By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor

Eight educators from across the nation, including one Texas teacher, have been selected as the 2021 National Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture award winners.

The award is a partnership between National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (NAITCO), U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) and Farm Credit. These organizations bestow this honor each year upon educators who use innovative methods to incorporate agricultural concepts into standard school subjects like reading, writing, science, math and others.

TFB’s 2020 Outstanding Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher Martha McLeod of San Patricio County was among the eight recipients.

She teaches science to third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students in a traditional classroom setting at Fulton Learning Center. But she also brings agriculture to life through an outdoor classroom, small-scale poultry farm and school vegetable garden where students raise chickens, grow vegetables, study pollinators and birds and participate in many other hands-on activities.

“Agriculture is present in every part of life from what we eat to the clothes we wear. However, many students are more removed from the farm than ever before. When we increase agricultural literacy in today’s K-12 classrooms, we grow educated consumers and help students understand where their food and fiber come from,” Jordan Walker, Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) associate director Organization Division, Educational Outreach, said. “We cannot increase agricultural literacy without teachers like Mrs. McLeod, who ensures that every student leaves her classroom with an understanding of how agriculture is present everywhere around them.”

McLeod and the other winners will be honored at the 2021 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference, Fields of Dreams, set for June 28 to July 1 in Des Moines, Iowa.

“It’s such a great honor to be named for this award, and I hope I represent the people and teachers of Texas and Texas Farm Bureau well. Teachers do what we do for the love of kids and to make a difference in their lives,” McLeod said. “I go to work every day because I’m on a mission. So, it’s really nice to be recognized for something I would be doing anyway. The greatest gift for me is the reward I find in making a difference in a child’s life, so I am so excited to attend the conference this summer.”

McLeod grew up in Cotulla on a family farm and ranch before graduating from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in animal science. She found her passion for teaching when observing her young daughter at a school function. For 27 years, she has worked diligently to combine her two passions: education and agriculture.

“Martha is a teacher who is so enthusiastic about sharing agriculture with her students, and her dedication to helping them learn more about how our food is grown just really shines,” Walker said. “We’re so proud she’s getting the recognition she deserves on a national level. Educators like her are key to growing lifelong learners and perhaps even future leaders in the agriculture industry.”

NAITCO is a non-profit organization representing Agriculture in the Classroom programs in most of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Its mission is to educate Pre-K-12 teachers and students about the importance of agriculture by providing them with web-based materials, workshops and awards programs that demonstrate how agriculture can be used to effectively teach core subject areas.

To learn more about NAITCO, visit www.agclassroom.org.

For more information on TFB Agriculture in the Classroom activities and other ways to help students embrace agriculture, click here.