Summer Ag Institute's Ag in a Day: Teacher Workshop

The regional Summer Ag Institute "Ag in a Day" consists of two, 1-day educational workshops for teachers in Bureau, Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, Stark, and Warren Counties in Illinois. This annual program rotates among counties to educate teachers about local agricultural businesses and opportunities to incorporate agriculture into school lesson plans.

This year, Day 1 will include a presentation by Illinois Ag in the Classroom, hands-on activities and presentations by county ag education coordinators, a training and development strength/personality assessment, the scope of ag careers, and information about grant resources available to teachers through Illinois Ag in the Classroom/Illinois Farm Bureau.

Day 2 will include tours in the Kewanee area: tours of Blackhawk East's state of the art equine and vet science lab as well as their new soil pit/research plot and Nature's Creation, a local greenhouse and farm implementing sustainable practices.

Our goal is to highlight different areas of agriculture surrounding us and show agriculture's importance to our local communities and state. Educators will become more informed on different areas of agriculture, the resources available to them, and ways they could implement it into their curriculum. They will also see potential locations they can take their students for field trips.