HURON (KELO AM) - The South Dakota Farm Bureau and the South Dakota Beef Industry Council have teamed up to create and provide, at a much-reduced cost of $10, some unique education materials for ag teachers and FFA advisers across the state. At the Career & Technical Education (CTE) summer conference held in Watertown in late July, 51 “Book in a Bucket” education kits were handed out to teachers in attendance for use this year in their classrooms.
The “Book in a Bucket” concept was created by Farm Bureau’s Women’s Leadership Team as a hands-on ag education kit. The kit is convenient for teachers because it delivers a self-contained ag lesson – complete with core standards curriculum and corresponding props – all in one five-gallon bucket with a lid.
“These kits are handy for teachers because they contain all the materials they need to teach an ag lesson, complete with a curriculum that matches up to the core standards,” said Bonnie Dybedahl, South Dakota Farm Bureau Regional Manager. “Farm Bureau was pleased to team up with the Beef Industry Council on this project to get these great materials into the hands of teachers across the state.”
Dybedahl was joined by Holly Swee and Tracey Walsh of the South Dakota Beef Industry Council in presenting to the ag teachers at the CTE conference.
The beef education kit contains the book Our Star Goes West, the fifth book written by twins Rianna and Sheridan Chaney, young girls on a cattle ranch in south-central Nebraska. This is one of Farm Bureau’s “accurate ag books” which correctly depicts agriculture and the great care farmers and ranchers take of the land and livestock. The “Book in a Bucket” kit also contains: small containers of corn, cattle mineral, and milk replacer; a two-quart calf bottle with nipple; matching cow and calf eartags; plus folders with all the curriculum needed to teach the lessons, including Beef Quality Assurance lesson plans and consumer education beef materials from the Beef Industry Council.
Teachers, FFA advisers, and 4-H leaders are encouraged to contact South Dakota Farm Bureau if they are interested in receiving these materials. Bonnie Dybedahl may be reached at bonnied@sdfbf.org or (605) 366-9992.