By Julie Tomascik
Editor
Plant a seed and grow an understanding of agriculture. That’s the message behind Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) Planting the Seed program, which has kicked off its fourth year.
The school visits bring agriculture to the classroom and help reconnect students in kindergarten second through fifth grade with the farmers and ranchers who grow their food, fiber and fuel.
“We focus on the farmers growing our food, the ranchers raising our livestock and the work that goes into that,” Dakota Fleming, TFB’s Education and Urban Relations coordinator, said. “We talk about the byproducts that come from the crops and livestock. Students often don’t realize that corn goes into many products like toothpaste, tomato soup and pudding. Agriculture encompasses so much, and that’s what we want students to take away.”
Through the program, urban and rural students alike become farmers as they plant a seed in a cup. The hands-on learning helps them grasp agricultural concepts.
“Students learn the science behind growing healthy plants,” she said. “They get their hands dirty and become a farmer as they take care of the plant.”
It’s an experience that continues all semester as students water the plant and watch it grow, learning responsibility and understanding the care and attention farmers give to their crops.
The program curriculum for Planting the Seed is aligned with Texas teaching standards, which helps teachers incorporate the concepts into their classrooms, Fleming said.
The students are also able to “meet” a farmer through videos, which show farmers who grow corn, wheat, cotton, strawberries, sesame and more talking about their crops and how they grow them.
The school visits will continue through May.
The mobile program visited 207 schools last year and reached more than 32,700 students. Fleming hopes to connect with more students this year.
“Each school visit allows us to bring agriculture to life for those students,” she said. “By connecting with more students, we’re showing them a little bit more about what farmers and ranchers do and how crops go from a seed in the ground to the products they see on the grocery store shelf.”
For more information on the program, contact Fleming at dfleming@txfb.org or call 254-751-2608.