September and October were exceptionally busy months for ag literacy in DeKalb County. At least 1,300 students and 250 educators and other adults encountered educational agricultural experiences across the county this fall.
FFA members from six chapters attended this year’s FFA Acquaintance program, which took place at Syngenta’s R&D Innovation Center in Malta. Fifty-one students and six teachers attended to explore ag literacy activities and tour the Syngenta facility. The DeKalb, Genoa-Kingston, Hinckley-Big Rock, Indian Creek, Somonauk-Leland-Sandwich, and Sycamore FFA chapters participated. Pictured above, FFA members create a farm “zine” during the ag literacy workshop.
Syngenta employee Meredith Bend leads participants on a tour. Meredith is Nursery Operations lead at the facility.
Students from Sycamore Middle School had a crash course in agriculture in September during the 7th Grade Farm Field Trip. Students learned about dairy, pork, beef, and crop production; soil conservation, grain safety, products from Illinois agriculture, FFA, and more. Ten teachers and 280 students participated, visiting Lenkaitis Holsteins, St. Charles; Old Elm Farms, Sycamore, C & B Farms, Kingston; and DeKalb County Farm Bureau. Farmer Mandy Baenziger answers questions about her cow-calf herd.
Pictured above, volunteer Mark Collins explains how a combine works.
Attendees at NIU’s STEM Fest in September had over 100 interactive exhibits to peruse as they wandered the MLK Commons and Holmes Student Center. Hundreds of those visitors stopped by DeKalb County Farm Bureau’s ag literacy booth to learn about superabsorbent polymers and construct sculptures using cornstarch-based packing peanuts. Here, DeKalb FFA volunteer Alan Craig explains the packing peanut activity to a group of eager children.
Thirty-nine teachers attended workshops conducted by Ag Literacy Coordinator Rhodora Collins during County-Wide Institute Day in early October. Participants were introduced to Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom’s new “Awesome Ag” video and lesson series. Pictured at right, teachers use Play-Doh and clear straws to simulate core sampling of soil in order to map a field.
