By Shelby Shank
Field Editor
Texas teachers learned more about agriculture and how they can incorporate agriculture into their classrooms at this year’s Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Summer Ag Institute in Irving.
During the four-day professional development event, teachers toured farms, ranches and agribusinesses in North Texas. Educators heard from industry professionals, educational experts and participated in hands-on activities they can replicate in their classrooms.
“When teachers experience agriculture firsthand, they’re able to make those connections for their students,” said Carson Read, (TFB) education coordinator. “Summer Ag Institute introduces teachers to the people and places behind Texas agriculture while providing ideas and resources they can use to help their students better understand the importance of agriculture in their everyday lives.”
Farm, ranch tours
Teachers toured McClendon Farms in Lavon, where they learned about beef cattle and row crop production.
The groups also visited Four Farmers Grain Elevator in Nevada to see how grain is received, stored and marketed.
“I got to see the inside of a silo, and I’ve never seen that before,” said LaChandra Hooper, a second grader teacher at Shepherd Elementary. “Being able to see the grain and how it’s sorted and sifted through was really cool. Now, I have a better understanding of how our crops are grown and prepared for us to eat. Everything has been realistic that I can take back to the classroom with me.”
Stops at McMahan Turf and AG in Princeton and the Frisco RoughRiders ballpark highlighted turfgrass production and management.
To round out the tours, the teachers visited Boerner Peanuts in Pilot Point to learn about peanut production.
Hands-on workshops, activities
Throughout the Summer Ag Institute, industry experts and fellow teachers led workshops and lessons the teachers can take back with them to their classrooms.
The group learned about the Junior Master Gardener program from Lisa Whittlesey with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and explored hands-on activities that connect students with agriculture.
“Everyone was engaged and soaking it all in,” said April Muckleroy, a fifth-grade teacher at Central Heights Middle School. “I was writing everything down or recording everything on my phone, so I wouldn’t forget and can bring it back to my classroom.”
They also discovered ways to integrate agriculture into science lessons through engaging classroom demonstrations led by Dr. Craig Wilson of Texas A&M University and the USDA Future Scientists Program.
“Dr. Wilson was phenomenal. His love for learning and teaching came through in everything we did,” Hooper said. “Whether we were searching for insects outside, exploring how gases work or using all of our senses to understand science, he showed us how hands-on experiences can spark curiosity and make learning memorable for students.”
Teachers explored the National Agriculture in the Classroom Curriculum Matrix with Lynn Wallin and heard from Nicole Ellis of the National Ranching Heritage Center about educational resources available.
Additional sessions focused on incorporating agriculture into upper-level curriculum and highlighting how technology is being used in agriculture with RanchBot.
Teacher experiences
Summer Ag Institute provided hands-on experiences the teachers not only enjoyed, but plan to bring back to their classrooms.
“My main goal and objective as a teacher have always been to connect real-life and real-world application to my lessons for my students,” Hooper said. “Science is the foundation of learning. It gives you all that prior knowledge and connects all subjects together. So, I’m thrilled to bring everything back that I’ve learned this week into my lessons for the upcoming school year.”
Hooper was also a TFB garden grant winner recipient and used her classroom garden as a way to introduce her students to agriculture. Growing their own plants helped her students gain a better understanding of where their food comes from and a willingness to try foods they previously thought they didn’t like.
“When they go home with their plants, they’re so excited,” she said. “We’ve made onion soup, and it’s funny when the students say ‘I never eat onion,’ but when they grow the onion, guess who eats onion soup? The very student who said they didn’t like onions.”
Muckleroy said Summer Ag Institute’s interactive approach gave educators the opportunity to experience lessons the same way students would in the classroom.
“When students see the joy that teachers have for learning, they start to share in that excitement,” Muckleroy said. “I love growing things and watching that process, and when we can bring those experiences into the classroom, students get excited and become more engaged in their learning.”
About the event
The event took place July 14-17 in Irving.
The Summer Ag Institute in Waco was held June 8-11.
For more information on TFB’s Agriculture in the Classroom efforts, visit texasfarmbureau.org/aitc.
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