Ag in the Classroom

Established in 1985, New York Agriculture in the Classroom (NYAITC) is a partnership of Cornell University, the NYS Department of Ag & Markets, the NYS Education Department, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the New York Farm Bureau.  Its mission is to foster awareness, understanding, and appreciation of how we produce food and fiber, what we eat, and how we live, by helping educators, students, and their communities learn about and engage with agriculture and food systems.

NY Ag Literacy Week: March 16-20, 2020

New York Ag-in-the-Classroom and the Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H program invite you to be a reader for the annual Agriculture Literacy Week to be held March 16 to 20, 2020. Last year, 2000 books were donated to school or classroom libraries and books were read by volunteers to thousands of second graders throughout New York State.

The selected book for 2020 is “Right This Very Minute” written by by Lisl H. Detlefsen with art by Renée Kurilla.

We are often hungry “right this very minute” throughout the day for breakfast, or lunch, or a snack. But do you we ever think about what farmers are doing “right this very minute” to ensure we have safe, nutritious and delicious foods when we want them?

Right This Very Minute: A table-to-farm book about food and farming connects the foods we find ourselves wanting during the course of a day to the work farmers are doing every day to grow, raise and produce our food. This book will take students on an explorative journey to trace the food on their plate back to its source- the farmer. The book highlights the story of agriculture with vivid illustrations and a community-centric story line. Students will understand the importance of agriculture as an economic driver in communities across New York, and develop an awareness for where their food comes from and its journey.

Contributing nearly $2.4 billion to the state gross domestic product and covering approximately 7.3 million acres, agriculture is vital to New York State. The New York Agriculture in the Classroom Program is excited to feature a book that displays the unique markets and diversity that encompasses many aspects of New York’s agriculture while also focusing on food production and how consumers contribute to agriculture.

Cover of book Right this Very Minute

 

Volunteers will visit local elementary schools during Ag Literacy Week to read and talk to children about New York’s agriculture industry.  At the conclusion of the day’s activities, the book will be donated to the school library for students and teachers to use throughout the school year.  2nd grade teachers and volunteers who are interested in participating in NY Ag Literacy Week should call or email the contact for this page. Visit the New York State Ag in the Classroom website to learn more about statewide activities and to learn about agriculture-themed books that have been featured in other years.

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