn Tribune-Herald staff writer
Sunday, September 27, 2009

Tennyson Middle School student Austin Lyon never thought about where his food came from before.

The 13-year-old never realized that vegetables were much cheaper to plant than they are to buy in the grocery store.

And he had no idea that planting and harvesting his own food could actually be fun.

Lyon is one of about 15 Tennyson and Brazos middle school students who go to World Hunger Relief in Elm Mott once a week as part of the Communities In Schools of the Heart of Texas after-school program.

The program works with 30 community agencies, including World Hunger Relief, that are designed to support students’ emotional, social, physical and intellectual development.

“It gets them outside their boxes,” said Sara Karnes, an AmeriCorps member who works with Communities In Schools. Read More

Teaching our kids about how our food is grown and the need of maintaining a safe, affordable, abundant food supply is vitally important. Last week my wife and I went into our son’s first grade class to do an activity about seeds. We shared with them how farmers plant seeds in the ground to grow our food. Finally we did an activity with them where they get to actually plant seeds inside a clear plastic glove with damp cotton ball so that they can see them sprout. Hopefully you can find an opportunity to work with a classroom in your area to share the story of agriculture with them.

School Sheep Project Update

School row lamb sent to slaughter
BBC News

A school lamb that was hand-reared for meat by Kent pupils learning about the food chain has been slaughtered despite a national row over his fate.

Lydd Primary decided to send neutered male Marcus to slaughter earlier than planned, Kent County Council said.

TV host Paul O'Grady offered to buy him and a pupil's mother objected to his killing but head teacher Andrea Charman said the move had overwhelming support.

Animal welfare campaigners want the school to end its slaughter programme.

In a statement issued following Marcus's slaughter over the weekend, Ms Charman said: "The decision to send the Wether lamb for meat, which has the support of the school council and staff, the governing body and the majority of parents, has now been carried out.

"When we started the farm in spring 2009, the aim was to educate the children in all aspects of farming life and everything that implies. Read More

Here is an update on the sheep story that I shared with you yesterday. Of course PETA had to get involved and tried shaming the children into not harvesting their sheep. Unfortunately for them they were a little too late. The children of this school got their wish and will be able to continue learning about livestock from the funds generated through this project. We talk a lot about how consumers aren’t educated about farming and livestock production and this shows the PETA would really like to keep it that way. By not allowing these kids to understand that livestock are raised to produce food for us, they can further that disconnect and hopefully convince these uneducated people to support them. I think the disconnect goes further than just food production anymore though, it’s a disconnect from reality and the circle of life. I will continue to shout this out loud, the success of life depends on death. Every single living thing can only stay living by causing death to something else. That is a lesson that has been lost for most people.

School Sheep Project

Anger over school sheep slaughter

(From the U.K.) Parents at a Kent primary school are angry that a sheep hand-reared by pupils is to be slaughtered for meat.

Meat from neutered male Marcus, one of three sheep cared for at a farm set up in the spring at Lydd Primary School, is to be raffled to buy more animals. Mother Jo Davis said it was a disgrace that the sheep fed by hand by her eight-year-old daughter Megan was to be slaughtered and sold.

Head teacher Andrea Charman said the school council voted for the slaughter.

Ms Charman started the farm, which also has rabbits, guinea pigs, cockerels and ducks, after she joined Lydd Primary in January.

The lambs were bottle-fed by the children and taken into assembly.

Last term the school council, made up of 14 seven to 11-year-olds, voted 13 to one in favour of sending Marcus to slaughter rather than keeping him. Read More

We all know that there is a disconnect between consumers and food producers, but this article is a good example of that. In this situation in the U.K., there are some parents that don’t want their kids to learn about the cycle of life. Trying to block the raffle of the meat that came from the sheep they raised is an effort to only let the kids learn half the story. Let’s remember that the kids weren’t going to have to witness the harvest of the animal, they just want to raffle off the meat to help fund their program. The success of life depends on death and when are kids are shielded from this law of nature, we do them a disservice.