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Do You Know an Outstanding Volunteer or Volunteering Program?
If you know of people or organizations that have made exceptional volunteering efforts to educate about agriculture, the Foundation wants to hear about it. Nominate them at www.agfoundation.org, under What We Support-Volunteers.

Franklin County (KS) Farm Bureau Volunteers Recognized 

 

The Foundation recognizes the exceptional volunteers at Franklin County Farm Bureau, in Kansas, for their outstanding efforts to educate about agriculture.  

Since 2010, the Franklin County Farm Bureau volunteers have put on more than five large education programs working with over 700 students to improve agricultural literacy and correct misconceptions.  

The Day on the Farm program hosts 400 students from third-grade classrooms. This annual event, sponsored by the area chamber of commerce, is made possible with the help from volunteers from Franklin County Farm Bureau. At the beginning of the day, high school students guide groups of third-graders to different activity stations. Some of the activities include learning about livestock, machinery, dairy and nutrition, farm pizza, soil conservation, wildlife, grains, farm safety, and a draft horse demonstration.  

While the third-graders are learning about agriculture, their teachers meet in a conference room where they are given updates and materials for Ag in the Classroom activities.  

In celebration of Kansas Day at the end of January 2011, Pat Vining, a Franklin County Farm Bureau volunteer, taught grades K-5 about the origin of corn production in Kansas from cultivation by American Indians to modern cultivation. The students then participated in shelling and grinding corn and eating corn bread. The Farm Bureau activity was one of eight to 10 early Kansas pioneer activities in which the children participated that day. Between 260 and 300 students participated.

 

The Franklin County Farm Bureau volunteers are: Pat Vining, Sandy Sylvester, Beth Chambers, Zelma Van Horn, Joyce Wasmund, Linda Saueressig, Twilla Eisele, Avis Wray, Shirley Gilroy and Janet Broers, Chair of the Agricultural Education committee for Franklin County Farm Bureau.

 

The Foundation thanks the Franklin County Farm Bureau volunteers for being an outstanding example of educating about agriculture, and hopes these stories of volunteerism inspire others to volunteer to increase agricultural literacy in their communities.