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Ag in the Classroom Update

by Lauren Goble
GFB Educational Programs Coordinator

Posted on May 22, 2024 12:09 PM

Mitchell County Farm Bureau Office Manager Wanda Faircloth, pictured, and MCFB Women's Committee Chairman Debra Cox enjoyed teaching second graders at Baconton Community Charter School about pecans during Ag Awareness Week. They shared a story, activities and Georgia pecans with the students.

By Lauren Goble

To celebrate farmers and the many contributions they make to our state, Georgia’s agriculture community celebrated March 18-23 as Georgia Ag Week. Each day had a special theme for participants to explore. This year marked the 51st anniversary of National Ag Day.

County Farm Bureaus and agricultural organizations held events in their local communities as schedules allowed throughout the month of March to raise awareness of agriculture. 

Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) provided resources and videos highlighting the featured commodity, pecans. Approximately 300 teachers, Farm Bureau staff and volunteers used these resources during Ag Week. 

Screven County teacher & Farm Bureau member Whitney Sheppard celebrated Ag Week with her students by inviting a guest to read “My Grandpa, My Tree and Me” to her class. Screven County Farm Bureau provided pecan snacks and pecan activity sheets for Sheppard’s  students.

The video for March 20, “Ag Hero Day,” introduced students to Cason Anderson, a Houston County pecan farmer. Visit gfb.ag/meetapecanfarmer to view the video.

For “Ag Literacy Day,” March 21, GFB worked with several partners to offer videos to showcase the 2024 American Farm Bureau Foundation Book of the Year, “My Grandpa, My Tree and Me” by Roxanne Troup in multiple languages. 

You can see Georgia’s Department of Agriculture Commissioner, Tyler Harper, read the book at www.gfb.ag/pecanharper. If you’d like to hear Marybeth Wheeler, director of the Telamon Corporation’s center in Glennville, read the book in Spanish visit www.gfb.ag/pecanspanish. To see Peyton Walker, a teacher at the Georgia School for the Deaf, sign the book visit www.gfb.ag/pecanbooksigning.

Teachers who celebrated Ag Week and posted about their activities to social media were entered in a drawing for a copy of the book “My Grandpa, My Tree and Me” and its accompanying educator guide, provided by GFB, and a class set of bookmarks, provided by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. 

Echols County students had fun “shell-e-brating” Georgia Ag Week! Echols County Farm Bureau teamed up with Echols County 4-H to show students videos about pecans, read “My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me,” provide worksheets about Georgia pecans, and serve them a snack of Pecan Cream Pie Dip with vanilla wafers.

Georgia Farm Bureau Educational Program Coordinator Lauren Goble may be reached at ldgoble@gfb.org or 478-474-0679, ext. 5135. Visit www.gfb.ag/AITC for the latest AITC news & for resources to teach children about agriculture.