Dr. Carley Calico Morrison is an associate professor in MSU's School of Human Sciences. She teaches agricultural communications courses as part of the Agricultural Education, Leadership, and Communications degree program. Dr. Morrison believes agricultural literacy is a vital part of everyone's life and should be a part of our students' curriculum.
“It’s those students who have not been exposed to agriculture who would really benefit from this,” Morrison said. “Many living in rural areas have seen crops in the fields or have families who work in farming, but the ‘Farm to Classroom’ teaching initiative offers solid agriculturally based lessons for everyone to understand the role agriculture plays in their day-to-day lives.”
Dr. Stephanie Lemley is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education in MSU’s College of Education. She works alongside Dr. Morrison to make the Farm to Classroom program possible. Dr. Lemley believes agricultural literacy is vital for our youth's education.
“In Mississippi, nearly 30 percent of the population is employed by agriculture in some way. It is the biggest economic industry in the state, both in terms of employment and from a consumptive standpoint, so it’s important that we understand the industry,” Lemley said. “The earlier children can begin to learn about where their food and clothing come from, the more likely we are to avoid misconceptions.”
Josey Webb is a graduate student at the School of Human Sciences working with Dr. Carley Morrison and Dr. Stephanie Lemley on an assistantship. Josey is working towards a Master's Degree in Agricultural and Extension Education with a concentration in leadership. She believes that the future of agriculture relies on today's children, so they must learn about the nation's most vital industry.
"As humans, we tend to be afraid of things we don't have knowledge of. With each generation growing farther away from the family farm, there are fewer people who know how our food is grown and where it comes from. The less we know about something, the easier it is for us to believe in misconceptions. Farm to Classroom is a great resource to use so that we can start teaching our kids the facts now, instead of them believing in misinformation later. "
This work is supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development program, [2020-68018-31044/1021637], from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.