Living Ag in the Classroom
Members of the 2019 RRVAg Peer group spent the day at “The Wheat Booth” teaching students about all things wheat.
By Calli Feland, RRV AG Peer Group member
Living Ag in the Classroom is held each spring at the Red River Valley Fair-grounds in West Fargo.
The 2020 event reached out to over 2,300 students in North Dakota and Minnesota.
The program teaches 4th and 5th grade students about agriculture and the process that puts food on their plates.
Each year MN Wheat staff, along with the North Dakota Wheat Commission host a hands-on demonstration booth at the event. This year, members of the 2019 Red River Valley Ag Peer group spent the day at “The Wheat Booth” teaching students about all things wheat.
The lessons covered types of wheat and what products they produce, as well as how wheat is harvested, sold, transported, milled, and how it ultimately ends up on our plates. The students could see and touch Hard Red Spring Wheat (HRSW), Durum wheat, and pasta dough, as well as participate in some trivia on topics such as imports and exports. Students observed visual representations of “how much is a bushel” and how much money a farmer will get at the elevator for a bushel of wheat. (All students agreed, “That’s not enough!”) This event helps elementary age students without a back-ground in agriculture make the connection with our farmers and where our food comes from.
Here are a few Q & A that we asked the students:
Q: What country imports the most Durum wheat from the United States?
A: Italy
Q: What country imports the most HRSW from the Unites States?
A: The Philippines
Q: How many loaves of whole wheat bread can be made from one bushel of wheat?
A: 60 loaves
Find the article here: https://mnwheat.org/prairie-grains/april-2020-issue-176/
