Illinois
Fertilizer Conference Proceedings
January 21-23, 2002
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Kevin Daugherty1
The Illinois Farm Bureau® Ag in the Classroom Department, led by Education Manager Kevin Daugherty, will develop, coordinate, distribute, and provide in-service education concerning the Illinois Ag Mag "Digging In." In-service education on this material would occur for both non-formal in-service providers (volunteers) and for teachers at a variety of county programs, the Illinois Farm Bureau Summer Ag Institutes (held at nearly 20 colleges, universities, community colleges, and learning centers around the state), and conferences we attend throughout the year. Illinois Farm Bureau's Promotion and Graphic Arts Department will coordinate the layout, design, and production of this product.
Illinois Farm Bureau is the state contact for the national Ag in the Classroom program, which began in 1982 under the leadership of then-Secretary of Agriculture John Block. During the 1999-2000 school year, over 214,800 students were reached through a statewide effort involving every county in Illinois. We expect a 10 percent increase in students reached in the 2000-2001 school year.
This proposal funded 60,000 copies of the Ag Mag with a shelf life of 12 months. Bundled in classroom sets of 30, this is an outstanding resource for teachers around the state. Illinois Ag Mags have won a number of awards for the delivery of content material. In an informal survey of Illinois County Agriculture Literacy Coordinators, the need for soil and fertilizer educational materials ranked second in a list of 10 behind poultry/entomology. These specialists work with schools and schoolchildren throughout the year and see a need for current, grade-level-appropriate, factual information about soils and fertilizer. Since the early 1970s, county Farm Bureau members have taken lessons about agriculture into local schools and offered farm tours to help children and teachers understand more about the food and fiber system and their role in it.
During the 1970s, Illinois Farm Bureau began developing materials and offering training assistance to volunteers who were speaking in local classrooms. Other agricultural organizations in Illinois, and especially Farm Bureaus in other states, began similar efforts at the time. One of the most popular items for extending the role of agriculture into the elementary classroom has been Illinois Farm Bureau Ag Mags. These colorful, four-page newspapers highlight a particular topic related to the food and fiber system and bring an awareness of agriculture to students from a variety of backgrounds. Ag in the Classroom efforts are located in every county through the Illinois Farm Bureau network, from Lake to Alexander and all points in between.
Results of a survey conducted by Illinois Farm Bureau for a FREC project in 1999 show that consumers in and around Peoria, Illinois have concerns and hold some common misconceptions about the effect of fertilizer on water quality from home, commercial, and farm use. A media campaign to reach the general public and provide factual information about fertilizer will target adult viewers. The Illinois Ag Mag will reach an upper-elementary audience, thus promoting further discussions at home.
An exhaustive search of fertilizer information found little currently available to allow teachers to teach about soils and fertilizers. The Potash and Phosphate Institute, the Potash and Phosphate Institute of Canada, and the Foundation for Agronomic Research have a coloring/activity book for grades K-3 titled "Fun with the Plant Nutrient Team." They also offer a formal guide featuring superhero characters for nitrogen, micronutrients, secondary nutrients, potassium, and phosphorus more appropriate for upper-elementary students. The Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts also has limited materials available for classroom use. This project would focus on soils of Illinois and how the soils, enhanced with fertilizer, promote Illinois high-yield agriculture.
By reaching out to upper-elementary students through the established Ag in the Classroom county contacts, factual information about the application, use, and effects of fertilizer can be disseminated. At Ag in the Classroom, we realize the importance of providing accurate information to students from urban and rural areas about issues that affect their food and fiber production systems.
This project was divided into four distinct phases. Each phase is detailed below.
The project began in October 2000, with the Illinois Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom staff gathering information and determining the need for such a soil and fertilizer information sheet for elementary students. Lisa Muirheid Martin from the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association provided background material and assisted the AITC Department in the research aspect of the endeavor. In January 2001, at a meeting of the Illinois Agriculture Literacy Providers, we conducted an informal survey about the needs of these providers. Information on soil and fertilizer, biotechnology, water quality, and chickens and embryology surfaced as the most needed information. Illinois Farm Bureau Education Specialist Rebekah Anderson and Illinois Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom Intern Stacey Dallam worked from January 2001 through March 2001 to gather information and pull together a rough layout.
Various career specialists were photographed and interviewed for the project, including Dr. Robert Hoeft, Professor of Soil Fertility Extension, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois; Debbie Ruff, Education Coordinator, Livingston County Soil and Water Conservation District; and Lisa Muirheid Martin, Communication Director, Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association.
In August 2001, the Illinois Farm Bureau Art Department took the rough layout and added graphics, color, and design. At this stage, additional copies were circulated among a panel of experts for input and comments. These included:
Loren Ahlrichs, 8814 Eby, Overland Park, KS 66212, Philmark@unicom.net
James Ahlrichs, 1414 N. Salisbary, West Lafayette, IN 47906
Lisa Martin, Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, PO Box 186, St. Anne, IL 60964, lisam@ifca.com
Renee Sager, Information Coordinator, Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts, 2520 Main Street Springfield, IL 62702, aiswcdrs@aol.com
Debbie Ruff, Livingston County Soil and Water Conservation District, Agriculture Literacy Coordinator 1510 West Reynolds, Pontiac, IL 61764 815-844-6127 rdr73@hotmail.com
Mark Ringler, Illinois Department of Agriculture, PO Box 19281 Springfield, IL 62794
Robert Hoeft, Professor of Soil Fertility Extension, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, Il 61801, rhoeft@uiuc.edu
On October 30, 2001, the final copy was shipped to Tucker Printing in Galesburg, Illinois to be printed on recycled paper using soy ink. Final copies were shrink-wrapped in classroom sets of 30 copies. A total of 60,000 copies (2,000 classroom sets) was printed. Delivery to Illinois Farm Bureau occurred on November 26, 2001, and distribution of the Soil and Fertilizer Ag Mag began in earnest. Individual copies were shipped to every county Farm Bureau in the state of Illinois, to the 52 Illinois Ag Literacy Coordinators, and to our external mailing list of over 150 people interested in promoting and providing agriculture literacy. Additionally, through the network of the USDA Ag in the Classroom system, one package of Ag Mags was mailed to every state Ag in the Classroom contact, including those in the U.S. Possessions Guam, Micronesia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa.
To further publicize the Soil and Fertilizer Ag Mag, Illinois Farm Bureau launched a web cam campaign, featuring Soil Sam growing in a variety of fertilizers. This was featured on the Illinois Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom website at www.agintheclassroom.org. Postcards alerting teachers to this were mailed to over 700 teachers across the state. An additional 1,500 postcards were distributed to our external mailing list, the ag literacy providers, state Ag in the Classroom contacts, and the state county Farm Bureaus. Additional promotions were featured in the Illinois Farm Bureau publication Farm Week, and the project was featured on the Illinois Farm Bureau Radio Network RFD Illinois.
Illinois Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom will conduct an internal assessment to insure that state objectives were reached for the final report to be submitted by February 1, 2002. Included in this will be the survey results from the county Farm Bureau system. This evaluation will also ask the Agriculture Literacy staff around the state for their input on the effectiveness of the Ag Mag in the classroom.
To date, the Soil and Fertilizer Ag Mag "Digging In" is receiving high marks around the state and across the country. Recently, Georgia Ag in the Classroom Director Donna Reynolds called to place an order for additional Ag Mags (we sell the Ag Mags at cost to those outside the state of Illinois). She remarked that she had been searching for a soil and fertilizer resource for an upcoming unit she is developing. She stressed that there is not a product appropriate for elementary grades available and offered generous compliments and praise. Additional comments have been fielded from many ag literacy providers and county Farm Bureau managers.
Teachers also have expressed their excitement in the project. Melissa Clark, a third-grade teacher at Webster Elementary School in Clinton, Illinois, remarked on how she was able to use the Ag Mag as a follow-up to a Soil Sam project they did earlier in the school year. Additional comments will be contained in our final FREC report
Illinois Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom is grateful for the opportunity to reach students across the state of Illinois and around the nation with accurate information about the food and fiber system. Through the "Digging In" Ag Mag, students will have an accurate representation of the soil and fertilizer from which food and fiber get their start.
1 Kevin Daugherty is the Illinois Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom Education Manager
We are grateful for our reviewers, especially Loren Ahlrichs, Dr. Robert Hoeft, Lisa Muirheid Martin, and Debbie Ruff for their insight and contributions. We are also thankful for the guidance of Mark Ringler and the FREC Committee.
