It’s not just students and teachers going back to school across Wisconsin. Farmers and agribusinesses are also lending an educational hand through different programs. Fond du Lac County’s Agribusiness Council maintains an Ag Ambassador Program, bringing agriculture into the classroom.
The Ag Business Council is a part of Envision Greater Fond du Lac, the county’s business chamber. Ag Education Director Amy Reis encourages chambers of commerce statewide to consider growing their ag business membership. After all, Fond du Lac County is not the only ag powerhouse in the state.
She says the council is hard at work year-round with their ag ambassador program, dairy breakfasts, the county fair and other events that focus on engaging students in the industry.
The Ag Business Council began in the late 1970s, and since then, the county has had a strong agribusiness presence in the chamber with 150 members representing dairy, food processors, ag manufacturers, feed companies and more. In 1995, the chamber took it a step further to provide free ag education in schools, Reis explains.
The ag ambassador program goes to any school in Fond du La County that requests a visit at most twice a year. Depending on the age of the students, the lesson covers content ranging from row crops, livestock, specialty crops and food processing.
The program was in-person — roughly 7,000 kids in a school year — until the pandemic. When school shuttered their doors and switched to online learning, that’s when the chamber’s ag ambassador program took a virtual approach. Now, they’re back in person, but are open to using Zoom whenever needed.
The ambassador program runs from September to May. In May, the Ag Business Council works with a local FFA chapter to present Day On The Farm — 700 kids visit the farm for a day. In June, the Ag Business Council hosts June Dairy Day the first Saturday of June. On the fourth Sunday, they host Breakfast on the Farm. The council also has a presence at the Fond du Lac County Fair. This is just a sample of what the council does in a year.
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