PEORIA MAGAZINE August 2022

S E E D A N D S O I L

EDUCATING CITY KIDS ABOUT WHERE THEIR FOOD COMES FROM Lessons go both ways in ‘Ag in the Classroom’ program

BY ROB SHARKEY

A s farmers, we are constantly updating our farming practices and forever chal leng ing ourselves to become better and more efficient stewards of the land. Whether it’s the latest technology, environmental ly fr iendly power, biofuels or tillage practices, to name a few, it’s a constant education. The general public may not realize that every year, especially in the winter months, we attend seminars, conferences, webinars, and have agronomists v isit our farms to keep current on the latest laws and regulations. Farming, like so many jobs, has many variables and moving parts. It takes dedicated planning all year to make harvest successful. Yet, I think one of the most important jobs we have is to educate the next gen eration—not just the next generation to

run the farm, but maybe more impor tantly, thenext generationof consumers! There are so many ways we share our stories of life on the farm, but one of my favorite ways, and perhaps the most effective, has been the “Ag in the Classroom” program through our local county Farm Bureau. When our kids were little, we decided, with many others from our county, to adopt a classroom in inner city Chicago. We sent the students monthly letters detailing what we were doing on the farm during all four seasons of the year. This included explaining how we choose the crops we plant, where we buy our seed, what equipment we need to plant and harvest, and a little bit about technology. We also showed that it takes a community of people to help a farmer be successful.We have a couple different

agronomists visit to advise us on when to plant and when and what to spray to keep the crop healthy.We explained that it takes a company to deliver anhydrous ammonia so we can give our crop nitrogen, and a fuel truck delivering diesel fuel to run our tractors and other equipment. We have several seed salesmen and saleswomen who deliver seed that will grow well according to our soil types. The best memories we have are the in-person visits. My wife and I would load up the kids and drive to a school in inner city Chicago and meet the students face to face. It was a culture shock, to say the least. Growing up in rural Illinois surround ed by cornfields and timber made Chi cago’s concrete and skyscrapers a real education for us. The school we visited is in a rough neighborhood where the

12 AUGUST 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE