By Julie Tomascik
Editor
Although school may be out, class was in for nearly 50 teachers who attended Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) Summer Agricultural Institute in mid-June.
Teachers from across the state grew their agricultural knowledge and cultivated techniques to incorporate agriculture during the four-day professional development event.
The educators toured farms, ranches and agribusinesses in the Central Texas area. They participated in hands-on activities to replicate in their own classrooms and heard from agricultural professionals and educational experts.
“Summer Ag Institute is a hands-on, interactive learning experience for teachers,” said Jordan Bartels, TFB associate director of Organization Division, Educational Outreach. “Visits to farms and ranches help teachers really begin to understand agriculture, and then we discuss ways they can apply it to lessons and activities in their classroom. Other activities throughout the nearly weeklong event help teachers learn innovative strategies, different approaches and creative ways to bring agriculture to life for their students.”
Farm, ranch tours
The teachers visited Bentwood Dairy in Bosque County to learn more about modern dairy farming. They heard from dairy farmers David and Jodi Jackson about animal welfare, cattle nutrition and sustainability.
The Jacksons answered questions about antibiotic use, milk prices and the rising production costs they’re facing.
The teachers saw silage being chopped for cattle feed and learned more about the Jackson’s diverse farming operation, too.
At W-4 Ranch in Morgan, the group talked with the ranch manager, Jeff Chaffin, about how the operation raises seedstock Hereford cattle and how the drought is impacting their decisions on the ranch.
They learned about technology used on the ranch, including electronic identification, DNA testing and genetic data. Teachers also watched the ranch crew ultrasound heifers and bring bulls through the chute.
A trip to Valley Mills Vineyards tied viticulture to chemistry through the wine making process. The teachers learned about growing grapes and how they use drip irrigation and grafting.
The teachers learned more about hydroponic food production systems and how education in soil science and agronomy can help their students pursue a similar career.
At Buzbee Feed and Seed, teachers learned how businesses in the community support farmers and ranchers. Topics like inflation and supply chain issues impacting the availability of products for farmers and ranchers were also covered.
Hands-on workshops, activities
The group also participated in hands-on activities and lessons they can use in their classrooms, as well as learned from industry experts and fellow teachers.
In a session with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Entomologist Elizabeth “Wizzie” Brown, the group learned more about insect classifications and life cycles. The lesson concluded with building insect habitats out of everyday objects. Brown noted these habitats can easily be incorporated into classrooms at a low cost by purchasing items at discount stores and having the students build them.
Teachers received a lesson on plant propagation in the classroom from the Junior Master Gardeners through AgriLife Extension. They participated in a variety of activities to learn more about propagation and seed germination that can be replicated in their classrooms.
The Texas Beef Council did a beef cuts demonstration by breaking down primal carcass cuts. They also held an interactive demonstration to connect the beef cattle industry from gate to plate. Then, teachers put on aprons to grill their dinner while learning more about culinary arts.
Other sessions included information from a forester, Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Project Wild and a visit with a local veterinarian about antibiotics and animal welfare.
Teacher experiences
Those from urban and rural areas alike enjoyed the immersive experience.
Katheryn Jimenez has taught at Northside ISD in San Antonio for 18 years. She’s excited to take back the information she learned to her fourth-grade classroom.
“I don’t just see farming as a business anymore,” she said. “Now I see it connected with the people. That helped me so much to see and meet farmers and ranchers. They are proud of what they do. They take it seriously, and they put a lot of love and care into what they do.”
That’s part of bridging the gap between urban and rural communities.
“As a teacher in an urban area, this was invaluable. The field experiences, meeting farmers and ranchers, hearing from the other presenters—all of it I can tie into what I teach in my fourth-grade classes,” Jimenez said. “I wouldn’t have had the knowledge about agriculture without this experience, and I think it would be good for more urban teachers to come see what we did so that they can bring that back and hopefully get more kids interested in agriculture and learning about agriculture.”
Even teachers like Tonya Lambright who have a background in agriculture found the lessons, ideas and activities beneficial.
“You don’t realize how much technology goes into running agriculture until you can go and actually visit with somebody on a farm or ranch,” said Lambright, who teaches English Language Arts and Reading in sixth and eighth grade at Celeste ISD. “The one thing that excited me was you have a lot of kids who are into video games, and the spray rig at the dairy uses technology. If it goes down a path that has already been sprayed, it won’t spray it again. I can tie that into video games. Those kids who play video games, they don’t realize there’s an ag job out there for them.”
There’s room for agriculture in any subject and at any grade level. And for school districts like Waller ISD, where the population is growing rapidly, the need to bring agriculture to students in the classroom is important.
Laura Frey, a fourth-grade English Language Arts and Reading teacher, has a background in agriculture, but she learned more ways to bring the subject to life in her classroom.
“Being a part of the farming and ranching industry myself, I wanted to really listen to new ideas and things like that. The dairy was something with the newest information for me,” she said. “And I’ve made some lifelong teaching connections.”
For more information on TFB’s Ag in the Classroom efforts, visit texasfarmbureau.org/aitc.