FIELD AND GROVE MAGAZINE
Profiling Southwest Florida’s Agribusiness Community

The classroom is a great place to tweak the interest of youngsters interested in our state's agriculture and the Florida Department of Agriculture found a terrific way to do just that.

The department instituted a Florida Agriculture Literacy Day, which in its sixth year, is scheduled to be held March 24 in classrooms across the state. A special children's book published for just this occasion, "These Florida Farms", was written and illustrated (respectively) by the department's own Gary Seamans and Mike Wright.

Hundreds of volunteers are invited to take part in this delightful classroom exercise by reading "These Florida Farms" to the students. It’s a wonderful opportunity to pass along an affinity for the land and an appreciation for the hard work needed to make agriculture a thriving state-wide business.

Proceeds from sales of the Florida, "Ag Tag", makes all this possible. These funds are used to acquire the books, lessons and bookmarks that are provided to the agriculture industry volunteers. An "Ag Tag" purchase also aids in awarding teacher and volunteer grant money, helping to sponsor county workshops and sending teachers and administrators to the National Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) Conference. The "Ag Tag" can be purchased at your local tag office or online.

For more information or to register to volunteer your services visit Florida Ag in the Classroom's website www.agtag.org. The deadline to register to read on Florida Agriculture Literacy Day is March 13.

By Staff