May 5, 2008
Agriculture Industry Participation In Ag Literacy Day Grows
The number of Florida agriculture industry representatives reading for Florida Agriculture Literacy Day grew 9 percent to 1,637 this year, according to estimates by Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc., the non-profit, Gainesville-based organization that organizes the event.
Of the industry representatives who read, 30 percent were Florida FFA Association teachers and students, 24 percent were University of Florida/IFAS extension and 4-H agents, 4-H members and master gardeners, 13 percent were Farm Bureau members and 3 percent were Florida Cattlemen and Cattlewomen members. The remaining 30 percent listed various industry or educator affiliations or no affiliation at all. In comparison, about 1,500 agriculture industry volunteers read for Ag Literacy Day in 2007.
Altogether, these agriculture industry volunteers read to more than 86,000 elementary school students around the state.
Florida Agriculture Literacy Day was April 10 this year, and featured a special book that highlighted Florida commodities called “These Florida Farms!” Writer Gary Seamans and illustrator Mike Wright developed the rhyming book which follows a safari guide and two kids as they visit different farms around the state. Seamans and Wright both work for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Marketing and Development.
Florida Ag in the Classroom and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services work together each year to hold Agriculture Literacy Day.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson kicked off the event April 10 by reading to Carol Brown’s second-grade class at Oak Ridge Elementary in Tallahassee. In addition, Bronson submitted a resolution March 25 to the Florida Cabinet declaring April 10 Florida Agriculture Literacy Day.
“Children today are several generations removed from the farm so it’s important we use events like Florida Agriculture Literacy Day to teach them their food, fiber and landscape materials come from farms and not from stores,” said Bronson, a former agriculture teacher.
“One of the main goals of Ag Literacy Day is to introduce more agriculture industry volunteers to the Florida Ag in the Classroom program, and we did that this year,” said Cara Martin, chairman of Florida Ag in the Classroom and assistant director of government and community affairs for Florida Farm Bureau.
Florida Ag in the Classroom provides copies of the book to industry volunteers free of charge, and asks that they donate the books to the school libraries after they complete their readings. In addition, Florida Ag in the Classroom provides volunteers with a lesson designed for the book and bookmarks for students that list Florida farmers’ contributions to the state economically and environmentally. Florida Ag in the Classroom is able to offer the books and materials for free to industry volunteers because of the funding it receives from sales of the agriculture specialty license plate or the “Ag Tag.” Florida Ag in the Classroom’s mission is to educate Florida teachers and students in kindergarten through 12th grade about the importance of the Florida agriculture industry.
For more information:
Lisa Gaskalla
(352) 846-1391
gaskalla@ufl.edu
