Annual Report2017

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Page 4 - President’s Message

Page 5 - Impacts

Page 6-7 - National Conference

Page 8-9 - National Awards Programs

Page 10-11 - 2017 Fire Up Grants

Page 12-13 - Special Partners USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA), National Center for Agricultural Literacy (NCAL), Agrium, Inc. (now Nutrien, Ltd.), CHS Foundation Inc.

Page 14 - Financial Strategy & Management

Page 15 - Looking Forward, NAITCO Team

Page 16 - Thank You to our Sponsors, Donors

Page 17-18 - State Contacts

Educating students in kindergarten through 12th grade nationwide about the importance of agriculture is the focus of the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (NAITCO) and its Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) member programs in most of the 50 states and six territories.

The non-profit organization and its member state programs work hard every day to provide K-12 teachers with educational resources and programs that use agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, science, social studies and more.

NAITCO provides agricultural connections to the hundreds of K-12 lessons and companion resources that are searchable on the Curriculum Matrix on its website. Food and farming are the theme of the annual national conference that attracts hundreds of teachers from around the country who are interested in using agriculture as a teaching tool. Agriculture is also the context for the national teacher and volunteer awards programs, which showcase innovative ways educators teach students about this very important industry. NAITCO provides grant money and professional development opportunities to strengthen AITC state programs.

The 2017 Annual Report highlights the strides NAITCO and its member state programs made, the efforts of which are funded by a combination of membership dues, sponsorships from national agribusiness companies and organizations and a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Institute for Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA). NAITCO owes its success to USDA which has provided leadership and support of the Agriculture in the Classroom movement since its began in the early 1980s.

Thanks to the hard work of NAITCO leadership and staff the organization is poised to reach even more teachers and students moving forward.

Teacher puts finishing touches on her sketch of a cow in a workshop called ‘The Love of Cows and Other Joys of Agriculture.’

Cover PhotoEducator placing seeds in the fingers of a latex glove as part of a workshop called ‘A Baker’s Dozen – Make ‘n Takes, Books and More!

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NAITCO and its AITC member state programs take their responsibility of strengthening agricultural literacy in K-12 classrooms across the country very seriously.

We strive to develop relevant, standards-based K-12 lesson plans and companion resources, offer teacher training workshops, hold agriculture literacy reading programs in elementary schools, provide grant programs and other initiatives to help teachers educate students about the source of their food, fiber and fuel. Special programs in 2017 included:

• The 2017 National Agriculture in the Classroom Confer-ence ‘Show Me Agriculture’ held June 21-23 in Kansas City, MO where nearly 400 K-12 teachers and educators gathered to learn how to use agricultural concepts as teaching tools in their classrooms, farm tours and work-shops.

• The 2017 National Excellence in Teaching about Agricul-ture Award honored nine K-12 teachers from Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia for the innovative ways they use agricultural con-cepts in their classroom instruction.

• The new Fire Up Grant program launched in 2017 to strengthen AITC state programs. Thirteen projects were selected for funding in 2017.

• The four professional development meetings of AITC state contacts and their staff members held Feb. 22-24 in Las Cruces, NM in the Western Region, April 10-12 in Waco, TX in the Southern Region, April 11-13 in Kansas City, MO in the Central Region and April 18-20 in Mystic, CT in the Eastern Region.

• The continued expansion (with the help of the National Center of Agricultural Literacy at Utah State University) of the National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix and its searchable database of hundreds of K-12 lessons and companion resources.

• The partnership with Agrium, Inc. (now Nutrien Ltd.) to pilot test in five states (AZ, CO, FL, IA and TN) the rollout of the Journey 2050, an educational online gaming platform that allows students in 7th-12th grade to compete to become the most sustainable farm.

• The sponsorship of CHS Foundation to offer scholarships to help K-12 teachers attend the NAITC national conference in Kansas City, MO and classroom grants to help K-12 teachers fund agriculture-related projects that educate students about the source of their food, fiber and fuel.

Altogether, NAITCO and its AITC member state programs reached 120,000 teachers and 7.3 million students with the message of the importance of agriculture in K-12 classrooms across the country. The organization leveraged the combined state budgets of $14 million with the grant funding it received from USDA/NIFA and support it received from Agrium, Inc. (now Nutrien Ltd.), American Egg Board, CHS Foundation and Tractor Supply Co.

Together with our partners we can accomplish anything. I am honored to have served as president of such a great organization and look forward to the exciting future it and its member state programs have in front of them.

Sincerely, Chris Fleming

Program Impact 2017Number of K-12 teachers and students reached in

# of K-12 Teachers

118,000 7.3 million

Students# of K-12

Four hundred educators from around the country learned how to use agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, science, social studies and more at the National Agriculture in the Classroom National Conference called ‘Show Me Agriculture!’ held June 21-23 at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center in Kansas City, MO.

NAITCO, in partnership with USDA/NIFA and Missouri Farm Bureau’s Agriculture in the Classroom program, held three days of workshops showing kindergarten through 12th grade teachers how to use agriculture to teach core subjects.

In addition, conference participants went on traveling workshops of nearby agribusinesses and research facilities to learn about corn byproducts, grain production and the beef industry, among other stops. They also heard from keynote

speakers such as agriculture broadcaster Tyne Morgan, USDA/NIFA Director Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy and Greg Peterson of the Peterson Farm Brothers who rose to fame by posting music videos about farming using social media.

The conference honored national teacher winners and a national Agriculture Advocate winner for the innovative ways they use agriculture to teach students about an important industry.

“The National Agriculture in the Classroom National Conference uses its workshops, awards ceremonies and tours of agricultural operations to show general education teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade how agriculture can be used effectively in formal classroom instruction,” said Chris Fleming, president of the NAITCO and associate director of Tennessee Agriculture in the Classroom.

NAITCO and Agrium, Inc. (now Nutrien Ltd.) rolled out a new online game called ‘Farmers 2050’ that allows players to become virtual farmers who make day-to-day decisions about what to plant, how to care for it, and how to market and sell it. It’s a follow up to the educational game ‘Journey 2050’ developed for classrooms. Agrium partnered with NAITCO and Nutrients for Life to pilot test ‘Journey 2050’ in five states in the United States this school year.

Of the 400 conference participants registered, more than half are teachers from around the country, many of whom received scholarships provided by CHS Foundation, Inc. to cover their conference registrations. In addition, ten teachers and informal educators received White-Reinhardt scholarships from American Farm Bureau’s Foundation for Agriculture.

Teachers enjoy a moment at a workshop about incorporating science, technology, engineering and math using agricultural concepts.

USDA/NIFA Director Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy gives keynote address about ‘21st Century Food Systems and Education’ at the National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Awards luncheon.

Workshop participants build a farm out of construction paper as part of a workshop called ‘Creating AgArt Curriculum for the Classrooms of the Future.

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Workshop attendees engineer a device as part of a session called ‘STEAM Up the Classroom with Agriculture.’

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Helping K-12 students understand the importance of agriculture by incorporating it into reading, writing, math, science, social studies and other subjects is the main focus of the National Agriculture in the Classroom National Conference. Every year the organization highlights the innovative ways teachers and informal educators use agriculture in their classrooms, farm tours and field trips.

The National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award (EITAA) recognizes K-12 teachers every year for the creative ways they infuse agricultural concepts into their classroom instruction. Students who are exposed to these lessons learn about the importance of agriculture and its ties to items they use every day. The award is sponsored by USDA/NIFA and Farm Credit.

In addition, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture sponsored the White-Reinhardt awards program in 2017, sponsoring 11 educators to attend the NAITC national conference. The CHS Foundation provided scholarships to help 44 teachers attend the NAITC national conference.

Also, the Agriculture Advocate Award recognizes informal educators who volunteer to educate K-12 students about the importance of agriculture. The Agriculture Advocate Award is sponsored by the National Grange.

The nine teachers, including a team of two teachers from Maine, who were selected as 2017 National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award winners are:

• Georgia elementary STEM resource teacher Marla Garnto whose 440 students worked with local poultry processor Perdue Farms on a ‘STEM Challenge’ in which students devised ways to improve efficiencies at the poultry plant.

• Maine team teachers Stephanie Enaire and Morgan Kerr who used a school garden, a watershed project and a classroom embryology project to teach across the curriculum to foster in the minds of their 100 fifth, sixth and seventh graders a love of the environment and an appreciation of the importance of agriculture.

• Oklahoma third grade teacher Amber Bales who tied Oklahoma agriculture to her language arts, math, science and social studies instruction by putting a local twist on the story Stone Soup, involving her 22 students in their school’s Farm to School program and planting cabbage and pea plants.

• Tennessee science teacher Debra Steen who used growing plants and rearing animals to teach her 96 fourth and fifth graders all the life sciences, including germination, tropism, photosynthesis, animal genetics and more.

• Utah elementary teacher Tiffany Porter who implemented a school-wide program involving a greenhouse, aquaponics system and weather station in which 500 students design irrigation systems, determine the best plants to grow in these systems and the nutrients created from the aquaponics system, among other efforts.

• Virginia first grade teacher Jessica Pittman who used counting diverse types of seeds to teach her 26 students math, a Virginia Ag shapes lesson to teach geometry, and an aeroponic growing system to teach science, among other subject areas.

• Iowa high school science teacher DeEtta Andersen whose 150 students in her biology and physical science classes developed biological buffers to clean a nearby water body, design wind turbines as part of an alternative energy unit and engineer starch-based plastics as alternatives to oil-based plastics.

Nine national teacher winners pose for a picture with their state contacts and USDA/NIFA Director Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy (far right).

Carol Baker-Dunn (left) accepts 2017 Agriculture Advocate Award from National Grange’s Joan C. Smith (middle) as Georgia state contact Donna Rocker (right) looks on.

• Kansas high school biology, ecology and forensic crime science teacher Denise Scribner who used a school wildlife learning site to educate 165 students about 300 varieties of native and cultivated plants, and soil types and profiles. In addition, students in her forensic crime science class learn about the biogeochemical cycle by investigating a mystery involving contaminated soil at a farm.

Georgia volunteer educator Carol Baker-Dunn received the 2017 Agriculture Advocate Award at the national conference. Baker-Dunn won the award for her efforts to help establish the Georgia Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture which oversees agricultural literacy outreach in K-12 schools throughout the State of Georgia. In addition, she re-energized an agricultural literacy outreach program in schools in her community with an elementary school reading program, a school garden implementation effort, a book barn lending library and a classroom grants funding opportunity. In addition, she hosts annual tours for fourth graders, provides a garden lab for nearby agri-science classes and provides meeting and event space for community groups such as FFA, 4-H, AITC, the Soil and Water Conservation District, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

NAITCO and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA) selected 13 state AITC projects for funding as part of a new competitive grants program launched in 2017 called ‘Fire-Up Grants’ to support the growth of agricultural literacy in K-12 classrooms across the country.

The purpose of the Fire Up Grants program is to strengthen new and existing state Agriculture in the Classroom programs with additional funding. The 13 projects are expected to reach about 750,000 teachers and informal educators and more than 1 million students in kindergarten through 12th grade across the United States with the message of the importance of agriculture.

Projects selected for funding were:

Educators learn about cotton production as part of a program to improve Arizona’s Summer Agriculture Institute.

Teachers figure out agriculture puzzle as part of Illinois’ new ‘Breakout Boxes’ program.

Students show off their project as part of a Nebraska program to involve older FFA students to teach younger students about agriculture.

Alaska educators build a tower garden out of buckets as part of a year-round indoor gardening initiative.

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2017

Start Up Grants (up to $15,000 each)Alaska Agriculture in the ClassroomA statewide, year-round, indoor school garden program in which trained facilitators will hold teacher workshops to demonstrate lessons that tie the school garden to core subject areas (math, science, reading, writing etc.)Utah Agriculture in the ClassroomA statewide training of Farm Bureau, FFA and commodity group representatives to help them demonstrate in classrooms rigorous agriculture-related activities that are more closely tied to educational standards.Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom FoundationAn online, interactive map of Oregon agriculture featuring integrated virtual reality video experiences allowing students to see, hear and witness first-hand a wide variety of agricultural topics.Oklahoma Agriculture in the ClassroomA poster set that’s part of a two-part, comprehensive, agriculture-based, nutritional education toolkit. The posters will be designed for use by educators and school cafeterias to increase child nutrition and agricultural literacy knowledge related to Oklahoma agricultural commodities and will build on knowledge garnered through previous “Harvest of the Month” Specialty Crop Poster sets.

Scale Up Grants (up to $10,000 each)Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom A new lesson book filled with hands-on, across-the-curriculum lessons (with focuses on science, math, language arts, mathematics and STEM) for K-5 beginning educators. The guide would include basic facts about Virginia’s agricultural relevance, geographic impact on agriculture, facts about top commodities, and address misconceptions regarding agricultural terms and practices, which are frequently asked questions among aspiring teachers.Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation’s Agriculture in the Classroom A new workshop training program that will equip high school FFA students with tools to educate elementary students and the public about the importance of agriculture.Florida Agriculture in the Classroom Updating and reprinting on jump drives the first in its popular series of school garden curriculum Gardening for Grades, which provides K-8 teachers with lessons to teach reading, writing, math, science and more using school gardens.New Jersey Agricultural SocietyExpansion of its popular school garden grant and teacher workshop program into low income schools in the urban areas of Clifton, Newark, Passaic, East Orange and Trenton.

Jump Up Grants (up to $7,500 each)Illinois Agriculture in the ClassroomA new program called ‘Breakout Boxes,’ portable versions of breakout rooms, that use agriculture-related lessons, games and activities to teach 4th through 12th grade students reading, writing, math, science and more. Grant funds will be used to develop these agriculture-themed boxes and instruct teachers on how to use them in their classrooms.Iowa Foundation for Agriculture LiteracyProfessional development workshops for K-12 teachers using lessons that educate them and their students about water quality and how it impacts agriculture in the Midwest. The project will address the need for educators to understand nitrogen management, cropping systems and related water quality issues associated with Iowa crop production.Arizona Agriculture in the Classroom/University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life SciencesA summer Agriculture Institute session bringing back K-12 teachers who have been through it in the past to develop and submit new lessons and evaluate existing lessons and outreach to make the program better.Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom Development of a new evaluation tool to measure the effectiveness of its popular AgMag series of student activity newspapers featuring different Minnesota commodities.California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom Increase the number of popular ‘What’s Growin’ On?’ student activity newspapers printed featuring different California commodities and natural resources to reach more students in this heavily populated state.

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U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Institute of Food and Agriculture

CHS Foundation, Inc.National Center for Agricultural Literacy (NCAL)

Agrium, Inc.

USDA launched the AITC initiative in the early 1980s after recognizing Americans were becoming more removed from the farm. Then U.S. Secretary John Block charged states around the country to establish AITC programs to conduct agricultural literacy outreach in K-12 classrooms within their state Farm Bureaus, state Departments of Agriculture or state land grant universities.

Fast forward 36 years. USDA/NIFA provides leadership and financial support to NAITCO and its AITC programs in 50 states including the District of Columbia and relies on them for agricultural literacy outreach in formal classroom settings. By comparison, 4-H provides agricultural literacy in after-school programs and FFA in secondary vocational settings.

USDA/NIFA said of AITC in its 2017 annual report ‘NIFA-supported Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) programs were implemented by state-operated programs to improve agricultural literacy, awareness, knowledge, and appreciation among K-12 teachers and their students.’

Another key NAITCO partner is the National Center for Agricultural Literacy (NCAL) at Utah State University. Led by NCAL Team Leader Dr. Debra Spielmaker, NCAL develops standards-based educational resources for the Curriculum Matrix, manages the NAITCO website, provides professional development training for AITC state programs and oversees K-12 agricultural literacy evaluation and research.

Thanks to the support of CHS Foundation, Inc. K-12 teachers from around the country received classroom grants for agricultural projects and scholarships to attend the 2017 NAITC National Conference in Kansas City, MO.

CHS Foundation Classroom Grants funded 16 projects that helped K-12 teachers around the country use agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, science, social studies and other core subjects. To learn more about the 2017 projects, please visit 2017 CHS Foundation Classroom Grants. In addition, CHS Foundation funded 44 scholarships to allow K-12 teachers from around the country to attend the 2017 NAITC national conference in Kansas City, MO.

Agrium, Inc. (now Nutrien Ltd.) partnered with NAITCO in 2017 to pilot test online educational gaming platform Journey 2050 in five states in the U.S. The interactive game, geared to students in 7th-12th grade, allows them to farm in three different countries and complete against each other to become the most sustainable farm.

AITC programs in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa and Tennessee promoted the availability of the game to secondary teachers in their states. Altogether, they reached 365 teachers in 454 classrooms and nearly 6,000 students. Also, NCAL developed and revised lessons to complement the Journey 2050 game experience, which are available on the Curriculum Matrix at Journey 2050 Middle School Lessons and Journey 2050 High School Lessons.

Fifteen more AITC state programs signed up in 2018 to roll out Journey 2050 to secondary teachers in their states. Also, Agrium introduced Farmers 2050, a version of the farming game students can play at home. To learn more and download Journey 2050, visit Journey 2050. To learn more and download Farmers 2050, visit Farmer 2050.

Website 2015 2016(% increase)

2017(% increase)

Sessions(active users) 142,136 199,041

(40%)421,121(111%)

Curriculum Matrix 2015 2016(% increase)

2017(% increase)

# of lessons 205 295(44%)

390(32%)

# of companion resources 225 537

(139%)722

(34%)

# of MyBinders 635 1,236(95%)

2,244(82%)

2017 CHS Scholarship recipients pose withCHS Foundation CEO Nanci Lilja (far right, gold jacket).

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Randy BernhardtDevelopment Director

Dr. Debra SpielmakerNCAL Team Leader

Lisa GaskallaExecutive Director

Executive Committee

Revenue

Expenses

Fiscal Year 2017Financial OverviewThe size and scope of AITC state programs vary

widely across the country. Some are better funded and staffed than others.

NAITCO provides leadership at the national level to apply for federal grant funding, which it in turn uses to fund a national website, a searchable database of standards-based lessons and resources, a national conference, a national teacher awards program, Fire Up Grants for AITC state programs, and professional development opportunities for AITC state programs. In addition, it seeks sponsorships and partnerships with national agribusinesses and organizations with an interest in K-12 agricultural literacy.

Its strategy is to offer resources to help AITC state programs gain credibility with and provide educational resources for K-12 teachers to help them reach students with the message of the importance of agriculture. The grants, sponsorships and donations NAITCO receives throughout the year directly support the organization’s programming and operation allowing it to work toward its mission to ‘increase agricultural literacy through K-12 education.’

Chris Fleming, PresidentTennessee Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom

Willie Grenier, President-ElectMaine Agriculture in the Classroom

Will Fett, TreasurerIowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation

Tonya Wible, SecretaryPennsylvania Friends for Agriculture Foundation

Lorri Brenneman, Immediate Past PresidentMontana Agriculture in the Classroom

Tammy Maxey (Southern Region rep)Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom

Michele Reedy (Southern Region rep)North Carolina Agriculture in the Classroom

Katie Bigness (Eastern Region rep)New York Agriculture in the Classroom

Darlene Arneson (Central Region rep)Wisconsin Agriculture in the Classroom

Traci Curry (Western Region rep)New Mexico Agriculture in the Classroom

Denise Stewardson (Western Region rep)Utah Agriculture in the Classroom

NAITCO is excited about the upcoming year with USDA/NIFA grant funding approved. New projects include adding new lessons to the Curriculum Matrix to cover important subjects such as the science behind genetic modification and the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subject areas, among others. In addition, NCAL is working on development of an evaluation tool kit to help AITC state programs measure the efficacy of their K-12 classroom outreach.

The NAITCO team provides passion and years of experience in agricultural education and fundraising.

Contributions Received $397,329

Total Operating Income $397,329

Program Expenses (Contract Labor)$348,939 ($103,800)

Fundraising and Development $31,301

Management and General $12,692

Total Operating Expenses $392,932

Total Increase in Net Assets $4,397

Net Assets $225,694

• Alabama Kim Ramsey

• Alaska Melissa Sikes

• Arizona Monica Pastor

• Arkansas Andy Guffey

• California Judy Culbertson

• Colorado Bette Blinde

• Connecticut Martha Johnson

• Florida Becky Sponholtz

• Georgia Donna Rocker

• Hawaii Naomi Kanehiro

• Idaho Rick Waitley

• Illinois Kevin Daugherty

• Indiana Julie Taylor

• Iowa Will Fett

$10,000 to $19,999 (Harvester)• Farm Credit• Land O’ Lakes

$5,000 to $9,999• American Farm Bureau Foundation

for Agriculture• DuPont Pioneer• CenUSA Bioenergy (Iowa State

University)• Iowa Farm Bureau• Kansas Soybean Commission

• Kansas Cathy Musick

• Kentucky Scott Christmas

• Louisiana Lynda Danos

• Maine Willie Grenier

• Maryland George Mayo

• Massachusetts Marjorie Cooper

• Michigan Tonia Ritter

• Minnesota Sue Knott

• Mississippi Clara Bilbo

• Missouri Diane Olson

• Montana Lorri Brenneman

• Nebraska Courtney Schaardt

• Nevada Amber Smyer

• New Hampshire Debbi Cox

• New Jersey Carolyn Taylor

• New Mexico Traci Curry

• New York Katie Bigness

• North Carolina Michele Reedy

• North Dakota Ashley Stegeman

• Oklahoma Audrey Harmon

• Oregon Jessica Jansen

• Pennsylvania Tonya Wible

• South Carolina Vonne Knight

• Tennessee Chris Fleming

• Texas Mona Oney

• Utah Denise Stewardson

• Virginia Tammy Maxey

• Washington Kristen VanValkenberg

• American Samoa Aufa’I Ropeti Areta

• Guam College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Guam

• Micronesia Jackson A. Phillip

• Northern Marianas Diana R. Greenough

• Puerto Rico Priscilla Hernandez

• Virgin Islands Eddie Williams

-United States Territories-

• West Virginia Mary Beth Bennett

• Wisconsin Darlene Arneson

• Wyoming Jessie Dafoe

$50,000 and Above

$20,000 to $49,999

Agrium, Inc. American Egg BoardTractor Supply Co.CHS Foundation

$1,250 to $4,999• American Agri-Women• American Hereford Association• Cotton’s Journey• CropLife America• Domino’s Pizza Smart Slice• Great Plains Center for Agricultural

Health• Highlights for Children/Boyds Mills Press• Illinois Beef Association• Kansas Beef Council• Missouri Beef Industry Council• Monsanto• National Grange • Nutrients for Life• Protect the Harvest

$500 to $1,249• Randy J. Bernhardt• First-to-the-Seed

Foundation• Kansas State University• RealityWorks• USDA/NASS• U.S. Farmers &

Ranchers Alliance

$100 to $499• Darlene Arneson• Lynda Danos• Kim Earwood• Will Fett• Chris Fleming• Andy Guffey• Tammy Maxey• Diane Olson• Michele Reedy• Rick Waitley• Tonya Wible

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