What We Know: Thousands of Missouri elementary students are spending part of their summer learning where their food comes from through Missouri Farmers Care’s Agriculture Education on the Move program.
What It Means: This summer, 6,067 students are taking part in the free, hands-on curriculum, which is offered to schools and enrichment programs across the state.
The lessons introduce children to crops, livestock, soil, water conservation, nutrition, and careers in agriculture.
Students don’t just sit and listen.
They make butter, grow soybean necklaces, build soil profiles, create corn plastic, and take part in other activities that bring farming to life.
The program also gives college students interested in teaching agriculture valuable experience. T
What’s Next: Organizers say the goal is simple: help young people better understand Missouri agriculture and the farm families who produce the food, fuel, and fiber they rely on every day.
In Photo: Mallory Reed, an Ag Moves summer educator and student at the University of Missouri, helps students at Stony Point Elementary in Grain Valley, Missouri, create Play-Doh maps during the Missouri Crops lesson.
(Photo provided by Missouri Farmer Care Foundation)