Emma Brushwood, a senior at Northwest Missouri State University studying to become an agricultural educator, teamed up with fellow Northwest senior agricultural education student, Meghan Hunerdosse, to facilitate an Ag Camp for children in Maryville this past summer. These future teachers partnered with Missouri Farmers Care’s Agriculture Education on the Move™ (Ag Moves), a curriculum of ten hands-on, STEM focused lessons that teach agricultural literacy to elementary students, to build the foundation for the Ag Camp. Emma and Meghan’s successful event is an example of the opportunities Ag Moves creates for future agricultural educators to learn, innovate, and grow through real world teaching experiences.

Ag Moves is a series of ten, STEM-focused, hands-on lessons that explore crops, livestock, soil and water conservation, nutrition, and careers in agriculture. The lessons align with Missouri state learning objectives in science, math, social studies, and language arts and show students how agriculture is entwined in their daily lives. Emma connected personally with Ag Moves. “I grew up north of St. Louis and I was a kid that thought chocolate milk came from brown cows,” Emma remembers. “During my high school years we moved to Elsberry, and I joined FFA. It is so important for younger kids to have the opportunity to know where their food comes from.” Meghan Hunerdosse is a native of Indianola, Ia. who grew up experiencing the farm and FFA.

As Emma and Meghan facilitated the Ag Moves training event hosted by Northwest, they were ecstatic to learn that Ag Moves was seeking collegiate interns for summer 2024. Both applied and were accepted. Emma and Meghan’s proactive personalities were engaged when they learned that they could reach out to schools to share Ag Moves and design customized events to fulfill their internship goals. Both were anxious to get involved and maximize their opportunity.

With support and guidance from Northwest faculty and staff, the ladies designed and organized a weeklong Ag Camp at Northwest featuring Ag Moves curriculum and strategically planned activities. During the afternoons of July 15-19, campers aged kindergarten through seventh grade learned about agriculture at Northwest’s Agricultural Learning Center. “It was important to us to schedule the camp to not conflict with summer school,” Emma said. “We chose our date because we thought it would be an opportunity to give kids and parents a break later in the summer,” Meghan said. These two aspiring teachers promoted the event with flyers, social media, and information in local news outlets.

Seventy-three students from Maryville and the surrounding community enjoyed a free Ag Camp thanks in part to the Missouri Farmers Care Foundation, which provides the Ag Moves curriculum and lesson materials at no cost. Local business also donated supplies needed for the camp. Emma is excited that the event was a successful outreach to the community shining a positive light on agriculture. “I am so glad that Ag Moves is made available for free. It helps the lessons reach as many students as possible,” Emma said. Meghan learned a lot about hosting and organization. She handled logistics, facilities, registration and permission slips. Emma and Meghan both taught Ag Moves lessons each day of Ag Camp.

Before Ag Camp, Emma and Meghan taught Ag Moves at the St. Joseph YMCA. Their session included 10 students the first week and 12 students the second week. By the third week, word had gotten out, and their students tripled in number. Emma and Meghan found themselves in classrooms, short on supplies, learning to improvise and innovate their teaching techniques on the fly. By the end of the 10-week program, Emma and Meghan were hosting 85 students each week for Ag Moves lessons at the YMCA.

Emma and Meghan also built relationships in a variety of summer school programs located in both rural and urban communities. “We saw a difference in students from various communities. Students I taught in Carrollton kept the agriculture conversation going and recognized the pictures I shared. A student in St. Joseph asked how we got seeds for crops, a great question which the Ag Moves curriculum answered,” shared Meghan. Emma had the opportunity to teach at the Maryville Middle School. “It is good to reach out to kids with little to no rural experience. It was fun to see the kids be amazed as they learned new things about their food,” Emma said.

Ag Moves is offered exclusively to students in Missouri, but as Meghan shared her experience with the program, neighbors from her home state of Iowa took serious notice. “I have had lots of people back home ask me questions about the curriculum and how the Ag Moves program works. They are excited about students getting exposure to agriculture at elementary ages,” said Meghan. “It is important to expose kids to agriculture through a positive experience. It is so fun to see their faces light up as they learn.”

Ag Moves is serving the need of collegiate interns to experience teaching in the classroom to prepare them for their future careers. Thanks to the dedication and drive of professional educators, collegiate interns, and 836 FFA partner educators, Ag Moves has engaged over 12,400 third-grade students in 2024. The Missouri Farmers Care Foundation, which hosts Ag Moves, supplies curriculum, materials, and trained educators at no cost to participating schools. A list of elementary schools receiving Ag Moves programming this semester can be found here.

Ag Moves is funded by Missouri Farmers Care, a coalition of over 40 agriculture groups in Missouri. Support comes from Missouri soybean farmers and their checkoff, as well as the MFA Oil Foundation, FCS Financial, MFA Incorporated, Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, the Missouri Beef Industry Council, and the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board. To learn more or to become a partner, visit www.agmoves.com.