Introducing agriculture to your students is a fun and engaging way to incorporate aspects of science, math, environmental lessons, leadership, stewardship and respect for all living things as they relate to local farmers in our region.

The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation makes it easy for teachers to use agriculture to illustrate key educational ideas so that all students can easily understand them. MAEF hosts field trips, tours and hands-on workshops, and conducts interactive training for K-12 grade teachers to demonstrate how to infuse agricultural concepts into existing curriculum and meet Maryland State Standards.

These workshops provide teachers with handy resource materials and ready-to-use lessons. The mobile science labs provide students with on-site, agricultural training when they travel to schools throughout the state.

Teachers can visit the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation Web site, www.maefonline.com, and sign up for Ag in the Classroom training. Use this site to check the availability of having the mobile science lab visit your school and encourage your students to use the MAEF Web site as a valuable resource for science projects and more!

Visit ThankAFarmer.info for information about all kinds of livestock operations and how they benefit the Mid-Atlantic!

The Maryland Grain Producers Association site, www.marylandgrain.com, includes a list of helpful links to both teacher- and student-friendly sites. The association’s members, as well as the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board, which is farmer-funded by the state grains checkoff, sponsor this site.

Visit the Delmarva Poultry Industry site, www.dpichicken.org for a list of resources for teachers. It’s sponsored by DPI, the trade organization for the poultry industry on the peninsula.