- Go into a classroom and have a discussion about how farmers and ranchers help provide us with our food, fiber and energy! If you are a farmer, talk about your operation, or if you are a teacher/volunteer read an accurate ag book to help students get an idea of what a farmer does each day.
- Have students write, draw, or create thank you letters or thank you cards to farmers. Students may sign the cards, but please do not include last names.
- You can send your thank yous in a pack to
- American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture
- 600 Maryland Ave SW Suite 1000W
- Washington DC 20024.
Send them to the Rock Island County Farm Bureau and we will send them to local farmers in Western Illinois/Eastern Iowa!
- Rock Island County Farm Bureau
- 1601 52nd Ave, Suite 3
- Moline, IL 61265
Classroom ideas:
- Complete this FREE sample lesson from Farm a Month and read this FREE sample letter from a pumpkin farmer. Then have a discussion about farming in America.
- During Thanksgiving it is easy to bring up food in the classroom. Pull up a picture of a Thanksgiving day plate or ask students to name common foods on a Thanksgiving day plate. Then discuss the agricultural origins of each item on the plate! (Example: Turkey, cranberries, green beans, potatoes, stuffing.)
- Have students in groups use a computer and the internet to discover where the ingredients such as pumpkins, butter, sugar and wheat come from. Give each group one ingredient; don’t tell them what the final product is going to be. Have students present where their ingredient is from, and then have the class as a whole guess what the recipe is for!
- Invite a real farmer into your classroom to discuss their operation.
- "How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin" by Margaret McNamara
- "Time for Cranberries" by Lisl Detlefsen
- "Diary of a Farmer" by Angela Royston
- "Apple Orchard Riddle" by Margaret McNamara
- "Who Grew My Soup?" by Tom Darbyshire
- Farm to Cart
- Poultry Ag Mag
- Apple Ag Mag
If you have older students and want them to practice writing an official letter you can download and use this letter writing template.
http://www.agfoundation.org/projects/thank-a-farmer-or-rancher