By Landee Kieschnick
TFB Communications Intern
Misinformation about agriculture is abundant online, but Brazoria-Galveston County Farm Bureau is working to make agricultural literacy a priority in their school districts and community.
With the help of a grant, county leaders hope their program, Ag Mentors, will help cultivate a better understanding of agriculture, the environment and technology’s role.
“My hope is that this program will work with high school students to teach leadership skills and spark interest in a future career in the agricultural field,” Deana Fuchs, ag program coordinator for Brazoria-Galveston County Farm Bureau, said.
The program will partner junior and senior FFA students with fourth graders from the same school district to shed light on agriculture’s role in their community.
To encourage young students to be involved in 4-H or FFA and attend events like the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Youth Leadership Conference is one goal Fuchs illustrated in her grant application.
“My hopes for the mentor program are simple—get teachers involved and mentors and students involved to see the opportunities available and how it ties back to agriculture,” Fuchs said. “I want our youth to understand where their food, fiber and fuel come from and to see how agriculture makes a difference in our community.”
The program will use lessons and activities from TFB’s Ag in the Classroom program, while also implementing different agriculturally related subjects each month.
Fuchs hopes to start by piloting one school district with 15 to 20 mentors who will work within small elementary school groups.
“Educating the youth on the importance of agriculture is definitely a priority for our county Farm Bureau board,” Thomas Ferguson, Brazoria-Galveston CFB president, said. “This Ag Mentor program is still in the developmental stages, but we are excited to see how this program will develop and think it could be a good starting point for more collaboration with school districts in our counties.”
The White-Reinhardt Grant provides monetary support in the amount of $500 twice yearly for deserving programs to purchase curriculum or supplies.
The ag mentor program will use tools and programs provided by TFB and the Brazoria-Galveston FFA chapters.
The White-Reinhardt Fund for Education is a special funding opportunity from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture in cooperation with the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee.
To help grow agricultural literacy in schools nationwide, the competitive grant emphasizes K-12 agricultural education programs.
For more information about the grant, visit theagfoundation.com.