Educating About Agriculture

White-Reinhardt Fund for Education 2008 Awards

For the fifth year, funds from the White-Reinhardt Fund for Education are being distributed for mini-grants and teacher scholarships. Mini-grant funding supports new projects or projects that expand existing agricultural literacy efforts at the county or state level. Each mini-grant provides up to $500 to support K-12 classroom projects to increase agricultural literacy. The teacher scholarships send ten outstanding teachers to the National Ag in the Classroom conference each year. The widest pool of applicants and recipients in the program’s history is included in this year’s White Reinhardt competition. Geographic representation includes all regions. From Alaska and California on the West Coast to Texas and Georgia in the South and Virginia and New Jersey on the East Coast to North Dakota and Illinois in the center of the country, the country is well represented. A total of 82 applications were received for scholarships and mini-grants.

TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Ten exceptional teachers have been designated to receive scholarships to attend the National Ag in the Classroom Conference. The White-Reinhardt scholarships provide up to $1,200 to support attendance at the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in California this June. They are Anne Bickley – Ohio, Toni Chewning – South Carolina, Sandra Dorn – Nebraska, Joyce Flowers – Oklahoma, Sandra Hatley – North Carolina, Tanna Nicely – Tennessee, Kitchka Petrova – Florida, Vickie Reedy – Tennessee, Polly Rowell – Alaska, and Brenda Woker from Illinois. Congratulations to these outstanding educators.

MINI-GRANTS FOR EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS

A total of 28 projects will be funded or partially funded through the White/Reinhardt mini-grant program this year. They are as follows:

Adams County Farm Bureau, Illinois	The grant will be used to develop a GPS/GIS program to develop understanding of high-tech agriculture in the areas of crop production (planting, fertilizing, weed and pest control and harvesting), animal production (tracking livestock) and produce delivery systems.
Alaska Ag in the Classroom (Alaska Farm Bureau)	The grant helps to expand the previously funded book program using recommended books from the American Farm Bureau Foundation by adding additional books and introducing lessons and CDs along with commodity samples. Books and other materials will be delivered in totes to school districts. Donations will be solicited through Farm Bureau and Soil and Water Conservation District
Arizona Farm Bureau	The grant will be used to develop a lending library by purchasing books to be used by volunteers for grades K-4 for two additional counties Pima and Pinal, expanding beyond Maricopa County (Phoenix) that was funded last year. Teachers would be able to use the books free of charge for a two-week period.
Branch County Farm Bureau, Michigan	The grant will be used to provide educational materials to accompany a mobile exhibit/educational laboratory. This will include designing panels for the interior of the mobile classroom on food and fiber topics. The grant will fund a small but essential portion of the total program.
Brown County Farm Bureau, Wisconsin	The grant will be used to enable the county to reach more teachers this mini-grant will fund the development and promotion of a new educational Web site. The funding is only a portion of the program and the intent is to work in a coordinated fashion with other agricultural groups.
Bureau County Farm Bureau, Illinois	The grant will be used to develop and implement a pre-K through grade 3 learning kit program delivering agricultural materials (books, videos/DVDs, games and lessons). This grant expands the grade levels reached previously (grades 4-6).
Cook County Farm Bureau, Illinois	The grant will be used to enhance the lending library offerings by adding additional resources on plants, insects, George Washington Carver, cheese, pizza and soil quality.
Gladwin County Farm Bureau, Michigan	Funds will purchase additional and updated books for the Red Barn Bookcases already in place. This effort would expand the efforts currently underway (primarily social studies) to careers, science and language arts.
Hancock County Farm Bureau, Illinois	Funding will be used to purchase books and educational materials for a National Ag Week Celebration in the county. The books will upgrade and expand current titles and coordinate with Illinois Ag in the Classroom lessons.
Hiawathaland County Farm Bureau, Michigan	Funding will be used to purchase “Every Day is Earth Day on the Farm” and target third graders. The video will accompany volunteers in the classroom to impress upon children that farmers are good stewards of natural resources.
Harvey County Farm Bureau, Kansas	Funds will be used to build a barn that will serve as a chicken coop to raise the chicks incubated by the kindergarten. The objective is to raise the chicks and observe and monitor their growth and development.
Indiana Farm Bureau	The grant will be used to purchase materials to enhance classroom presentations by volunteers. Some materials are costumes to accompany specific lessons (a Carmen Miranda hat to talk about fruits and vegetables) others are instructional to enhance presentations.
Juneau County Farm Bureau, Wisconsin	This grant will fund the addition of books and videos to the AITC resource tubs that the county is currently providing to teachers. This will allow the county to expand their efforts into more science areas in the curriculum.
Kalkaska County Farm Bureau, Michigan	The funds will be used to purchase children’s books that focus of farms, farming and nutrition. This will expand the county’s effort into the second grade.
Kendall County Farm Bureau, Illinois	The project will be the development of a career/college expo for high school students to impress upon them the wide array of careers available in the agriculture field. The focus will especially target careers in the biological sciences, which seems to be lacking in other career efforts in the county.
King George County Farm Bureau, Virginia	The grant will be used to purchase books and provide them to elementary schools in the county in conjunction with Ag Day. Grades 3 and 5 will be targeted.
King William County Farm Bureau, Virginia	To better understand and appreciate the agriculture of King William County, these funds will be used to build and stock a learning barn with educational materials for Cool Spring Primary School. In addition to recommended books from the Virginia Farm Bureau list, the barn will also include items important to local history, geography and agriculture.
Lawrence County Farm Bureau, Illinois	The grant will fund the purchase of 33 books to establish a new ag library for pre-K through grade 5 students. The books will be used with a variety of summer programs throughout the county as well as through the school year.
Michigan Farm Bureau	The grant will fund the development of a new Agriculture in the Classroom lesson focused around fruit. It will target first grade students a new audience. The grant is only part of the funding for this project.
Missaukee County Farm Bureau, Michigan	The grant will be used for Rural Education Day (RED). This new program will target fifth grade students and be used as a tool to increase requests for programming by the teachers that participate in it with their students.
Moultrie County Farm Bureau, Illinois	The grant will fund the development of materials that will be taken into pre-K-4th grade classrooms with an emphasis on grade three and preschoolers. The focus is to provide as many hands-on experiences for the students as possible.
Peoria County Farm Bureau, Illinois	This grant will be used to purchase Agri-Learning, Magic Kits, books, and videos to be used in teacher presentations for grades 3-6. This is their first time effort.
Perry County Farm Bureau, Pennsylvania	The grant will fund the purchase of educational materials that the Greenwood FFA and county Farm Bureau can jointly take into elementary classes during National Ag Week to conduct educational program for students in grades 3 and 4. This would be a first effort for this program. However, the FFA obtained a grant last year to bring one of Pennsylvania AITC’s Mobile Classroom to the school last year for a very successful program.
Rockbridge County Farm Bureau, Virginia	This grant will be used to build and stock a learning barn with educational materials for grades K through 5. In addition to recommended books from the AFBFA’s list, the barn will also include games and other audio-visuals. This grant is only part of the funding for the total program.
Shiawassee County Farm Bureau, Michigan	The funds will be used to purchase an incubator, brooder, egg candler and a CD-ROM and educational materials to develop a chick embryology program for the county. This would expand the subject areas covered by the county program and make a significant effort in science.
Wabash County Farm Bureau	The grant would fund the development of an interchangeable educational display for a variety of audiences. The intent is to use it at fairs, career shows, community events, and classroom presentations.
Washington County Farm Bureau, Ohio	The grant will fund a aquaculture program in the schools thereby bringing more hands-on learning into the science classroom. Funds will be used to purchase the equipment and fish needed to initiate the program and then the intent is for the sale of fish to make it self-sustaining. The program targets high school and middle school students.
Wisconsin Farm Bureau	The grant will fund the development of pre-service materials for teachers. Binders of materials will be made available at campus presentations and conventions to pre-service teachers. The grant is only a portion of the funding for this effort.

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