Ag-In-The-Classroom

Established in 1985, New York Agriculture in the Classroom (NYAITC) is a partnership of Cornell University, the NYS Department of Ag & Markets, the NYS Education Department, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the New York Farm Bureau.  Its mission is to foster awareness, understanding, and appreciation of how we produce food and fiber, what we eat, and how we live, by helping educators, students, and their communities learn about and engage with agriculture and food systems. 

Our Local Program

The Ag-in-the-Classroom Program in Rockland County loans high-quality instructional resources to teachers and homeschooling families, and also coordinates a variety of educational events that connect elementary school-aged children in Rockland County with our local agriculture, including Ag Literacy Week, AgStravaganza!, Farm City Day and more.

NY Ag Literacy Week: March 19-23, 2018

New York Ag-in-the-Classroom and the Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H program invite you to be a reader for the annual Agriculture Literacy Week to be held March 19 to 23, 2018. Last year, 2000 books were donated to school or classroom libraries and books were read by volunteers to thousands of second graders throughout New York State.

The selected book for 2018 is Before We Eat: From Farm to Table by Pat Brisson with illustrations by Mary Azarian. 

We are proud to feature a book that displays the vast opportunities and diversity that New York agriculture encompasses this year. Students will be taken on the journey from farm to table to understand different aspects of agriculture and the many possible careers involved. This is a captivating glimpse on what it takes to bring the food we eat to us in order to nourish our bodies and spirits.

From the busy hub of New York City, to the mountains of the Adirondacks, and to the fertility of the Finger Lakes our state is expansive and encompasses all types of agricultural industries. Careers and post-secondary education opportunities are abundant in traditional and developing food-centric industries. Agriculture contributes over $37 billion to the New York State economy and ranks in the top ten in the nation for yogurt, apples, grapes, calves, and onions, among other products. These products and industries create careers essential to the food system that are not always initially thought of: arborists, soil engineers, animal geneticists, butchers, aquaculturists, truck drivers, grocers, and more.

STEM careers and post-secondary opportunities related to the grape industry are also growing in our state; from grape production, research, crop management, processing, tourism, and hospitality. It will be essential for our students to understand the importance of grapes as an economic driver in communities across New York, and develop an awareness for future career possibilities. All lessons, activities, and companion materials are aligned to the Common Core Learning Standards.

Last updated August 2, 2019