FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky ranks high in national agricultural standings, placing within the top 20 for production of various crops and livestock. Its main agricultural products include corn, soybeans, cattle, poultry and tobacco, where it holds the number one spot for tobacco farms in the United States.

Agriculture officials in the state wants to make sure its residents realize the importance and impact that agriculture has on the Bluegrass State. For this reason, Kentucky has officially declared March 17-21, 2025, as the first-ever statewide Agriculture Education Week.

This bipartisan initiative, spearheaded by Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman, Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, and Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher, aims to educate students about the significance of agriculture within the state.

“In today’s political climate, it’s not often you see a Democrat, a Republican and the head of an independent entity come together for this important cause,” Coleman said. “We have found common ground in our shared value of providing our children with opportunities that will allow all Kentuckians to thrive for generations to come. We do that by bringing two of the most important sectors (agriculture and education) together in a way that’s never been done before.

“Together, we agree that supporting public education and our agriculture community is imperative to Kentucky’s future. Agriculture and education are the ties that bind in every community across Kentucky. Kentucky’s public schools are the largest employer in almost every county. And agriculture is the most crucial industry, not just in Kentucky, but throughout the world.”

Key initiatives of Ag Education Week include increasing access to agricultural education, providing valuable resources for teachers, and connecting agriculture to real-life skills.

In broadening access to ag education, the goal is to help students understand where their food, fiber and fuel comes from, the value of agriculture to Kentucky, and the role of agriculture in daily life, whether one pursues careers in agriculture or not.

Support for teachers is vital, and the initiative will provide resources and lesson plans for educators. Teachers will receive curriculum materials and guidance to incorporate agriculture into their lessons, using project-based learning to address educational standards and provide a complete agricultural educations experience to students throughout the week.

The real-life skills initiative is not just for students aspiring to become farmers or work in the agriculture industry. It will help all students develop valuable skills such as understanding nutrition, sustainability and how agriculture intersects with other fields, including law, marketing, healthcare and communication.

“Ag Education Week offers students an exciting opportunity to engage in dynamic, hands-on learning experiences aligned to the Kentucky Academic Standards, bringing science and real-world applications to life,” Fletcher said. “As students engage in the science and engineering practices and look through the lens of the cross-cutting concepts, they learn disciplinary core ideas to make sense of phenomena or design solutions to problems related to Kentucky agriculture.

 These learning experiences, Fletcher said, are designed using the “5E” instructional model: engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate. The 5E framework fosters inquiry-based learning, guiding students to actively construct knowledge and develop innovative, sustainable solutions to overcome agricultural challenges in Kentucky.

Agriculture Education Week will provide comprehensive learning experiences for students, equip educators with valuable resources, and foster community engagement.

“Agriculture Education Week is about more than just teaching kids where their food comes from,” Shell said. “It’s about showing them the opportunities agriculture offers and inspiring them to be a part of its future.”

Kentucky boasts a robust agricultural sector, contributing nearly $50 billion to the state’s economy.

“Agriculture touches every aspect of our lives, from the clothes we wear to the fuel that powers our communities,” Shell said. “By engaging students early, we’re not only fostering appreciation but also preparing the next generation of farmers, scientists, business leaders and innovators who will keep Kentucky agriculture strong. Investing in education today ensures a thriving sustainable industry for tomorrow.”

The week will be full of fun and learning for all students in grades K-12. Each day the students will be given clues about a career in agriculture that they aren’t familiar with, followed by a short video that will reveal activity about the career.

To be included will be a livestream panel of agriculturalists who will answer questions from students from across the state. The panel will discuss diversity in agriculture. This segment of the program will be chaired by Miss Kentucky.

The older students will engage in some sort of community service event with a focus on harvesting skills, resources, or time for the community. This could be a canned food drive for a food pantry or even building a little food pantry. This would be a student-led initiative.

At the conclusion of the program, students will write cards or letters of appreciation for farmers that will be dropped off at Extension or farm bureau offices and distributed to farmers in their community.

“The average age of a farmer in Kentucky is 57 years old, and the number of Kentucky farms is in decline,” Coleman said. “Which means we are facing an aging and shrinking farming population, with less farmland and fewer kids who understand where their food comes from, with every passing generation. We decided to think outside the box to help solve these issues and Ag Education Week was born.”