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A new way to bring students to the farm

Students at Jordan Creek Elementary School in West Des Moines, Iowa had the chance to ride in a combine this fall and experience corn harvest firsthand with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey.

But those students weren’t actually on Northey’s farm, which is several hours northwest of Des Moines.  Their “virtual” visit took place over the Internet via Skype.

Will Fett, executive director of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation, says utilizing technology such as Skype, FaceTime and other software platforms is a great way to enable more students to experience the farm.

“Those students can have live interaction with a farmer who might be riding in a combine, or showing them a pig farm or a dairy operation,” says Fett. “Students can stay in the safety and comfort of their classroom, but have a live in-person conversation with a farmer and really learn about agriculture and why farmers do some of the things they do on their farm.”

Jordan Creek elementary teacher Jan Bergman said her students were engaged the entire time.  One of them commented, “It’s like he’s talking just to us!”  Another student commented “I feel like we’re in the field with him!”  Bergman says the experience made it real for the students and helped them connect to Northey and his farm.  Instead of just learning about the harvest, she says, they experienced it.

“The teachers are incredibly excited,” Fett says. “They see the excitement that their students have when they’re able to integrate and incorporate technology—and they understand the learning value behind having those personal interactions with people who might be in a career that the students are interested in.”

The program is called FarmChat and it is part of the foundation’s Agriculture in the Classroom program.  Polk County Farm Bureau helped coordinate the event in the West Des Moines classroom.

AUDIO: Will Fett