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Kansas Farm Bureau ®

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Agriculture Education Mission:  "To increase awareness within the general public that our abundant, safe and inexpensive food and fiber supply is provided by America's farmers."


Order the KFB Children's Books!
Teachers, You'll find free lesson plans here too!

 


Order the KFB Documentary DVD
'The care & feeding of farm animals'

Click a headline, click back to return


Ag Education Resources
 


Be Ag Wise


  Capitol Experience
Train the Trainer Information

 

Classroom Project Ideas 

Current Food Price Information


Do-It-Yourself Programs
 

 



Food Check-Out Week
 

 


Glossary of Kansas Agriculture


Kansas Thanksgiving Dinner
Price Survey

 


National Agriculture Day/Week



National Ag in the Classroom Conference
 


  Programs Available
 


Top 10 Ag Books
 

 

Request an Ag Education program for your county:
County Ag Education Program Info & Request Forms


Ag Education Videos Available for Check-Out

Click here to view the Ag Education videos available for check-out. 

Click here to send an e-mail to request a video.
(Requests must come from a county Farm Bureau.  Videos will be shipped to the county Farm Bureau and may kept for up to two weeks.)



America's Heartland


A new educational component for America's Heartland, the weekly public television series that profiles the people, places and products of U.S. agriculture, is now available online.  A series of 42 student study guides with answer keys for teachers have been developed to accompany 42 segments from season one of the program.

The field-tested lessons focus on career exploration and are targeted to secondary-and collegiate-age students.  They are ideal for use by classroom teachers to enhance instruction in a range of subject areas.  Students also may use the study guides on their own.  Subject categories for study guides and lessons include career profiles, food science, agri-tourism, animals, aquaculture, environmental stewardship, fruits, vegetables, specialty products and technology.

Later this spring, additional materials will be introduced for younger and older students.  Subject areas will include the environment, history, geography, food science, trade and much more.  Educational materials are available free of charge online here.


Do-It-Yourself programs for motivated volunteers

Addressing Misconceptions About Agriculture
Agriculture: Get in the Game!

Did You Know We Grow Cheeseburgers in Kansas?

Did You Know We Grow Pizza in Kansas?
Farming Is More Than Food

Growing a Nation

Slice of Soil

Ten Things Kids Want to Know About Farming


Kailey's Accurate Ag Adventure Series - Lesson Plans:

Milk Comes From a Cow?
Milk (and Ice Cream) Comes From A Cow? Lesson Plan for Pre-K through Grade 3
(Many Kinds of) Milk Comes From A Cow?
Lesson Plan for Grades 2 & 3

The Soil Neighborhood
Texturing Soil Lesson Plan for Pre-K through Grade 2
The Soil Race  
Lesson Plan for Pre-K through Grade 2
 



2009 Be Ag Wise Professional Development Workshops

These workshops are designed for Agriculture Education presenters at the county level!  Each workshop will be held from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. 

Dates and locations are as follows:
January 17, 2009 - Manhattan, Kansas Farm Bureau
January 24, 2009 - Emporia, (location to be announced)
February 21, 2009 - Colby, Community Building
February 28, 2009 - Garden City, SW Area Research & Extension Complex

The theme this year is Natural Resources and the lessons to be covered include:
* There's a Watershed in My Backyard
* Piece Like a River
* Prairie Food Chains and Food Webs
* Photosynthesis Activity
* Flower Power
* Soil Infiltration Activity
* Mudshake

For more information and to register, click here.
 

2009 National Ag in the Classroom Conference
Missouri AITC/Illinois AITC

Mark your calendars for June 23 - 27, 2009!  Hosted at the Millennium Hotel, on the bank of the Mississippi, between the Arch and Busch Stadium and the soon to be completed Ballpark Village.  Arrive Tuesday or Wednesday, events start Wednesday afternoon with traveling workshops on Friday.  Rooms for single, double or quad guaranteed for $129.

Proposed traveling workshop destinations (subject to change): Monsanto, St. Louis Science Center, Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Mississippi River Lock and Dam Barge Tour and much, much more!

More info coming soon but mark your calendars now and we'll meet you in St. Louis!
 

 

2008 Be Ag Wise Programs

The following lessons are from the 2008 Be Ag Wise Professional Development Workshop sponsored by Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Foundation for Ag in the Classroom.


Cottage Cheese-Making
Edible Soil Profile
The Secret Life of a French Fry
My Farm Web
Salsa Gardening
Source Search


Slice of Agriculture - A Community-Based Youth Education Project
This program is designed to be organized and implemented by a local planning board made up of representatives from cooperating agencies and other interested individuals.  This may include local farmers, school district curriculum coordinator, K-State Research and Extension agents, teachers, county Farm Bureau members, 4-H and FFA members, soil conservation districts, local businesses and various producer and commodity associations.  Leadership responsibilities will be shared rather than assumed by a single individual or agency.  Having local leaders involved in planning and delivery means Slice of Agriculture programs are customized for each community.

To learn more about the foundational elements of this program and its unique benefits to the school, community and agricultural producers and organizations, contact Jana Beckman at the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops at 785/532-1440 or e-mail her at beckman@ksu.edu.



What's Growing in Kansas? A Seven Part Series on Kansas Ag
Part 1 - How Does Agriculture Affect You?
Part 2 - Our Main Grain Wheat
Part 3 - Our Other Cash Products
Part 4 - Leading the Herd

Part 5 - Pig Business is Big Business
Part 6 - Agriculture's Vital Resources: Soil and Water
Part 7 - Renewable Fuels



Outside Sources for Agriculture Education
 
Organizations: Click here to be added to the list

 



Classroom Project Ideas: 

A Slice of Soil

Bread in a Bag & Butter in a Jar

"Circles of the Earth" Bracelet

Classroom Pumpkin Pie

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk

Let's Make Ice Cream

Seed Packet Project --- Seed Cards



Food Check-Out WEEK

We are pleased to let you know about some exciting enhancements to one of Farm Bureau’s long-running and successful programs, Food Check-Out Week. Starting in 2009, the theme for Food Check-Out Week will be:

“Stretching Your Grocery Dollar With Healthy, Nutritious Food”

In 2009 and future years, Food Check-Out Week will be held the third full week (Sunday through Saturday) of February. For 2009, that means Food Check-Out Week is Feb. 15-21. State and county Farm Bureaus are encouraged to hold Food Check-Out Week events throughout the week.

A new logo, promotional materials, consumer-focused messages and media talking points are being developed to support the new theme and will be available in advance of Food Check-Out Week. In early October, samples of several new promotional items will be sent to each state Farm Bureau.

Food Check-Out Week will continue to provide the opportunity to support charities such as Ronald McDonald Houses, local food banks and shelters, through food and cash donations.

Additional details and background information about the new program will be distributed via email and posted on Silo, AFBF’s intranet Web site, as it becomes available.

Order promotional materials directly from American Farm Bureau here.

  2009 Food Check-Out Week Talking Points

Click here to find a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the new Food Check-Out Week program.

2009 Food Check-Out Week Trivia Questions (coming soon!)

Activity Ideas

Food Check-Out Week Bookmarks
Order bookmarks from the promotional items catalog here.

Food Check-Out Week Table Tents
Print them here or order them from the promotional items catalog here.

Looking for even MORE ideas? The Food Check-Out Week State Reports are a "must-read" if your County Farm Bureau has not participated before but is considering it in 2009 or for those looking for fresh ideas from counterparts around the country.

2007 State Report

2006 State Report
 

The History of Food Check-Out Week

Mid-1990s
Establishing a day for food similar to “Tax Freedom Day,” which would also honor the contributions of farmers and ranchers, was discussed at a strategic planning session of the South Carolina Farm Bureau. Betty DeWitt, chair of the SCFB Women’s Committee and dairy farmer Hugh Weathers (now South Carolina’s agriculture commissioner) were the initial champions of the idea. DeWitt brought the idea to the AFB Women’s Committee for consideration.

1997
Linda Reinhardt, AFB Women’s Committee chair, made initial contacts and worked tirelessly to establish the Farm Bureau – Ronald McDonald House connection that continues to this day. The Kansas Farm Bureau Women’s Committee donated $1,500 to five Ronald McDonald Houses in the state. In addition, several county Farm Bureau Women’s Committees in Indiana held Food Check-Out Day events.


Food Check-Out Day, 1998. To the left of Ronald McDonald is Linda Reinhardt of Kansas, AFB Women’s Committee chair.

1998
First national Food Check-Out Day event held in Chicago. Case Corporation (now Case IH) provided a tractor to pull groceries donated by the AFB Women’s Committee down the streets of Chicago to the doorstep of the Ronald McDonald House.

Farm Bureaus from around the country celebrated the event in its first year of organized effort.

In a report on the new initiative, AFB Women’s Committee Chair Linda Reinhardt noted, “This program has grown in just one year’s time to become a great addition to promoting the voice of agriculture.”

1999
National event in Phoenix.

2000
National event in Nashville.

2001
National event in Philadelphia. Despite a heavy snowstorm in the region, a successful event was held at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House. The Philly house was the first one in the nation, opened in 1974.

2002
National event in Las Vegas.

2003
National event in New Orleans.

2004
National event in Jacksonville, Florida.

2005
National event in Los Angeles.

2006
Food Check-Out Day became Food Check-Out Week, to provide more flexibility for Farm Bureaus to schedule activities and events.

National events in Washington, D.C., at the Ronald McDonald House of Greater Washington, and the U.S. Agriculture Department, where then-Secretary Mike Johanns signed a proclamation recognizing Food Check-Out Week.

Case IH, which had been a sponsor of Food Check-Out events since 1998, donated a pedal tractor and farm toys for the children at the house.

2007
National events in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Food and monetary donations were made to the Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore. Committee members also held a reception on Capitol Hill for their members of Congress.

Case IH donated a pedal tractor and farm toys for the children at the house.

For the first time, books about agriculture were donated to the house by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture.

Through 2007, state and county Farm Bureaus had donated more than $2.3 million in monetary and food donations to Ronald McDonald Houses and other charities.

2008
National event at Ronald McDonald House of Columbia, S.C.

Betty DeWitt, former chair of the SCFB Women’s Committee and member of the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee, and Hugh Weathers, South Carolina’s commissioner of agriculture, were honored for originating the idea of Food Check-Out Day in the 1990s. DeWitt credited the success of the long-running program to the collective efforts of many people, but particularly Linda Reinhardt of Kansas (former chair of the AFB Women’s Committee), for establishing the Farm Bureau – Ronald McDonald House connection.

Case IH donated a pedal tractor and farm toys for the children staying at the house.



2008 Kansas Thanksgiving Dinner Price Survey Results

We've conducted a non-scientific survey which is sorted by city, total cost and by KFB district.  The population of the cities was added under the assumption that prices would be lower in areas with larger populations.  As you'll see that didn't prove to be accurate. 

Survey prices were based on:

Frozen, Self-Basting Young Tom Turkey - 1 lb.
Cube Stuffing (herb seasoned), 14 oz. package
Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix (not pure pumpkin), 30 oz. can
9" Frozen Pie Shells (2 per package)
Fresh Sweet Potatoes, 1 lb.
Enriched Brown & Serve Rolls, 12 oz./12 per package
Frozen Green Peas, 16 oz. package
Fresh Carrots, 1 lb.
Fresh Celery, bunch
Whole Milk, gallon
Fresh Cranberries, 12 oz. package
Whipping Cream, 1/2 pint carton

Cost of condiments and/or miscellaneous ingredients (butter, salt, pepper, spices, eggs, etc.) needed to prepare a Thanksgiving menu were not included.


Glossary of Kansas Agriculture



County Farm Bureau Capitol Experience
 
Kansas Farm Bureau’s Capitol Experience program is designed to provide high school students a firsthand look at how Kansas government works. Highlights include touring the State Capitol and its dome, attending committee meetings, observing the House and Senate in session and visiting the Judicial
Center

Train the Trainer Notebook Get Adobe Reader
Basic Info
Notebook Content List --- County Contacts --- Handy Tips
Registration Form --- News Release

Registration Packet
Cover Letter --- Agenda --- Capitol Map
Capitol Information --- What to Wear, Where to Be, What to See

How Kansas Legislature Works --- Writing Congress or Your Legislator
Welcome to the House --- Welcome to the Senate

Kansas Legislative Individual District Maps (Click name >>> District Map)
Legislative Glossary --- Statehouse "Hall of Fame" ---  Program Evaluation

Handouts
Fact Finding Mission --- Fact Finding Mission Answers
Word Find (with answers) --- Seal of the State --- Contact Cards



 


Current Food Price Information

Farm Expenses Up: Share of Food Dollar Unchanged
Fuel, Transportation and Energy Drive Retail Food Prices
Ethanol Benefits the Environment
Ethanol Saves Consumers $50 Billion
Most of Retail Food Dollar Not Going to Farmers
Talking Points

 


National Agriculture Week
National Agriculture Week will be celebrated March 15-21, 2009; National Agriculture Day is March 20.

National Agriculture Day is celebrated each year on or around the first day of spring. It is a time to celebrate American agriculture and honor the people who work to food, clothe and fuel the country and abroad.

The Web site for National Ag Day/Week is http://agday.org/. On this site you will find useful information, including news releases, calendar of events, feature stories, talking points and answers to frequently asked questions.





 


Ag Education/Leadership Brochures  Get Adobe Reader

Ag Education
A Day in the Life of Agriculture
ABC's of Kansas Agriculture color book
  
Optional black and white front page for color book

Ag Education Bookmarks (front)
Ag Education Bookmarks (back)
Did You Know We Grow Cheeseburgers in Kansas?
Did You Know We Grow Pizza in Kansas?

Help the Cow Find Her Way Back to the Farm
How Many Hazards Can You Find?
Moving to the Country? Things You Should Know

One Day on the Farm: A Fire Safety Story
Seed Cards

Caring for Farm Animals
Pamphlet cover - Pamphlet inside


Leadership
Making Introductions --- Teach Your Butterflies to Fly in Formation
Respect the Flag

 



More Agriculture Education Resources

Ag Day

AFBF Ag Education
      AFBF Recommended Ag Ed Book List (.pdf)
     
(The focus of the list is to identify books containing accurate information about agriculture.)

Best Food Nation

Freddie's "Just for Kids" Page

Kansas Department of Agriculture

Kansas Farm Bureau's Top 10 Ag Ed Book List (.pdf)

National Farm-City Council

Using Media Baskets to Spread the Farm-City Week Message (.pdf)

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

 

 

Kansas Farm Bureau, 2627 KFB Plaza, Manhattan, Kansas 66503 - 785.587.6000