Program Highlight

Florida Agriculture Literacy Program Modifies Events for Safety

- TERESA SCHIFFER

WE ALL RELY ON AGRICULTURE every single day of our lives for our most basic needs, but in modern times we’ve grown a little more distanced from the practices that keep us alive. In recent years, however, the agricultural community has been making a concerted effort to educate the public on the value of farming and ranching. That has meant reaching out to our children to ensure they understand where our foods, fibers, and other commodities come from.

Florida Agriculture in the Classroom is a nonprofit organization that was founded to help provide educational resources, programs, and grants to Florida schools to help students expand their knowledge of agricultural concepts and practices. Every year, the group holds Florida’s Agriculture Literacy Day, a time for industry volunteers to read specially developed children’s books to the state’s students.

This year’s book is titled Here We Grow Florida! The rhyming book was written by Jennifer Morgenthal, the Education Specialist for Florida Agriculture in the Classroom. Morgenthal is passionate about agriculture, partly a result of having grown up in the rural community of Williston, Florida. Before joining Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, she was a high school teacher, so education is also a primary focus for her.