Compeer Financial delivers support to Illinois agriculture in classroom

QUINCY — Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom has new resources available for schools, thanks to funding from Compeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America.

In a press release, Kinsey Tiemann, the agricultural literacy coordinator for Adams County, said, “Keeping resources available at no cost to schools is a critical element of our mission so partners like Compeer Financial play a really valuable role in making sure resources are fresh, relevant to ag and, most importantly, meet learning standards for Illinois schools.”

Tiemann recently visited the Quincy Compeer Financial office to make a “special delivery” that included the newly released Pizza Ag Mag and the 2023-24 classroom calendar. The topic of pizza continues to be a teacher and student favorite and one that comes with unique lessons and books that help students explore each element of a pizza to discover its ties to agriculture.

“It’s all about grabbing their attention, keeping them engaged and then connecting the dots to learning about agriculture. Pizza lessons have always been a fun way to talk about sausage made from pork, specialty crops like peppers and tomatoes, and cheese from a dairy cow,” Tiemann shared.

An IAITC classroom calendar which mirrors the school calendar, begins in August and ends in July. Each month’s photos include seasonally accurate agriculture images and ag facts on each day of the week.

“The calendar further reinforces connections to agriculture in daily life and raises awareness to the seasonality of agriculture around us,” Tiemann continued. ”Teachers hang a calendar in their classroom for students to read, utilize the facts in daily questions or bell ringer activities, or even incorporate them into morning announcements.” Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom relies on funding partners to help reach close to 70% of school centers in the state.

“Supporting programs and materials that create a farm to food connection for children and their families is critically important to all aspects of agriculture,” said Karen Schieler, senior corporate giving specialist with Compeer. “Our Fund for Rural America supports Ag in the Classroom and these materials to make that connection and show that agriculture contributes to everyone’s quality of life.”

To learn more about Ag Literacy efforts and to connect with an agricultural literacy coordinator, visit www.agintheclassroom.org.