Family Education Conference helps educators teach about ag Educators from across the country are learning how to teach everything from hatching chicks in the classroom to genetic engineering. By Lisa Foust Prater Lisa Foust Prater Lisa Foust Prater is the Family & Farmstead Editor for Successful Farming, sharing interesting family features, heartfelt editorial columns, and important health and safety information. Her favorite thing about her job is meeting interesting people, learning their stories, and sharing them with our readers.Lisa started her career with Successful Farming magazine in 1999, working primarily for the web team and writing product reviews for the magazine. She later wrote for the Living the Country Life magazine and website and has written and edited several cookbooks and other books for Successful Farming and Living the Country Life. Successful Farming's Editorial Guidelines Published on June 29, 2021 Close Teachers from across the country are meeting virtually and in person in Des Moines, Iowa, this week for the 2021 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. Presenters from a wide range of disciplines are sharing information on topics for students from pre-school through high school, and in many cases are providing curricula for teachers to take back to the classroom. Sessions include how to teach basic genetic engineering concepts, how ag research is leading to more and better food, incorporating ag into daily lessons, plants in the classroom, hatching chicks, soil conservation, interactive ag maps, pest management, beef production, and pigs: the inventors of bacon. One session, "Tales of the Dairy Godmother," offers stories and activities for teachers of pre-school through fifth-grade students. The lessons are centered around a boy who wants some ice cream, and his Dairy Godmother takes him through all the steps required to make it, teaching about dairy farming along the way. Another session, "Backpack Garden," provides teachers with the resources to lead elementary students in constructing and growing a school garden to supplement the school backpack program with fresh fruits and vegetables. Teachers of older students can attend sessions covering a variety of in-depth topics, including "Retaining Nitrogen." This presentation provides resources for teaching how nitrogen is lost from fields; how to identify hot spots through testing; and conservation practices for reducing nitrogen loss, improving water quality, and saving on fertilizer costs. At the conference, eight teachers from across the country are being presented with the 2021 National Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture Award, and Kansas educator Serita Blankenship is being honored for her volunteerism with the 2021 Partnership in Agricultural Literacy Award. The National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization is composed of state and territory programs which are supported by state departments of agriculture, agricultural organizations, universities, or private non-profit foundations. Its mission is to increase agricultural literacy through K-12 education by providing teachers with resources to apply ag-based content to teach core concepts in science, social studies, language arts, and nutrition. Learn more about National Agriculture in the Classroom and find resources for teachers at agclassroom.org. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit