Students gain knowledge at 'Ag in the Classroom' event

By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition

Chris Schneider, Jackson County Extension agent, gives a presentation of beef cattle by-products to fourth graders at Stephen F. Austin Elementary in Edna. Due to stormy weather, the Ag in the Classroom sessions were held at the various schools in the county, instead of the youth traveling to the fairgrounds on May 13. -- Courtesy photo

May 20, 2004 -- Students in several Jackson County schools took part in a Youth Ag Day as part of the Ag in the Classroom program. The event, sponsored by the Texas Cooperative Extension, Farm Bureau, and Jackson County Extension committees on beef cattle, field crops, and rice, was designed to promote agriculture literacy among fourth-grade students in the county. Nearly 250 students and teachers participated in the event, according to County Extension Agent Chris Schneider

The event was originally scheduled to be held at the Jackson County Fairgrounds but was moved inside the schools in response to weather. Groups taking part in the affair traveled to Jackson County schools throughout the day. Presenters spoke on topics such as branding, grain varieties, ginning cotton, and farm equipment use. Demonstrations were given in selected areas.

County Extension Agent Chris Schneider contributed to the event.

"The objective for Ag in the Classroom is to introduce the school children of Texas to the different aspects of the agricultural industry and its important contribution to the economy and society," said Schneider.

Ag in the Classroom is a national program that was founded in the 1980s and is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(Kramer is an intern from Texas A&M University-Commerce.)