Indiana Farm Bureau recently awarded the inaugural Ag Literacy Challenge Grants, providing funding to 10 Indiana FFA Chapters and 4-H clubs for new or enhanced ag literacy programs in their communities.
Ag literacy programs must take place between October 2024 and August 2025. Programs must have fallen under one of the following categories to apply:
- An event that would help consumers become better informed about Indiana agriculture.
- A collaborative program that would foster networking opportunities, positive relationships, and/or education between youth and adults in agriculture.
- An event to promote agricultural practices and policies or education efforts that stimulate action in the ag community.
The 2024 Ag Literacy Challenge Grant winners are:
- DeKalb High School FFA – Garden Bed Service Project. The Ag Powers and Fabrication class will help build garden beds to teach agriculture and science to elementary students, allowing high school students an opportunity to gain woodworking skills in the process. The garden beds will be installed at four local elementary schools. Plant science students will educate the elementary schoolers about garden beds and the basics of taking care of plants.
- Elkhart County 4-H – Elementary Ag Literacy & Farmers Markets. Students in grades three through six will develop a garden from seedlings using raised beds and containers. This program will specifically focus on bilingual students. Students will also learn business and entrepreneurial skills by selling garden produce and eggs at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds and the Elkhart City Farmers Market.
- Franklin County 4-H – POULT Program. This program educates youth on turkey production from farm to fork. Participating classrooms will hatch their own poults to get hands-on experience, increasing awareness and understanding of the turkey industry.
- Tippecanoe County 4-H and McCutcheon High School FFA – ABCs of Ag. This collaborative event is geared towards helping third and fourth graders learn more about the various aspects of the agricultural industry, including different agriculture majors, livestock species, commodities and businesses. In the evening, the event is open to the general public and families.
- Madison Consolidated High School FFA – Color Your Way Through Agriculture. Ag-focused coloring books and art supplies will be distributed to fourth grade classes. The coloring book will cover a wide range of agricultural topics, from plant growth cycles to farm animal care, making it a versatile educational tool. FFA students will visit classrooms over a two-month period to review and discuss the coloring books with students.
- Crawford County 4-H – Ag Day. This event will expose fourth grade students to diverse areas of agriculture including interactive learning stations, an agriculture career fair and networking opportunities with agriculture experts, community partners and volunteers to create positive relationships in agriculture.
- Whiteland Community High School FFA – Teach the Teacher. With recent turnover in teachers, many are unfamiliar with the school’s ag program. The goal of this project is to educate teachers about the importance of agriculture and FFA within the community. Students will create packets that include agricultural products and an info sheet connecting each product to agriculture. The packets will be distributed to teachers during FFA Week.
- Beech Grove High School FFA – Career Connect. Middle school students will attend the Career Expo at the National FFA Convention to help them make more informed career choices as they enter high school. Participation in this project also improves the chances students will enroll in high school agricultural education classes, which opens additional opportunities for career exploration through participation in FFA leadership and career development.
- Sullivan High School FFA – Christmas at the Barn. This event will give children in the community the opportunity to experience ag production and ag literacy in a Christmas setting. They will learn about livestock and Christmas tree production, take a wagon ride and receive an ag story book.
- Adams County 4-H – Books in the Barn. The goal of this program is to inform consumers about Indiana agriculture, foster collaboration between youth and adults and advocate for the importance of agriculture. The event will take place during the county fair, providing an agricultural immersion experience to over 50 youth with opportunities to interact with an animal, complete a craft, enjoy a local agriculture snack and take home a new book to share with their family.
“Congratulations to our Ag Literacy Challenge Grant winners,” said INFB President Randy Kron. “FFA and 4-H are integral to ag education and providing our youth with leadership development opportunities. I look forward to seeing these programs thrive. They showcase Indiana agriculture and spread awareness of the importance of our industry.”
Indiana FFA chapters and 4-H clubs could apply for grants of up to $1,000 during the grant cycle. Grant recipients are required to submit a report to INFB after their ag literacy program is complete in addition to presenting their program to their local county Farm Bureau.
The Ag Literacy Challenge Grant is just one of the many ways INFB supports youth in agriculture throughout the year. There also are scholarships for graduating seniors and college students; Collegiate Farm Bureau chapters at Purdue, Huntington and Vincennes universities; FFA advocacy days and trainings; and leadership development events, competitions, awards and conferences.
To learn more, visit infb.org/YFAP/ag-literacy-challenge.