Agricultural Literacy

Agriculture education has garnered a lot of attention lately. In numerous town hall style meetings across the country U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has discussed the growing importance of agriculture, and with that the need for well trained people. Many of the country’s top educators agree with this and believe that agricultural literacy should be a national priority, and not just for those student who intend on having careers in the ag industry. All students should know about food and fiber production and processing, domestic and international marketing, and policies that affect agriculture worldwide. Teachers are leading an “agricultural revolution” by educating their students about agriculture through such hands-on projects as creating community gardens, greenhouse projects, studying local wildlife habitats and watersheds, and using GPS and remote sensing technologies to plant, cultivate, and harvest crops. It’s good that we are once again placing an importance on agriculture and the fundamental connection with have with it. As George Washington stated, “ I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture.”