For the past several years, the Illinois Farm Bureau has created a nine-month Ag-In-the-Classroom calendar for distribution to grade schools throughout Illinois. The calendars are excellent learning tools for children, as 98 percent of children growing up today do not live on a farm.
Obviously, all the children getting their education in District 150 schools are removed from the everyday experiences of the farm, but it’s surprising to see the number of students in the rural areas of Peoria County, such as Brimfield, Elmwood and Princeville, that have students whose parents are not involved in the production of agriculture.
The calendar begins in September and concludes in June. Each month highlights an agricultural topic, class activity and full color photo. Each weekday highlights a farm fact.
Although the calendars are geared for elementary classrooms, we can all learn from the information it shares. Following is a taste of the first three months of the educational calendar.
- September (corn) —Corn is a grass native to America. An average size ear of corn has 800 kernels and 16 rows. An ear of corn always has an even number of rows (12, 14, 16, etc). Next time you purchase sweet corn or squirrel feed, count them. Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota account for more than 50 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. More than half of the corn grown is used to feed to livestock. About 4,000 products in a supermarket are made from corn. Margarine, peanut butter, marshmallows, ice cream and hot dogs all contain corn. Corn-based plastics can help produce items such as golf tees, grocery bags and ball point pens. In a lifetime, the average American will consume 45 acres worth of corn.
- October (soybeans)—The soybean was first planted for food in China more than 3,000 years ago. The U.S. supplies more than 50 percent of the world’s soybeans. The soybean is 80 percent meal and 20 percent oil. About 97 percent of all soymeal (crushed soybeans) is used as animal feeds. Poultry production uses 50 percent of the soymeal. The meal is rich in protein and contains as much protein as meat, fish, eggs and milk. The oil is a vegetable oil used to prepare healthy food products. Soy hulls are used as a high fiber source for breads, cereals, and snacks. In the early 1940s, Henry Ford built the entire body of a car from soy plastic.
- November (horses)—There are more than 150 breeds and types of horses and ponies. After a horse’s first birthday, it is called a yearling. A filly is a female horse less than four years old and a mare is a female horse more than four years old. A pregnant mare carries her foal approximately 11 months. The average life span of a horse is 20 to 30 years. Walk, trot and canter are a horse’s three natural gaits. A bronco is an untamed western horse. The smallest breed of horse, the Flabella, grows only 30 inches in height. Horses spend more than 80 percent of their lives standing up.
As you can see, there are a lot of fun facts all of us can learn about agriculture. It touches our lives in a variety of ways on a daily basis. IBI
