10/04/07 Ag in the Classroom

Ag in the Classroom. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Pop quiz time. Do you know where the food comes from that you eat? Here's a hint, it's not the grocery store. While that may seem kind of silly, consider that a lot of kids may not really know the answer. Try explaining that bread is really ground up wheat seed or that milk and hamburger comes from a cow. And don't even try to explain sausage! Kids in schools are learning an appreciation for agriculture and the food chain through a number of programs across the northwest. Tami Kerr is the Executive Director of the Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation. KERR: The purpose of our program is to help young people learn about agriculture, the source of our food and fiber and the impact that it has on our economy and our daily lives. So many people these days are so far removed from agriculture that they basically don't know where their food comes from. Kerr says the Foundation provides teachers with the materials to help kids learn about farming. KERR: We provide curriculum and reference materials to teachers in grades K-12 throughout the state of Oregon to learn about agriculture. We're not teaching them how to become farmers although we do have some great careers information and agriculture is the largest employer in the United States but rather we're providing materials on pumpkins and apples for third grade teachers so they can use them for math, science, social sciences, language arts and things like that. In addition to teaching kids where the products come from, Kerr says it's important for kids to know about the care needed to produce more food products. KERR: But it's shocking that so many people don't have that basic connection and then to know that we are also taking care of the land and animals. For example, on our farm our cows wouldn't produce 75 pounds a day if we weren't taking great care of them. We take care of the cows and they take care of us and I used to think that was a basic concept, but it's not. According to Kerr, the kids are surprised by a lot of the information but especially by one thing in particular. KERR: For example in Oregon, we produce depending on the year, 220 to 250 different commodities. You know we're such a diverse state with diverse temperature and rainfall. You know 90 inches on the coast in places and down here in Harney County where they get about 10 inches of rain and so for student to learn all the different things we grow in Oregon, that's always a surprise to them and to their teachers as well. The Foundation also hosts an annual fundraising dinner since they do not receive any funding from the state. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.