Macoupin County educators attended the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference (left to right): Teresa Marburger, Joan Wood, Connie Niemann, Rita Craig, Jane Hemann, Bobbie Klaus, and Lindsey Hemann.

Several Macoupin County educators walked away from the 2009 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference with new resources and ideas. "Meet Me in St. Louis: Gateway to Agriculture," was held in St. Louis, MO June 24-27. The conference was sponsored by the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom and the Missouri Agriculture in the Classroom programs. 600 participants from 48 states and 3 Canadian provinces enjoyed the Midwest agricultural experience.

Rita Craig, 1st grade teacher at Wolf Ridge said, "I attended my first National AITC conference held in the city of St. Louis, Gateway to the West and loved it! My feet hit the ground running as the doors opened to the interest approach fair." Set up to resemble "The Pike" at the 1904 World's Fair, conference participants stopped at tables of interest, learned about topics such as "Genetics," "Mini Watershed," "By-Products," "Corn Boats and Buoyancy," and created projects to take home as a classroom activity ideas. Bobbie Klaus, 1st grade teacher at Carlinville Primary added, "I have so many ideas to bring back it will be difficult to decide which ones to use when."

Traveling workshops were held on Thursday. Conference participants participated in 11 tours around the St. Louis area, ranging from rides on river barges to improve understanding of the importance of river transportation to agriculture, touring farmer's markets, nature reserves, and local farms to examine how products are grown and cared for in the Midwest, and touring local industries dedicated to improving agriculture through biotechnology. Rita Craig said, "Our eyes were opened to the diversity of agriculture in our region" after touring the Earthways Museum, St. Louis Science Center, Shaw Nature Reserve, and Romer Labs.

Teresea Marburger, 1st grade teacher at Mt. Olive Elementary shared, "The traveling workshops on Thursday were great. I got to tour Stremme farms was very different from the type of farms we have here. There were 2 reasons it stood out. The first was that it is a farm almost entirely surrounded by urbanization. As we traveled to this farm, one second we were in the middle of a subdivision and the next we were on the farm standing in a huge machine shed. The other reason it was so different was the issues they face being about a half mile away from the river. They are greatly affected by the challenges of the river. Next we went to tour Monsanto. It was interesting to hear how they are changing farmer's productivity everyday with the research and testing they do. After that we visited Hummert Nurseries. They showed us interesting hands on activities to do with our students. We ended our tour and the Budweiser Brewery where we learned about the history of the company including that they manufactured soda during prohibition and other interesting facts."

Joan Wood who teaches 4th grade at Wolf Ridge said, "I found the Excellence in Teaching Awards dinner to be very inspiring. Hearing what these teachers have accomplished in their classrooms to further student understanding of agriculture made me realize that I could do something similar in my classroom. However, the best aspect of the conference was the networking done when all of the us gathered for a meal or had time to chitchat before a workshop. Sharing ideas with fellow educators from all over the United States was something one doesn't get to do often. It made me realize what we all have in common--a love of the land and the desire to share that with others."

The conference included a variety of workshops such as: "Using Research-Based Teaching Strategies to Teach Agriculture in Social Studies & Science," "Let's Create Interactive Agriculture Lessons for the SMART Board," "Agriculture Puts 'Bio' in Biotechnology," "Exciting Elements: Real Life Applications for the Periodic Table," "From Fields to Fresh Water: Agriculture's Connections to America's Big Rivers," "A Blogger Is Not A Science Fiction Hero," "National Corn to Ethanol Research Center," "The Consumer in the Classroom," "If It Weren't for Farmers," and "Riverworks Discovery."

Teresa Marburger shared, "we attended a variety of workshops. I went to Awesome Agricuture for Kids, Weeds and Wildflowers, and Bridging Cultures with Agriculture. In these workshops, we received materials, resources, and great ideas to use in our classroom. We heard speakers that gave us ways to bring agriculture education to our students."

Bobbie Klaus plans to incorporate a monthly theme-based "Farm Friday" during the school year to expose her students to agricultural topics. Rita Craig added, "It was truly a most enriching conference, one that will long be remembered and hopefully attended in the future."

Other conference activities included a Silent Auction to raise money for the National Ag in the Classroom Consortium, dinner on "The Hill", a special appearance by Gail Gibbons, award winning children's book author, a speech by Jim Painter, professor at Eastern Illinois University about the importance of portion control in our diets.

To learn more about the conference or incorporating agriculture into your classroom, please contact Macoupin County Agricultural Literacy Coordinator, Connie Niemann at (217)854-9604 or by e-mail cniemann@illinois.edu.

How would you like to discuss pizza, horses, horticulture, water, or other agriculture topics with your class? To assist you in exploring many topics, request a free classroom set of Ag Mags from Connie.

Ag Mags are 4-page, colorful agricultural magazines for students containing information about agriculture, pictures, classroom activities, and agricultural careers. Ag Mags available cover the following topics: apples, corn, dairy, horse, horticulture, pumpkins, soybeans, specialty crop, and tree.

Other Ag Mags available online but not currently in print include: beef, biotechnology, careers, Earth Day, Illinois, nutrition, pizza, pork, poultry, sheep, soils & fertilizer, technology, and water at www.agintheclassroom.org

Grades K-3

The lessons and materials in this kit will help students understand how agriculture revolves around the seasons and how the farm brings us many lessons about winter, spring, summer and fall. Students will learn that while we go to the store to purchase our food, it begins with plants or animals raised on farms. Different seasons provide us with a variety of foods and other products. From the farm, products are transported, processed, marketed and distributed, involving a multitude of agricultural careers in this chain of events. Through this kit, students will discover that they all depend on agriculture every day of their lives.

Available on a free loan basis.

Grades K-3

The lessons and materials in this kit will help students understand what a farm is, what farmers do, and what comes from farms. They will also learn that there are many different kinds of farms. Students will learn that while we purchase our food from the store, it begins with plants or animals raised on farms, which are the heart of the agriculture industry. From the farm, products are transported, processed, marketed and distributed, involving a multitude of agricultural careers in this chain of events. Through this kit, students will discover that they all depend on agriculture every day of their lives.

Available on a free loan basis.

Grades 7-12

This set of lessons is designed to make students aware of the wide variety of opportunities in the horticulture industry. Nine lessons were created to expose students to their skills and interest in today's horticulture industry. This kit includes an engaging DVD highlighting several young graduates that talk about their varied and exciting careers in the horticulture industry. Introduce students to a growing segment of the agricultural industry by checking out this free-loan kit.