Fund for Excellence places people and agriculture together

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Texas youth get a chance to learn all about agriculture through a special program initiated by the Department of Agricultural Education called the Fund for Excellence. Here, a young 'agriculturalist' replicates the beginning process for bringing milk to the dinner table. -- Department of Agricultural Education photo

July 1 ,2004 -- Texans of all ages can gain valuable information on agricultural-related issues through a program initiated through Texas A&M University's Department of Agricultural Education.

The Department of Agricultural Education utilizes the Fund for Excellence (FFE) program, which was created in 1997 by Dr. Andy Vestal, associate professor and Extension specialist with the Department of Agricultural Education. It's primary purpose is to introduce Texans to numerous agricultural related issues.

"The goal of the FFE is to support agricultural awareness in Texas by sharing with people various agriculture topics that relate to their everyday lives," Kelli Phelan, graduate assistant for Vestal, said. "The focus is typically on food and environmental needs of people."

The program is also designed to deliver information and expose children to the benefits of agriculture.

One example of an FFE program is a host demonstration garden where the county's Master Gardeners demonstrate water conservation methods, proper use of pesticides, and horticulture practices.

The FFE created the Grants to County Extension Programs in 2003, after a reorganization within Texas Cooperative Extension. The Texas Cooperative Extension created four regions within the state - North, South, East and West - and established a program director for each region. Each region includes around 60 counties.

Under the Grants to County Extension Programs, interested counties can submit program proposals and funding requests to their regional program director. The regional program director then coordinates the selection and award process.

"We simply announce to the regional program directors how much money is available for awards and they are in charge of communicating this information, gathering the funding requests and making the award selections within their respective counties," Phelan said. "The money to support the FFE is donated from external contributors, mostly agricultural businesses and those of the food industry located in Texas."

The awarding of funds is distributed evenly among the four regions, and the amount of the awards depends on the balance of the FFE each year.

"In the past year of FFE, we were supporting random programs in Texas that were identified as outstanding agricultural events. We didn't have an organized system of identifying excellent programs in need. Now, with the grants to County Extension Programs, we are sponsoring events across all of Texas that are chosen by the regional program directors," Phelan said. "It's basically free money for them, but they are also helping us with our mission, which is to support agricultural awareness."

This year, outstanding agricultural education programs received grant awards. The winners and their programs are:

Titus County - Agriculture & Me: How Agriculture Impacts our Lives. This four-day camp focuses on how agricultural production contributes to life.Specific components include how gardening yields food, cotton production yields clothing, dairy production yields dairy foods, and wildlife management yields recreation. The program targets youth of all ages and from various educational backgrounds, and includes hands-on activities and field trips for educational demonstrations.

Hockley County - Agriculture Awareness and Literacy. This day of agricultural awareness focuses on the following objectives: teaching basic agriculture production principles to young people, teaching the origin of various consumer products to students, allowing elementary youth to explore agriculture career choices, and supporting the learning and application of water conservation methods by students. This program is part of a longer-term "Ag Literacy" plan that will support the education of young people about agricultural production, agricultural consumer products, and the agriculture industry on local economies.

Hunt County - Demonstration Garden Education Project. The goal of this project is to reduce the point of source pollution from pesticides and fertilizers and to improve the water conversation practices of homeowners. A "demonstration garden" was established to serve as an outdoor classroom for the demonstration of water conservation and the proper use of water, pesticides, and fertilizers. The garden also hosts educational events that focus on best management horticultural practices and plants.

Travis County - Food & Fiber Expo. The educational exposition targets third and fourth grade elementary school students on how agriculture affects the students' everyday lives. The exposition is comprised of a seven-station tour that addresses the following agriculture topics: food and nutrition, dairy, water, grain production, beef production, cotton fiber, and vegetables.

Comal County - A Hatching Experience for All. Geared to provide teachers and students of kindergarten through eighth grade experience with and learning about embryo development. The program provides teachers with an in-service training to increase their knowledge and skills on embryo development. The program also provides incubators for classrooms to allow students the opportunity to experience first-hand embryo development.

Dallas County - Kids & Critters: Farm Day at the Fair. Part of a larger program designed to increase the appreciation for production agriculture by the urban population. A field trip to the Texas Sate Fair is used to capture the intrigued mind of young students about various livestock animals. This opportunity allows for the education of students at an early age about the goods and products obtained from livestock. The end goal is that the children will become more aware of their role in agriculture as end users and more supportive of the needs and issues facing farmers and other agricultural producers.

Ector/Andrews County - Kids to Kows & More Expo. This two-day event is designed to allow 4th grade students and their teachers to attend an educational event of concurrent sessions to learn about agriculture in their residence area. Participants from several elementary schools attend sessions with live presentations and demonstrations on relevant agricultural issues. Titles of these sessions include, "The Mobile Dairy Classroom, From Grass to Beef, Pecan Production in West Texas, Sheep & Wool Production, Beekeeping, and Horses & Horsemanship."

Clay County/Deaf Smith County - Progressive Farmer Safety Day Camp A day camp geared to educate Texas youth and adults about how to avoid common farm accidents. Safety lessons of the camp focus on teaching safety techniques and procedures relative to the use of farm equipment and safe farm practices. The camp also highlights the economic benefit of farming to the local communities and county.

(Program information provided by Texas A&M University, Department of Agricultural Education.)