Ag in Our Lives 

We lead off this week's Super Six with a California program that we can all get behind - hands-on learning about the agricultural industry for third graders. This weeks' Super Six includes several stories related to educating the public about the extremely important role that the U.S. agricultural industry plays in all of our lives.

• Now in its 23rd year, Farm Day runs two hours and 15 minutes and is comprised of five, 10-minute sessions addressing seed science, a "plant doctor," picking healthy choices, crops and production – such as irrigation and fertilizer applications. Every class is also assigned one animal, with a 20-minute presentation about beef cattle, dairy or poultry. This successful program, profiled in a story by The Californian, is run by the Monterey County Ag Education Inc. and should be emulated elsewhere.
  
  
• In a closely related story in The Leaf-Chronicle, the 4-H organization in Montgomery County, TN, reports that interest in 4-H is up thanks to trending topics like "farm to table" and "organically grown." We raised funds for several local 4-H and FFA organizations last year as part of our sponsorship of the National Tractor Pulling Association (NTPA), and as reported in this blog post, we were very impressed by the youngsters involved in these organizations. We look forward to more collaborations in 2015.
  
  
• Speaking of educating the public about staying abreast of their local agricultural industry, this story in the Yuma Sun is relevant to any county with significant agricultural operations, which is most counties in the U.S.
  
  
• Many people might think farming is mainly a man's business, but women have been on the leading edge of agriculture and innovation for generations in Delaware, according to delawareonline.com. As is undoubtedly true in other states, women hold critically important roles on the farm, in the broader agricultural industry, and in government and educational institutions.
  
  
• Dave Atkins of the U.S. Forest Service declares in a blog post that "the future is here . . . and it is made of wood."
  
  
• On a final lighthearted note, check out this video shared by NBC Nightly News on a Kansas farmer who is making beautiful music with his cattle.

We welcome your comments and please share any insightful stories you've seen lately in the agriculture forestry and construction industries.