By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

Teachers explored agriculture through Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) summer programs and are ready to head back to the classroom equipped with more knowledge and resources.

TFB hosted two Summer Ag Academies (SAA) this summer. These workshops are one-day professional development workshops to engage teachers about agriculture.

This year’s SAAs were held in Wichita Falls and Dallas.

“Teachers across the state had the opportunity to learn from industry experts and engage in hands-on activities at the SAAs. Teachers learned about various agricultural topics and how they can incorporate agriculture into the classroom without having to travel too far,” Jordan Bartels, TFB associate director of Organization Division, Educational Outreach, said.

Each workshop immersed teachers into agriculture through science and hands-on activities. Teachers also received free resources to help implement agricultural topics in their classroom and connect their students to their food, fiber and fuel.

Site visits were also part of the SAAs to give teachers a chance to see agriculture in action.

“Site visits offered teachers a unique view into agriculture and allowed them to talk with Texas farmers and ranchers. Each site visit was a different experience for teachers, but they were still able to learn and the ins and outs of agriculture,” Bartels said. “Visits included a dairy farm tour and another covered topics on urban agriculture, water research, turfgrass research and hydroponics.”

One visit left a teacher excited to bring back what she learned to her students.

Misty Ermis has been an agricultural science teacher for 28 years and will be teaching livestock, greenhouse operations and small animal and equine science at City View ISD next school year.

“I don’t have any experience with dairy cattle, and the dairy tour taught me a lot that I will be able to take back to my students on our dairy cattle judging team,” Ermis said. “I am highly impressed by the resources available to teachers and plan on attending every Farm Bureau workshop. I can easily incorporate the curriculum into my teaching and tailor them to my students.”

Teachers received curriculum that is aligned with Texas teaching standards to help them better incorporate the material in the classroom.

“Teachers are eager to incorporate agriculture into the classroom, but sometimes they aren’t aware of how to connect agriculture to the curriculum,” Bartels said. “That’s how Farm Bureau’s workshops and resources can help them. The SAAs provide the opportunity for teachers to talk to farmers and ranchers, learn how the information can be used in the classroom and network with fellow teachers in their area.”

For more than 30 years, TFB has hosted professional development events in the summer to help Texas teachers make the connection with agriculture, providing them engaging techniques to incorporate the subject into their curriculum.

For more information about educational opportunities for teachers and Ag in the Classroom activities, visit texasfarmbureau.org/aitc.