Commissioners proclaim March 14-18 Pennsylvania Ag Literacy Week
Greene County commissioners designated March 14-18 Pennsylvania Ag Literacy Week, a statewide initiative that focuses on connecting volunteers from the agricultural community to local classrooms to share the story of agriculture.
During the week, volunteers are asked to read a book in kindergarten through second grade classrooms across the state that offers an accurate and engaging theme about agriculture.
The proclamation states that participants in Pennsylvania Ag Literacy Week will have the opportunity to talk about farming and agriculture through the book they read as well as share their own story about farming or their connections to agriculture.
The book is then donated to the classroom teacher along with educational activities and resources to use throughout the school year.
For example, the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation鈥檚 2022 Ag Literacy Week book of the year, 鈥淢y Family鈥檚 Soybean Farm,鈥� details the day-to-day activities of a farm family through eyes of young Alexander who lives on his family鈥檚 farm.
Throughout the book, readers will learn about how plants grow, what nutrients they need and how they are harvested. The book highlights how farmers care for their land and how farming practices have changed over the years using modern technology.
Commissioner Mike Belding said initiatives like Pennsylvania Ag Literacy Week are important for rural areas like Greene County.
鈥淭here a lot of young people throughout the United States who don鈥檛 know where their food comes from, so it is vital that our youths be exposed to the importance of agriculture at a young age,鈥� he said.
Accepting the proclamation were Ami Cree of Cree Dairy Farm and George Scull, a member of the Greene County Farm Bureau.