As the 2017-18 school year draws to a close, Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) wants to thank ALL teachers who have explored agriculture with their students this past school year! We greatly appreciate your energy, enthusiasm, and willingness to integrate agricultural topics into your classrooms and curricula.THANK YOU!
Teacher Feature: Ms. Beth Sletta
STEM teacher, Jefferson Elementary School, New Ulm, MN
Ms. Sletta will be attending the 2018 National Ag in the Classroom Conference in Portland, ME, as a CHS Scholarship recipient.
 How has agriculture and the Minnesota Agriculture in the
Classroom Program impacted your students and instruction? I currently teach over 650 elementary students in grades 1-4 in the STEM lab and schoolyard garden. Agricultural education and the Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom programs and materials have greatly impacted my lessons in the STEM lab and garden as well. I am determined to tie the garden and agriculture into lessons throughout the school year. I use the curriculum matrix, AgMag/AgMagJr, and video links on the MAITC site to help add agriculture to my lessons.
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 Why do you believe it is important for our students to be agriculturally literate? I asked one of my second grade students why she thought it was important to learn about agriculture even though most of the students at our school don’t live on a farm. Her response was awesome! “We have to care about earth, where our food comes from, and we need to learn how to take care of the earth and the animals so we can keep having good food to eat!”
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Please register for MAITC's Summer Teacher Tours by June 7th! These events allow K-12 teachers to gain first-hand experience with agriculture. We will tour a variety of ag-focused sites, and offer FREE resources that support teachers in integrating agriculture into their science, social studies, math, language arts, and/or health curriculum. For additional details and to register visit http://minnesota.agclassroom.org/programs/tour.cfm.
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June 20, 2018, Chanhassen, MN
Tour stops include: U of M Landscape Arboretum Tashjian Bee Center, Gale Woods Farm, Roots Return Heritage Farm
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July 12, 2018, Blackduck, MN
Tour stops include: North Central Research and Outreach Center, Little Timber Farms
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July 26-27, 2018, Fairmont, MN
Tour stops include: Round Lake Winery, AGCO – Ag Equipment Manufacturer, Minnesota Soybean Processors, family operated hog farm, corn and soybean farm, Heritage Acres, Center Creek Orchard
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July 31, 2018, Waseca, MN
Agenda includes a tour of Farmamerica, visit with beekeeper, tractor experience with latest technology in agriculture, MAITC take-home lesson kits, farm to table dinner
*Partnership between Farmamerica and MAITC
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Explore these items for ideas and resources for Summer Ag Events such as Breakfast on the Farm, County Fairs and much more!
Ag Ventures are quick, easy and fun activities that ANYONE (ag advocates, 4-H/FFA members, and many others) with an interest in ag literacy education can lead in a variety of settings.
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Follow dairy products from the farm to you! Also learn facts about dairy cattle and the farmers that raise them. Thank you to the Professional Dairy Producers Foundation for making these posters possible.
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Investigate the agricultural source of popular pizza toppings!
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Explore the agricultural plants and animals that provide the burger, cheese, and additional toppings to this favorite summer-time food.
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Congratulations
to our May Ag Trivia winner Sara Berning. Sara knew that Minnesota's official
state drink is milk. Congratulations to our other top five responders
Peter Grove, Patty Riley, Serena McCoy, Amy Mastin, and Myrna Welter.
June Trivia Question: What are three types of corn grown in Minnesota?
Send your answer to sue.knott@state.mn.us. The first person to reply with the correct answer will win a MAITC reusable bag!
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