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Can you feel it?! The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer - spring is here! Spring is always an exciting season for agriculture! Buds on trees, new chicks and lambs, and planting crop fields and gardens are just a few of the visible signs of spring with agricultural roots. Our Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom team is excited to help you make seasonal connections to agriculture with your students. Please reach out today!
When: Monday, April 14, 2025, 3:45-4:30 p.m.
What: Join us for a free virtual workshop to learn the ins and outs of planning and hosting a Farm Day event for elementary students. Teaching your youngest students about where their food comes from and the people who grow it is important! Participants will gain insights, advice, and a planning outline from a former Agriculture Teacher and FFA Advisor to make their Farm Day memorable and interactive. From lining up volunteers, working with teams of elementary teachers, and planning engaging stations, this brief workshop will leave you with the necessary tools to kick off a successful event.
Several lucky teachers who attend the virtual workshop will receive an agriculture lesson kit that can be used for a Farm Day station or classroom activity.
 Virtual Field Trip: CannonBelles Cheese
Join us on Zoom for an exciting look into cheesemaking!
When: Thursday, April 17, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
What: Explore the process of cheesemaking at CannonBelles Cheese! You will see how locally sourced milk from Square Deal Dairy in Randolph, MN is transformed into delicious artisan cheese at CannonBelles cheese plant. This is a 30-minute virtual field trip that is targeted to K-5 students.
This 30-minute virtual field trip is targeted to K-5 students.
This virtual field trip will also be streamed live on YouTube and a recording will be available for later viewing.
When: June 17-18, 2025, South Central College
Bring agriculture into your science classroom
Bring agricultural concepts to life in your classroom! Join us for a free, hands-on professional development experience designed for science teachers in south-central Minnesota. This immersive event is your chance to explore standards-aligned agricultural materials that empower students to understand grade-appropriate science topics, discover career opportunities, and apply their skills to real-world agriculture concepts.
What to expect
Presented with support from Midwest Dairy and curriculum resources from the Food and Agriculture Center for Science Education, this immersive professional development event will be held at South Central College in Mankato June 17-18, 2025.
This workshop is designed to equip teachers with the resources they need to bring agriculture into their science classrooms. You will learn directly from the developers of the materials, visit a local dairy farm, meet industry professionals, work through hands-on activities, and more.
This workshop is free for participating middle and high school teachers; all meals and hotel accommodations are included.
Registration for the 2025 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference is open! We are extremely excited to host this conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota June 23-26, 2025. This conference is the premier professional development opportunity focused on teaching through a lens of food and agriculture.
The conference theme of "Lakes, Land and Legends" will bring together teachers from across the country to learn from agriculture-focused tours, skilled presenters, engaging keynote speakers, and from one another. More information can be found at https://agclassroom.org/conference/
 First Year Teacher Grants
The MAITC Program and Foundation recognize that first-year teachers face a unique set of challenges as they begin their teaching career. The goals of this first-year teacher grant program are to:
- Support first-year educators in integrating agriculture into their classroom and curriculum.
- Allow MAITC to establish and grow relationships with college students as they transition to employment in schools and educational settings.
First-year teachers are strongly encouraged to complete the short application to receive funds to kick-start agricultural education integration in their classroom and curriculum.
April Trivia Question: The purple flowering plant in the photo below, is one of the first plants to bloom in the spring in Minnesota. What is it?
Photo courtesy of U of M Extension website.
Send your answer to sue.knott@state.mn.us. The first two people to respond with the correct answer will win an MAITC reusable bag.
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