Pamela Stuttgen wants to be sure her daughter walks into the classroom this fall, and finds a back-to-school gift box waiting for her there. The Colby, Wisconsin woman believes it’s a simple way to show — someone has noticed the work agriculture teachers across the state, do every day.
For the past three years, Stuttgen has sent this surprise to her daughter, Jessica. She’s an ag teacher in the Athens School District. But this year, Stuttgen decided to send a second box, celebrating another agriculture educator in the state.
“Ag teachers play a very important role in our school system,” she said. “However, they are so underappreciated.”
And this gift has become more than a box filled with supplies and surprises. It’s now a wonderful way to recognize teachers who spend countless hours helping students discover opportunities within the agriculture industry.
LISTEN TO THE STORY HERE.
———————————————————————————————————————–
Local ag teachers are making a difference
Stuttgen understands the commitment firsthand. Her family lives on a hobby farm. Her children were involved in 4-H and FFA. And her daughter chose agriculture education as a career. She’s also watched teachers go above and beyond to create meaningful experiences for students. It’s often while working with limited resources.
“They are given extra workloads. They’re limited in supplies, but are supposed to keep up with all the new changes in agriculture or natural resources or wildlife,” she explained.
And those changes come quickly. Agriculture classrooms today may include lessons on hydroponic gardening, food science, wildlife, horticulture, and even beekeeping.
“The ag classes at school are not just agriculture,” Stuttgen said. “There’s wildlife. There’s horticulture. There are so many aspects of the agricultural natural resources field for educators to share.”
That dedication to teaching is why the Dairy Leaders of Tomorrow (DLT) program created its annual “Back-to-School Gift Box” campaign.
A box filled with appreciation
The fairly new program is managed by the Dairy Excellence Foundation. It encourages dairy farmers, agribusinesses, and community members to recognize agriculture educators with a gift box filled with classroom resources, dairy-themed items and personal messages of encouragement.
Center for Dairy Excellence and Dairy Excellence Foundation Communications and Marketing Manager Emily Barge calls the goal simple. Support the teachers who spend the year supporting students.
“Agriculture educators are laying the foundation for the next generation of dairy,” Barge said. “They work tirelessly all year long to help their students by bringing agriculture to life.”
Barge said the idea behind the boxes is to create a meaningful way to encourage teachers before the school year begins.
“We thought some sort of box at the start of the school year would be a fun way to motivate teachers, show them that people in their life care about them, and get them excited about teaching agriculture and making connections to dairy farming with their students,” she explained.
This year’s boxes include classroom supplies, a food science poster featuring different cheeses, cheese stress relievers, magnetic cow bookmarks, pens, pencils, sticky notes, yogurt coupons and special items just for the teacher. Those who send a box can also include a handwritten message to personally thank their local teacher.
Grateful to teachers investing in the future
When her daughter received her first back-to-school gift box, Stuttgen said the reaction was everything she hoped it would be.
“She was very surprised and very thankful,” Stuttgen shared. “And it was just a nice way to kick off the beginning of her school year.”
Her message to all agriculture teachers across the state is simple:
“Thank you for everything you do,” she said. “It’s making an impact on our students and our business of agriculture here in Wisconsin.”
Learn more about sending a gift box to your local instructors by going to the Dairy Leaders of Tomorrow website here. You can also call 717-346-0849.
The deadline to order is July 31, 2026.
Leave a Reply