Engaging with public good way to boost understanding of ag

One of the most enduring memories I have from elementary school is when a classmate brought a dairy calf for show and tell.

I still remember that day nearly 40 years later: how the calf’s tongue felt on my fingers and how interesting it was to hear my classmate’s father tell us about their dairy farm.

Another fond memory is visiting Bennett’s Apples & Cider and riding through the orchards on a wagon, eating a yummy cider doughnut in the farm store, and my excitement in bringing apples home to my mom.

Bennett’s was in my hometown and not far from the school, and the youngest son was one of my elementary school classmates and one of several kids I knew who came from a farm.

But like most of my classmates, I was two or more generations removed from the farm. That gap was even greater for kids in urban areas, and has grown since then.