Iowa had the amazing opportunity to host this year’s National Ag in the Classroom conference. The 2021 NAITC conference was hosted in Iowa’s capital, Des Moines, with an agenda of daily workshops, traveling workshops (tours), and inspirational speakers such as Dr. Anton Treuer and Nicole Jolly. At this event, teachers, coordinators, and ag-lovers from across the nation gathered to share lessons, tips, and information regarding agriculture education. The conference was hosted from June 28th through July 2nd with each day beginning with a breakfast for all participants, followed by workshops available both in-person and virtually. The daily workshops had unique information that inspired conference members with varying agricultural information such as topics of aviation, wind farming, livestock, crops, vermiculture and so much more. Our own Linn County Education Outreach Coordinator, Morgan Hibbs, presented a STEM lesson and activity to participants called Protect the Pringle Chip! On the 29th, participants had the option of attending a traveling workshop where they could tour local farms, companies, and other ag organizations. This was my first year attending the NAITC conference and it was certainly memorable. I was able to meet other agriculture educators from across the nation, learn about unique agriculture techniques, and become inspired by the various speakers and information shown throughout this experience. On my first day of the conference, I participated in the traveling workshop titled “No, it’s Iowa” where we toured the global company Kemin and the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. Despite being an Iowan, I was fairly unfamiliar with both of these places so it was great to see them from the inside and learn more about my home state. Kemin Industries is an ingredient supplier dedicated to improving the quality of life for people and animals across the world by creating ingredients and technologies to help with the production of animal health, food technologies, crops, textiles, aquaculture, and nutraceuticals. Millions of products we encounter daily such as clothing items, food, medications, pet food, and supplements are made available and safe to us through Kemin ingredients. It was founded in 1961 by R.W. and Mary Nelson in the heart of Iowa -- Des Moines! Over the years, Kemin has been able to produce safe products, improve food safety, and assist in scientific breakthroughs in over 120 countries. On this tour, we were able to get an inside look at the labs and employees who make this groundbreaking company possible. For the second part of our tour, we visited the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates, a beautiful and historic place dedicated to founder and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Norman Bourlaug. Dr. Borlaug is credited with saving more lives than any other person on the planet after he discovered a crop often referred to as miracle wheat. While visiting Mexico for an agriculture research position, Borlaug developed a high-yield and disease-resistant wheat variety that allowed crop production in areas of harsh climate and poverty. Borlaug is now considered the Father of the Green Revolution and the man who saved more lives than anyone else in history. At the World Food Prize Hall, we were able to learn about Norman Borlaug’s journey and what led to this discovery. One of my favorite pieces throughout this stunning building was the names written in gold that were dedicated to possible Nobel Peace Prize winners if the award had been available during their times. This tour of the traveling workshop was certainly inspiring, monumental, and breathtaking. While it’s difficult to pick a favorite of the many workshops I had attended, some of my top choices were the NEH Farms, Digging Deeper into Vermiculture, and Grafting the Red Delicious. NEH Farms is a program incorporated in elementary schools that was created by John Seiser from Iowa. This program teaches students responsibility while learning about agriculture through the use of greenhouses, chicken and turkey coops, beehives, canning, and so much more. Students involved in this are each assigned roles that implement the use of core curriculums such as marketing, math, and science. While raising poultry on this farm, students not only gain leadership skills but also sell the eggs in order to acquire marketing and business abilities. Digging Deeper into Vermiculture was a workshop hosted by Sarah McArdle, an elementary teacher in New York, who taught participants what vermiculture is, how to create vermicomposting in their classrooms, and how to incorporate vermiculture in lessons by teaching students the importance of it through science. We learned about different kinds of vermicomposting as well as tips and resources that could help vermiculture become successful in our classrooms. Grafting the Red Delicious was hosted by Jessica Jansen from Oregon. Jansen discussed the use of grafting on fruit farms, the importance of it, and how to use activities that showed the process to students. We learned of apple production, the many varieties of apples, and different grafting techniques. In all of these workshops, we were able to discover new lesson ideas and ways to implement STEM into fun activities for our students. Each workshop expanded our inspiration and knowledge of agriculture, leaving us more motivated for the upcoming school year to share our newfound knowledge with students. Picture Descriptions (left to right): Top Row: Beautiful architecture at the entrance of the World Food Prize Hall. The ceiling of the World Food Prize Hall. One of the names written in gold, dedicated to Norman's wife, Margaret. Bottom Row: Kemin Industries. An activity done during the "Grafting the Red Delicious" workshop. One of the workshops we attended, "Retaining Nitrogen", presenting the nutrient reduction strategy.

Monday, May 10th - Jason Russell and his daughter, Harper, hosted an estimate of 50 people on their farm during a field trip coordinated by Marion Homeschool Assistance Program and Linn County Farm Bureau Education Outreach. Jason raises wean to finish hogs, sheep, a few chickens, and cows. He also grows crops including corn, soybeans, flax, chickpeas, and hay. Jason asked eight-year-old, Harper, to catch one of the bottle calves. She appeared to know a lot about her animal as she led the calf to the group. Students had the chance to pet the calf and ask questions. Harper did a great job sharing her knowledge of the farm. Students also heard about the conservation practices and renewable energy utilized on the farm. Jason gave the group a tour of their hog site, which has both wind and solar energy. He talked about his practice of no-till and cover crops. The students were able to see first-hand the sustainability involved in the Russell farm. It appeared that parents enjoyed the field trip as much as the students. Many people are generations removed from the farm and the field trip provided an opportunity for the families to chat with a local farmer. Families were provided a take-home AG WEEK kit full of resources and educational activities to keep the conversation going. Visit www.linncoag.com to learn more about our program.

Milk is a natural food source provided by and for mammals that is necessary for growth. There’s currently a large debate over if dairy milk is really beneficial to humans or if alternatives like soy, almond, or oat milk are just as helpful. The truth is: milk has nine essential nutrients and vitamins that strengthen our immune system and improve our health that other milk alternatives can't beat. Drinking just 8-ounces of milk a day provides your body with the same amount of vitamin D, vitamin A, calcium, and phosphorus received from healthy foods like salmon, broccoli, and bananas. Milk is proven to enhance vitamin levels, improve weight loss and muscle mass, lower disease rates, strengthen bones, and overall improve health. Dairy alternatives do have benefits as well as high vitamin and protein levels similar to dairy milk. However, there are added sugars and many of the vitamins are also added (not naturally appearing in the milk). The truth is, dairy milk has natural, high-quality protein, vitamins, and nutrients that are tough to copy. There is a place for milk alternatives and it is important to have choices but the trend that milk is bad just isn’t true. It’s been proven time and time again that dairy milk is great for growth and health. But how is all of this milk produced? Dairy cows have been being raised for milk production for thousands of years and, as times have evolved, milking processes have too. Milking machines and parlors have been around since the early 1900s and were invented to improve milking rates by increasing milk intake and lowering time spent milking. A milking parlor is a separate room or building where dairy cattle are taken for milking. There are many different types of milking parlors but there are four most common, modern forms. These parlors are parallel, tandem, herringbone, and rotary. Parallel parlors are where the cows stand parallel to each other (see image). In this parlor position, dairy cattle’s udders can only be reached through the rear end and milking can’t begin until all cows are in their stalls. As the front quarters of the cattle aren’t visible in this parlor, sanitation and unit attachment can become more difficult. However, the walking distance between each stall is much shorter than other parlor types and can save more time. The exit procedures in parallel parlors are also more efficient due to dual return lanes. Tandem parlors require dairy cattle to stand nose-to-tail, allowing the farmer to milk the cattle from the side rather than from behind. This parlor type allows cows to be released individually, ensuring no hold-ups when waiting for a cow with slower milking rates. It’s recommended that tandem parlors are used in farms that pay close attention to each cow but can often be inconvenient for large herds. When milking or attaching milking machines by hand, it can take an excessive amount of time to walk from stall to stall throughout the parlor. With changing technology, automated milking attachments and machines can make it more manageable, but this parlor form isn’t as easy to expand as others. Herringbone parlors are the most common form of parlors for farms with smaller herds. This parlor type requires the cows to stand at a 45-degree angle, giving the milker a wider variety of access points. Unlike tandem parlors, cattle in herringbone parlors aren’t released individually, meaning it can take longer with cows who milk slower. However, herringbone parlors often have rapid exit stalls due to return lanes, making the exit process much more efficient. While this parlor type works great for smaller herds, larger herds in this parlor can be difficult to keep track of. Rotary parlors seem slightly more complex but are actually the easiest way to milk a herd. It’s similar to a merry-go-round – as the cows load into their stalls shaped in a circle, the platform slowly rotates, allowing farmers to stay in one place rather than walking from stall to stall. Despite a more organized form, rotary parlors also require more operators in order to function efficiently and aren’t easily expandable. It’s found that rotary parlors work best with larger herds of around 1,000 but, like parallel parlors, are slightly more difficult to sanitize and attach machines as well as pay special attention to particular cows. Dairy parlors are extremely beneficial for farmers as it improves efficiency, productivity, and profit. While it may come as a shock to some, parlors are also exceptionally helpful for the cattle as well. Efficiently run parlors can lead to a calming environment for dairy cows, causing better milk flow. The use of parlors also helps manage pathogens and ensure better health for the cows. When dairy parlors are run smoothly, it can benefit the cattle, farmers, and milk. Having healthy, natural milk allows us to remain healthy, happy, and strong.

This spring, students who participated in our Education Outreach program learned about different weather patterns and how each type of weather affects agriculture. While many students may be familiar with common weather such as rain or snow, they may not be aware of how weather can seriously affect farmers’ crop growth! For my internship project, I created a lesson plan that allows students to learn about the true importance of meteorology and weather through a series of instructional videos, a few great books, and fun weather-related activities. By teaching students about something as seemingly minor as weather, it could be the thing that encourages a student to study environmental science or conservation. Lower elementary students will learn about simple weather patterns such as rain, sun, wind, and storms. Students learned how all of these climatic conditions are extremely useful in growing strong, healthy crops. However, they also were taught that excessive amounts of these patterns can cause severe damage, hurting both crop production and farmers! At the end of the lesson, students are given a “Weather Watcher Journal”. They learn what it is like to be a meteorologist. Students observed the weather and brainstormed how it would affect local farmers based on the information discussed earlier in their lesson. Third graders are learning about weather and farming in a more in-depth manner. Like the preschool and kindergarteners, these students are discussing weather patterns and how it can affect crop production. However, third graders are also learning about different types of climate, how climate differs from weather, and how both weather and climate can affect farms in different ways. Students are learning about six different types of climate and the common crops that grow fruitfully in these conditions. These students are learning about weather patterns such as frost, hail, drought, and early v. late snowfall. Another weather journal is included for this kit activity, but students are going to record the temperatures, rain percentages, wind rates, etc. as well as how weather patterns can greatly affect a farmer’s production. These lessons were created for my intern project as a way to advocate to students the importance of agriculture, but also to teach them about the struggles farmers can go through for things that remain out of their control. Something as minor as a thick, overnight frost can cause extreme crop harm or even the end of a fruit and vegetable season. The weather is an important factor in growing tasty, profitable crops, but it can also mean great impairment to a farmer’s business. After experiencing the derecho this past summer, many farms were greatly damaged and it’s important more people understand the significance this can cause for farmers and locals who won’t receive the same fresh products. I wanted students to learn about common weather types, but I also wanted them to understand the extreme importance of weather. I also wanted the older students to be able to differentiate climate and weather in order to understand why different crops are grown in different places (for example: Iowa commonly grows corn and Florida grows oranges). By choosing weather as the topic for my internship project, I’m hoping that, with learning about weather patterns and predictions, there’s a great chance that someday these students will grow up to improve farming technology and weather forecasting.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach-Linn County (ISUEO) and Linn County Farm Bureau Education Outreach partner each year to offer a unique, up-close agriculture experience to kindergarten and first grade classrooms during the months of April and May. Classrooms are provided a kit that includes materials to incubate seven fertile chicken eggs. More than 400 students are participating in our 2020/21 twenty-one day hatching program! The program includes support for teachers, virtual resources, and curriculum with cross-curricular activities, lessons, books, games, and resources. The hatching program meets both Iowa Common Core Standards and National Agriculture Literacy Outcomes. Through our program, students gain an understanding of the poultry industry and life cycle. Not only does this curriculum allow students to better understand living things and agriculture, it also allows the class to explore food and nutrition topics that complement math, science, and literacy lessons. Quotes from teachers: 2018 quote: Amy Brown, a participating teacher, saw enthusiasm spread throughout the school, "I hope we can have this experience for years to come! My class was the one that did the hatching, but we opened our door to the entire school and had most of the classes walk through at some point. It was truly amazing!" 2019 quote: "It was a wonderful program all around, but I especially loved the curricular materials that came with the kit. It was awesome to tie reading and math to science," said Linn County participating teacher. Are you convinced yet that you need to hatch chicks in your classroom? Visit our website to build your own kit! Hatching Unit | mysite (linncoag.com) Download the following: -Kit list -Set up -Hatching calendar -Pre-recorded FarmChat -Workbook -Hatching BINGO -Candling tips and tricks Wrap up your 21 day hatching program with a fun virtual field trip! Linn County Farm Bureau Education Outreach is partnering with Riverbend Ag in the Classroom to host a live FarmChat® via Facebook. This is an excellent time to checkout FarmChat®, experience a taste of agriculture and have a live Q&A session with a farmer. The program is designed for K-5 students, but anyone can join to learn about Iowa agriculture! FarmChat® is a perfect complement to elementary life science standards and STEM learning. We will be going live from the River Bend Ag In The Classroom | Facebook page.

Growing STEM on Iowa Farms, an in-person workshop, is being offered by Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation in partnership with Linn, Buchanan and Delaware County Farm Bureau. The two-day workshop is being offered July 14 and 15, 2021 at Heartland Acres in Independence, Iowa. The workshop will be available for teacher recertification credit and graduate level credit. This fast-paced professional development will give teachers, extension personnel, and others who educate youth the skills they need to implement many of the Iowa Core social studies and science standards. Participants will take home activities and lesson ideas that can be immediately implemented into their classroom. During the first day of the onsite workshop participants will venture out of the classroom to learn about the agriculture industry first-hand. They will visit a dairy farm, peony farm, and a corn and soybean farm while learning how agricultural products are produced, marketed, and transported. They will also visit a historic feed mill to learn how technology in agriculture has changed over time. The second day of the course will focus on implementing lessons learned, connecting learning to science and social studies, and making it relevant to student learners. Participants will learn about animal science, drones, history, STEM in agriculture, and more. To find out more about the workshop visit www.IowaAgLiteracy.org or email Morgan Hibbs at mhibbs@ifbf.org.

Melissa James, teacher at Center Point-Urbana High School, invited Mitchell Hora to speak with the class about cover crops on March 25th, 2021. Mitchell is a 7th generation farmer in Washington County and founder of Continuum Ag. Hora said, "it takes time to build up soil health, but soon the worms and other microbes begin to work for us." Mitchell and his family have been practicing no-till farming for over 40 years and have been applying cover crops for the last six. Using virtual technology, Mitchell was able to show the students the cover crops in real-time. They planted a mix of cereal rye, radishes, and hairy vetch. The cover crop looks to be growing well after the spring rains we have seen. Hora concluded by saying, "it is important to remember the biology and not just the chemistry. We need to provide food to the microbes if we want to see improvements in the soil health over time." Check out Home - CONTINUUM AG to learn more. Continuum Ag helps identifies soil health drivers and offers a "roadmap" to soil improvement.

Throughout the month of March, we are celebrating Read Across Iowa. More than 100 students participated in our two virtual story times offered on March 1st and March 3rd. We read My Family's Dairy Farm by Katie Olthoff. Students discovered how farmers care for the cows and produce milk that can be made into cheese and other dairy products. The book is part of a series targeted to 3rd grade readers, but the dairy content is great for any age! Classes received a copy of the book to take home. Didn't receive a book? Not to worry, you can view a virtual copy by visiting Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation. My Family's Dairy Farm is a story told from the perspective of an 8 year old farm kid that lives here in Iowa. Students can really relate to someone their own age and learning from a peer makes reading fun! Did you know? Reading to children and having books in the home is one of the strongest predictors of school success. According to Iowa Farm Bureau, “Iowa is the 12th largest milk-producing state in the United States with about 1,370 licensed dairy herds. Annually, Iowa’s herds produce around 540 million gallons of milk, worth approximately $944 million in sales, so there is a significant dairy industry presence statewide.” Looking for additional resources to accompany the story? Check out the following dairy activities! 1. Homemade butter recipe: Visit our website to download a recipe book. - Heavy whipping cream, salt and a small cup 2. Flat Aggie Adventures publication: Dairy Series 3. Dairy FarmChat 4. Coloring sheet 5. Homemade ice cream lesson plan View a recording of our virtual story time by visiting Virtual story time! - YouTube. Read Across Iowa is organized as a collaborative effort between the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa 4-H, and the Iowa State Education Association.

Valentine’s day is one of the sweetest holidays. It’s filled with love, flowers, and of course, candy! Lollipops, gummies, chocolate, and conversation hearts are some of the many variations. The two most popular candy types are by far chocolates and conversation hearts. Have you ever thought about how these sweet treats are made? Chocolate is derived from a cacao tree. This tree grows best near the equator with plenty of heat and rain. Cacao beans grow from the tree in pods that each have around 30-50 beans. An interesting fact is that these beans aren’t referred to as cocoa until after they’re dried and roasted! Once the beans are removed from their pods in harvest, they’re fermented. This means they’re cleaned by hand, making them a purplish color, and then covered with banana leaves to give them that delicious chocolate flavor! The beans are carefully dried, blended, and roasted. Once ground into cocoa powder or cocoa mass, there are only a few more steps to make them into chocolate! To make dark chocolate, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and sugar are the only necessary ingredients. Milk chocolate requires the same ingredients but also needs milk powder. White chocolate is a controversial treat as it doesn’t require any cocoa mass, causing some people to believe it isn’t really a chocolate. Once the ingredients are mixed, the soon-to-be chocolate goes through a process called conching where it is kneaded, rolled, and heated. This process gives the chocolate the rich, gourmet taste everyone loves. The final step before the chocolate is off for sale is tempering and molding. This is simply shaping and packaging the chocolates. This delicacy may be a lengthy process to create, but the rich treats make it worth it, satisfying sweet tooths all over. Conversation hearts are a classic, simple treat that has been around since the 1800s. They’re made with six simple ingredients: sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch, flavoring, and colors. Corn syrup and sugar are the first ingredients due to the large quantities needed. These two are mixed through large silos and machines. The corn starch, colors, and flavoring are added by hand. Eventually, the ingredients make a dough-like consistency. The dough is flattened, cut into shapes, and printed with messages. After the hearts have taken their shapes, they’re heated, mixed, and packaged. While this recipe may seem complex, you can make these candies at home! Although Valentine’s Day is only one day a year, around 8 billion conversation hearts are sold during this time! They’re the #1 non-chocolate selling Valentine’s Day sweet. This is just how some of the best-selling Valentine’s day sweets are made! If you would like to learn more about these processes, you can go to these links: How Conversation Hearts Are Made or How Chocolate is Made. We hope you have a great Valentine’s Day and make sure you indulge in these sweet treats!

Our 2020/21 Virtual Ag in the Classroom program focuses on a new topic each month. Students will explore water and soil health throughout the month of February. The second grade lesson includes reading the book "Sleep Tight Farm," by Eugenie Doyle, making cover crop monsters and completing a review worksheet. The focus of our February lesson is to help students understand the purpose and methods of using cover crops to maintain soil and water integrity. A cover crop is grown in the off season for the protection and enrichment of the soil. In Iowa, rye (grass grown as a grain) is one of the most popular cover crops because of its quick germination. The seed is sometimes flown on with an airplane while the main crop is still in the field. This gives the cover crop a chance to grow before the main crop is harvested, minimizing soil erosion. Other popular cover crops are radishes and red clover. Cattle can graze cover crops, too. This reduces the feed that may need to be supplied to cattle Our lesson includes an interview with two Iowa farmers regarding their experience with cover crops. Meet Mike Jackson and Eric Fynaardt. MIKE Mike Jackson and his family live in Mahaska County where they farm corn, soybeans and pigs. Do you plant cover crops? Yes How many acres do you plant? 1700 acres (1 acre is about the size of a football field) Why do you plant cover crops? Cover crops increase soil health and reduce erosion What are the cons? More management and additional cost What cover crop seeds do you plant? Cereal rye, wheat, radishes and different mixes How do you plant the cover crop? With 10 inch spacing drill directly following harvest in the fall What would you like students to know? Farmers use science and math daily ERIC Eric Fynaardt and his family live in Poweshiek County where they farm corn and soybeans. Do you plant cover crops? Yes How many acres do you plant? 1200 acres (1 acre is about the size of a football field) Why plant cover crops? Cover crops help to build organic materials and prevent against erosion. What are the cons? More management What cover crop seeds do you plant? Rye How do you plant the cash crop (corn or soybeans) into the rye? The planter has rollers to push the grass down. What would you like students to know? We do all of our field prep in the fall when we plant the cover crop seed. This keeps the soil from having to be tilled in the spring. Watch a classroom experiment with cover crops Cover crop experiment - YouTube Interested in learning more? Download the complete lesson plan from our website! February | mysite (linncoag.com) Email Morgan Hibbs at mhibbs@ifbf.org with questions or to learn more about our programs!

March 1st is Read Across Iowa Day and we are celebrating with a virtual story time at 10:00 am! Join us Live on zoom as we read the new story My Family's Dairy Farm by Katie Olthoff! According to the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation, “Reading to children and having books in the home is one of the strongest predictors of school success.” Why read an agriculture book? Agriculture is essential to the economy of Iowa. By participating in our virtual story time, students will learn about a modern dairy farm through the eyes of Lucas, and 8-year-old, who helps with his family’s farm. Discover how farmers produce milk that can be made into cheese and other dairy products. The book is part of a series targeted to 3rd grade readers, but anyone can participate to celebrate Read Across Iowa Day! Sign up today and students will receive a copy of the book! Email Morgan Hibbs at mhibbs@ifbf.org to learn more!