September Featured Teacher
Our Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) team is celebrating the 2025-26 school year by featuring an awesome teacher who uses agriculture as a content for teaching and learning each month. Our September featured teacher is Mr. Nate Lund!
Nate Lund, a fifth and sixth grade teacher at Glacial Hills Elementary in Starbuck, MN inspires his students to understand and appreciate all that agriculture has to offer through hands-on learning experiences. "Students in my classroom are not only exposed to agriculture and environmental education ideas sporadically, but use these concepts naturally each day as they progress in their learning. I am extremely happy to share that through these authentic experiences, our students become conscious of their role in preserving and conserving natural resources both in school and at home."
Mr. Lund is excited to try out Desktop Greenhouses lesson this year.
To learn more about him, visit our Featured Teachers webpage.
Sign-up for AgMags for the 2025-26 School Year
Did you know that there’s a free, custom magazine for grades K-6 available to all teachers and students? Each AgMag issue aligns with Minnesota academic standards, and there are also free lesson plans for each edition to seamlessly integrate into your curricula! AgMags provide a unique piece for students to engage with beyond their typical textbooks. The print magazine and digital content feature real-life Minnesota farmers and businesses, highlighting people and organizations that kids can feel a connection to.
The MAITC Foundation is excited to provide cash awards to K-12 educators through the Agricultural Literacy Grant Program. These grants encourage educators to bring agriculture and food systems education to life by integrating related content into their classroom. Grants are available for new ideas as well as enhancements to current events and activities. MAITC aims to fund projects that provide students the opportunity to experience agriculture in a cross-curricular manner.
FFA Chapters and 4-H programs are also eligible for grant funds to promote agricultural literacy with students in their community.
Apply by October 15.
MAITC has worked with MANY amazing teachers across our state! We would like to recognize one of these awesome educators with the MAITC Outstanding Teacher Award. This award is presented annually to an educator currently engaged in classroom instruction at the K-12 grade level and recognizes the teacher for their creative efforts to teach students about the importance of agriculture. The winning Minnesota teacher will receive $500 and have up to $1,500 of related expenses paid to attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference, June 22-25, 2026, in Providence, Rhode Island.
October is Farm to Kids Month – a time to enjoy and celebrate local food in our schools and communities. It’s also a time to share gratitude with those who make Farm to Kids possible including farmers, educators, nutrition professionals, and community members.
This year's theme is Harvesting Creativity, celebrating local food and farmers with creative storytelling, books, and art that bring local food to life and highlight the role of farmers in our communities. Try one (or all!) of the creative ideas below to bring Farm to Kids to life for your students!
- Write thank-you cards to a local farmer
- Decorate the cafeteria with art projects that highlight local foods
- Create a short story or poem featuring local fruit or vegetable as the main character
- Invite a local farmer or author to read an agricultural-themed book
- Create drawings, paintings, crop art or any type of art project highlighting local food
- Host a naming contest for a local menu item in the cafeteria
Visit the Farm to School webpage to learn more! You can also find resources, inspiration and celebration ideas on The National Farm to School Network website.
Minnesota Great Apple Crunch
The Minnesota Great Apple Crunch is back again! Last year we had over 201,400 crunchers register and participate- let's aim for 250,000 this year! Click on the link below to get counted in the official state crunch numbers. Happy Crunching!
Register for the Great Apple Crunch
Please note: The official crunch date is Thursday, October 9 at noon, but you can host your crunch anytime during October.
September Trivia Question: What is Minnesota's official state fruit?
Send your answer to sue.knott@state.mn.us. The first two people to respond with the correct answer will win an MAITC travel mug.
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