Recipient Organization
Colorado Foundation for Agriculture
PO Box 10
Livermore,CO 80536
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Every state has an Agriculture in the Classroom program. All develop materials and resources to teach about agriculture and natural resources. Also various agencies, agriculture and natural resource groups, universities, extension and agribusinesses develop agriculture literacy materials. This conference allow them to share ideas and resources to build upon each other efforts to develop an understanding of the importance of agriculture to our society.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The 31st National Agriculture in the Classroom conference will take place Tuesday, June 26 through Friday, June 29, 2012. The Embassy Suites 4700 Clydesdale Parkway, Loveland Colorado will be the host site for this program. The tentative schedule has events starting on Tuesday June 26, 2012 with a welcome from the Colorado's Agriculture Commissioner. The Newcomers Orientation meeting proceeds the opening session. After the Commissioner's opening remarks at the opening awards banquet that evening where the five Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award winners and other teacher winners from around the country will receive special attention and USDA officials will present their awards. Through out the conference area of the motel will be exhibit areas from Wednesday through Friday. Exhibitors, including Agriculture in the Classroom programs, will offer attendees additional educational teaching tools and ideas for furthering agriculture literacy in schools around the country. The networking opportunities this program provides teachers are invaluable and often result in teachers forming collaborations with other teachers in other states that last for year. Wednesday June 27 is the traveling workshop day during which conference goers will board buses after a grab-and-go breakfast to visit agricultural operations in Larimer, Weld and Morgan counties, visiting farming locations like a vegetable operation, greenhouses, bison meat processing plant, feedlots, among others. Lessons and other materials will be distributed to teachers related to the farm tour stops that they can take back into the classroom. Thursday June 28 offers a variety of workshop presentation. From ways to solve nature deficit disorder to technology in agriculture, there will be a variety of hand-on learning experiences. Friday June 29 opens with the popular State Breakfast program where each state sponsors a table with educational resources and give-away items representative of their states. Howard Helmer, World's Fastest Omelet Maker, will demonstrate how to build an omelet in 30 seconds. Afterward, full and mini workshops wrap up the day with a break for a luncheon where ACE grant awards, Ag Advocate awards and other Agriculture in the Classroom State Contact programs will be recognized.
Project Methods
Efforts to deliver agriculture resources and information will presented via workshops and experiential learning opportunities. Resources used in Ag in the Classroom programs from across the nation will be shared. Workshop will show how different materials can be presented and used. The plan to be used to evaluate the success of the project will be accomplished through daily evaluation forms that will have participants evaluating each workshop that they attended and gather information on how they will use the materials presented.