Virginia’s Agriculture in the Classroom program will celebrate Agriculture Literacy Week concurrently with National Ag Week, March 15-21.
Because Agriculture Literacy Week also takes place during the peak of the college basketball season, the Virginia Foundation for AITC will hold its third annual Agriculture Commodity March Madness competition March 1-31. Eight Virginia farm commodity groups—beef, dairy, equine, fruits, horticulture/gardening, pork, poultry and vegetables/grains—will face off in a friendly fundraising competition, with the agriculture community deciding the winner.
Last year the contest raised $5,755—$4,000 more than in 2013—with donors from the state’s pork industry generating the winning amount, $2,510. The March Madness funds were used to buy copies of the children’s books Pigs & Pork and Pigs: An A-to-Z Book. Smithfield Foods added to the funds raised so AITC would have enough books for all Virginia educators attending AITC workshops.
Visitors to AgInTheClass.org who donate at least $10 by March 31 can cast a vote in support of one of the eight commodity groups. Votes and donations also can be mailed to AITC, Attention: Agriculture Commodity March Madness, 12580 West Creek Parkway, Richmond, VA 23238.
“This contest is a really fun way to get agricultural resources into the hands of as many Virginia students as possible,” said Karen Davis, AITC foundation executive director. “We decided this year to expand the contest by recognizing second- and third-place winners and changing the prizes so the winning commodity gets even more visibility and our second- and third-place commodities are recognized for their efforts.”
The winning commodity will be highlighted for a month on the AITC website and Facebook page and through educational emails with commodity-specific AITC lesson plans and resources. An industry video also will be featured on the AITC website and Facebook page. The second-place winner will be featured for two weeks, and the third-place winner for one week.
Virginia AITC is part of a nationwide effort to help teachers and students understand and appreciate agriculture, which is Virginia’s and the nation’s largest industry. The program provides training and materials to nearly 1,900 educators each year, and its website provides teachers with Standards of Learning-aligned lessons, literacy activities and more. All AITC services are provided to educators at no cost. The program is funded by donations received through the Virginia Foundation for AITC.
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