Does your child know where their food comes from? Unfortunately, many children aren’t sure where a lot of food components come from because they haven’t had opportunities to explore agriculture. Agriculture is the science of producing food, clothing, and other products that we use every day.
There are countless benefits to learning about agriculture. Agriculture Literacy programs help prepare students for a future where society will be faced with many issues regarding agriculture and natural resources. It’s important to make sure future generations are well prepared to solve problems in agriculture because we all depend on this industry every single day.
If you don’t have experience with the agriculture industry yourself, incorporating this concept into everyday activities to help your child explore agriculture can be very intimidating. A simple way that you can help your child connect farming to the food they eat every day is having discussions during mealtimes about where each of their food components come from. For example, if you are having pizza for lunch, encourage your child to think about what kind of farm each of their pizza toppings comes from:
Cheese – dairy farm
Pepperoni – pig farm
Vegetables – produce farm or garden
Another fun way to explore agriculture is starting your own garden. If you have the space, time, and resources for this project, it is a fun way for children to get involved in food production.
Are there farms near you? You can also consider making arrangements to visit a local farm with your child. Farmers love opportunities to educate others about what they do, and it could be a great real-world experience for your child.
Even if you don’t have an agriculture background, there are many ways you can help your child explore agriculture and prepare them for a future of solving problems in a very important industry.
We also offer Agriculture Literacy classes through DailiesPods. Check out our class offerings to try one out for free!
By Elena Stout
