From the Field: Ag Literacy Workshop

There’s always something new happening in the world of Extension. This time, the spotlight is on a new workshop: “From Micro to Macro: Growing Ag Literacy.”

Before we get into the specifics, you might be asking, “what is ag literacy and why is it important?”

A person who is agriculturally literate understands the important role agriculture plays in our daily lives. Many children don’t know the value of agriculture, and Extension is here to help them understand where their food, clothing, and fuel comes from!

The new ag literacy workshop was created by Dr. Mariah Morgan and Dr. Jamie Varner with the MSU Extension Center for Tech Outreach specifically for educators and Extension agents. They brought in Extension specialists to teach activities tied to photosynthesis, gardening, food deserts, and crop management. They even taught participants how to grow microgreens!

When I walked into one of the workshop sessions, participants were performing science experiments. (I secretly wanted to join in on the fun!) Emma Seiler, a 7th grade teacher at Oak Grove Middle School in Hattiesburg, learned several activities to incorporate agriculture in her teaching. 

“The photosynthesis activities we went over are going to be great to use in my classroom,” Seiler said. “It’s a quick visual of a chemical reaction that also allows me to tie in agriculture into my lesson.”

I’m excited to see how the educators and Extension agents use what they’ve been taught to teach the youth of Mississippi about the importance of agriculture!

Two other great ag literacy programs Extension offers are iFARM and FARMtastic! Be sure to check them out as well!