Ways to Celebrate Ag Day

Celebrate National Ag Day March 21, 2007 National Ag Week March 18-24, 2007 Download PDF of "Ways to Celebrate Ag Day" Why Celebrate Ag Day? We all partake of agriculture everyday. Whether it's the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the sheets we sleep on, the medicines we use, or the homes we live in, agriculture is our “connection to life.” With only 2% of our population producing food and fiber for us all, many of your students have no idea where their food and clothing comes from. Farmers provide an abundance of food products. The American family spends less than 10% of its total income on food—the lowest percentage in the world! Economically, American agriculture employs more than 24 million workers or about 17% of the total U.S. work force. Unites States agriculture provides a safe supply of food that frees the rest of us to concentrate on other activities such as medical research, space travel, computer technology, art, music, literature, philosophy and recreation. Simply put, U.S. agriculture is number one—this is reason enough to celebrate! It doesn’t have to be Ag Day or Ag Week to talk about our country’s greatest asset—agriculture! But, this is a good time to take advantage of an event that could educate your students and maybe, just maybe, instill in them an appreciation for our country’s bounty. Here are some ideas for Ag Day activities from Utah Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC)… Ways to Celebrate... • Encourage your media specialist to set up an agricultural display complete with featured books in the media center. • Invite a farmer or agricultural speaker into your classroom. • Invite FFA members (high school or college agricultural students) to speak to your class. • Write a letter to a local farmer thanking him/her for what he/she does. • Begin a “pen-pal” program with a farm family. • Trace your school lunch back to the farm. • Show an agricultural video. • Present a lesson on an agricultural subject such as soils, animals, plants or water. • Teach an agricultural lesson. • Discuss which agricultural products are produced in each of Utah’s counties. • Generate an agricultural timeline. • Borrow and/or make an agricultural bulletin board. • Ask your students to create on paper what their own farm might look like. • Have students draw their favorite farm crop or animal. • Have students construct a barn. • Ask students to produce a poster to show where their favorite food comes from geographically and from what culture. • Borrow a wheat kit from AITC and make bread in a bag. • Make a Living Necklace with a kit from AITC. • Grow a Garden in a Glove with a kit from AITC. • Soak and dissect seeds, discussing the importance and miracle of seeds to farmers. • Identify the season of harvest for 50 different foods. • Explore how different crops are grown. • Use farm products to discuss the concepts of supply and demand. • Use the new Food Pyramid to discuss the food students have eaten and its nutritional value. • Print and play the My Pyramid Expedition. • Explain what the local community looked like 30, 50 or 100 years ago. More than 150 lesson plans, videos/DVDs, kits and related resources are available on the Utah AITC website. Many items are free downloads or free loans to Utah teachers, and items can also be purchased through our online store.