Adult programs attempt to bring ag knowledge to Americans

Adult education classes offered at the local school may be serving an ever-increasing need - the need for providing basic agriculture knowledge to people, not directly involved in agriculture.

The lack of agriculture knowledge has resulted in some strange conversations.

One such example, reported on a recent radio broadcast, was of a child growing up on a dairy farm, who thinks that milk, cheese and other dairy products come from a store. The child did not know the milk from the cows on the farm is processed into the milk, cheese and other dairy products, later bought from a store.

Another example is of someone criticizing a hunter for harvesting a deer, when they could just go to store and buy meat without any animal being killed.

In addition, the number of young people who do not have a background in farming or agriculture, but are training for agriculture-related occupations, is growing. According to Dale Hodges, California's adult ag educator, a large percentage of students enrolled in the University of Missouri-Columbia's College of Agriculture are non-farm, urban students.

There are many adults interested in studying agriculture, or at least some part of agriculture. They are not studying it for career purposes. Instead, they study it for reasons of a hobby, farming on the side, or for other purposes, having little to do with farming. There are also many focused on issues related to agriculture, especially as they may relate to food and environment.

The result is that there is a real need for students and citizens to be better informed about the importance of agriculture and how it may relate to many aspects of their lives.

Since American society needs to be agriculturally-literate, help is being offered to achieve this effort. Much of the adult education in agriculture in Missouri came about because of the formation in 1972 of the Missouri Young Farmers/Young Farm Wives organization.

This involves adults in agricultural-based educational and leadership activities in local, district, state and national levels. Membership is open to all ages and includes a two-day convention each February and a two-and-a-half day tour in July-August. For some, there is also the opportunity to participate in the Governor's Conference on Agriculture.

There are two kinds of classes offered as a part of the Adult Ag Education Program - Topics classes and in-depth study classes. A third type of adult education is the Farm Business Management Analysis training program.

Topics classes, the most common type of adult classes offered, address current problems and issues, provide new technology updates and explore different subjects which are of general interest to a broad group of people interested in agriculture. Some of these topics involve a tour of ag-related premises. Topics classes generally are eight to 12 one-session meetings, usually during the winter months and usually with guest speakers speaking on a specific topic. These sessions may be held each week, every two weeks or once a month. This type of meeting has been an important part of adult education in agriculture. One recent tour included two locations south of Tipton. First, the group toured the Willow Creek Pallets factory and, then went to Sydenstrickers Implement Company to check out the company's new shop.

In-depth study classes are a series of sessions on the same topic. An in-depth study class may consist of a two-to-eight session series in a single topic. Topics could be related to horticulture, marketing, forestry, alternative fuels or ag mechanics. Possible classes are welding, small engine repair and a recent class was on basic electricity. Because of the time involved in the in-depth study sessions and the specialized content and the multiple sessions, class enrollment is often lower.

The Farm Business Management Analysis training program (FBMA) is designed to improve management in the farm business and involves class work, on-site visitations and analysis of the records. This program is designed to help farmers improve management of the farm business.

Call 573-796-8624 for more information.

Link:

californiaadultyoungfarmer.weebly.com