Thank You Teachers!
As the 2024-25 school year ends, Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) wants to thank all educators who have explored agriculture with their students! Teachers, we sincerely appreciate your energy, enthusiasm, and willingness to integrate agriculture into your classrooms and curricula. We hope you find many opportunities to rest and recharge this summer. THANK YOU!
  Deputy Commissioner Andrea Vaubel and students from Bruce Vento Elementary School pose with Governor Walz's proclationtion for Minnesota School Garden Week.
Deputy Commissioner Andrea Vaubel visited Bruce Vento Elementary School in St. Paul to present the official proclamation declaring May 19-23, 2025 as School Garden Week in Minnesota.
At the celebration, students at Bruce Vento lined up and took turns reading from the official proclamation from Governor Tim Walz with school educators and leaders sharing the power of gardening on their school’s community.
Schools across Minnesota were encouraged to celebrate the learning, discovery, food production, and community-building that takes place in school gardens and to recognize the hard work of students, teachers, and community members who make these gardens possible. Ideas and examples of activities can be found on the Minnesota School Garden Week webpage.
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 Keri Sidle, MAITC Ed Specialist; Nate Lund, 2025 MAITC Outstanding Teacher Award Winner; Sue Knott, MAITC Ed Specialist
Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) is proud to announce Nathan Lund of Glacial Hills Elementary in Starbuck, MN as the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. This honor recognizes K-12 educators in Minnesota who creatively integrate agriculture concepts into their classrooms.
Lund has taught 5th and 6th grade at Glacial Hills Elementary since 2021. With his support, students in his class have gained a deeper appreciation for agriculture and the environment through hands-on learning experiences. These include starting and maintaining a schoolyard garden, incorporating hydroponic systems in the classroom, restoring native habitats around the school grounds, canning tomatoes from the garden, and hosting food-making contests. In addition, Lund launched a school-wide composting initiative with his students actively leading the effort each year.
All licensed Minnesota K-12 educators who creatively integrate agricultural into non-agricultural subjects are eligible for the MAITC Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. As this year’s winner, Lund will receive $500 plus support to attend the National Ag in the Classroom Conference taking place in Minneapolis, MN, June 23-26.
 Mr. Lund assists his 5th and 6th grade students in watering tomato plants.
We are VERY excited to host the 2025 National Agriculture in the Classroom 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. Conference highlights include:
- Over 60 engaging breakout sessions to share and learn innovative strategies for integrating agriculture into the classroom.
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Traveling workshops that allow participants to visit agriculture sites and gain first hand experience with agricultural plants, animals, food and natural resources
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Dynamic speakers and lots of networking time to share ideas and build connections.
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.
Farm Camp Minnesota
A Farm Camp experience is the perfect enhancement to your summer school curriculum!
Visit the Farm Camp website to get connected with the program director and brainstorm summer Farm Camp opportunities for the students in your community!
Forget the guinea pig. How about adopting a 1,500-pound dairy cow for your classroom mascot?
The Discover Dairy “Adopt a Cow” program is an exciting, year-long experience for your classroom. Throughout the program, you’ll get an inside look at dairy farming and be paired with a calf from a working dairy farm in the United States. You’ll find out what her name is, when her birthday is, where she lives, and how the farmer takes care of her. You’ll also receive progress updates, photos of the cow, live chats from the farm, activity sheets for your students, suggested lessons that follow Common CORE standards, and even opportunities to write letters to your calf! All updates are easily accessible via an online portal and app for Apple and Android.
Enroll in the free program between May 1 and September 15, 2025 and join the moo-vement that has impacted 1.7+ million students across the globe!
June Trivia Question: June is National Dairy Month! What breed of dairy cattle is pictured below?
 Send your answer to sue.knott@state.mn.us. The first two people to respond with the correct answer will win a MAITC travel mug.
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