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The first thing I saw on Facebook this morning was a post
from my big brother that read something like this.
“As I celebrate National Teach Ag Day with my students and
educate preschoolers-3rd graders about common agriculture
commodities in Missouri: want to give a big shout out to Paul Crews, Dan Hill,
and Lonnie Burns who weren’t only great agricultural instructors but my dad and
two other father figures in my life.”
I instantly smiled thinking of these three men who played a
very important role in both Zach’s and my life. These men sacrificed time with
their own families to ensure others were educated about agriculture and well
life in general. It was a great way to start my day.
If you know me or have been reading my blog very long you
know I have a love for agriculture and a passion for educating others about it.
Yes I have a degree in agriculture education and no I do teach in a classroom
setting each and every day but the love it there. Every chance I get I am
speaking with others on the importance of educating our next generation about agriculture.
Not just through high school Ag and FFA programs. I am talking about outreach
education just like the event my brother and his students hosted today. Where
young kids can come and learn about where their food is coming from.
Sure all of these
students that came to the program today live in a small town surrounded by corn
and soy bean fields and yes tractor traffic jams are a regular occurrence in
their world but that doesn’t mean they have any idea what those fields and
tractors do for them. Do you think that all those students knew that the very
car their parents drove them to school in was fueled due in part to those very
corn fields that are right out their back door? Or that the Marconi and Cheese
they enjoy wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of American farmers?
I am going to guess no. And as an agriculturist that is a
scary thing to me. Children of today are consumers of tomorrow. If we as
farmers, ranchers, and all agriculturists don’t educate them who will? What
will they believe? What they hear on the news, what they read in the paper? It
is time for all of us to do our part, yes we feed the world, but if we want to
continue that tradition we have to have consumers who want what we are offering
and understand our side of the business.
This morning as I was taking Charlot to school I told her
about Uncle Zach using her baby pig today. She wanted to know why he was using
her pig, so I began to explain he and his students were teaching kids today
about where their food comes from. I instantly thought if I am preaching
education am I educating her? So here we went with a discussion about where
milk, pork chops, pasta and cheese come from (four of her favorite foods). It was
as easy as that…If we all do our part we will all reap the benefits of educated
consumers who understand how much agriculture affect their everyday life.
So thank you big bro and all you who believe in teaching agriculture
for all you do each and every day to educate the next generation. And thank you to the farmers and their families for the sacrifices they make so that my family can eat, your work doesn't go unnoticed!
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