Ag Advocate Challenge Investment Pays Off

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Sept. 10, 2012 - Farmway Co-op, Inc. and AgMark LLC of Beloit, Kan., are pleased about the success of their $6,000 investment in educational programs provided by Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (KFAC).

The contribution to the Ag Advocate Challenge, pooled together with other donations, allowed KFAC to reach more than 23,000 Kansas elementary students and their teachers. Donor dollars helped pay for printing of lesson plans, educator guides and Kansas Kids Connection Magazines.

Additional dollars allowed teachers to attend summer graduate courses and in-service training, with funding used to perform research and development activities to create new delivery methods for agriculture literacy lesson plans.

The KFAC mission is to "Connect Classrooms to Kansas Agriculture."

"We educate people about the importance of food production and delivery systems and use agriculture as a tool to reach core curriculum goals in math, reading, science, history, and social studies," said Cathy Musick, executive director of KFAC. "Currently, we reach about 5 percent of Kansas elementary students. Our goal is to double that in the next three years. Ag Advocate funding is critical in allowing us to increase our reach while maintaining excellent programming and developing new delivery methods that are efficient and effective for Kansas teachers. It is important for current and future generations of students to know how their food is produced and transported."

Musick noted that KFAC is grateful to the donors and looks forward to continued support as they continue to grow the program.

More information is available at www.ksagclassroom.org.

About KFAC
The Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom is a 501(c)(3) organization that seeks to involve Kansans of all ages in understanding the fundamental impact of agriculture on their everyday lives. By providing resources to Kansas teachers, KFAC hopes to connect classrooms to Kansas agriculture.