Lessons Learned

By Faith Baerwolf, Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom Intern

have always been interested in education and agriculture; however, I knew that teaching in a classroom was not for me. I was more than excited to be selected as the Wisconsin Agriculture in the Classroom intern since it combined my interests. My last seven months as intern have allowed me to see the wide range of career opportunities available involving education and agriculture. I have enjoyed working on a variety of projects during my internship that has helped me gain valuable experience and skills to use in my future career.

Throughout this internship, I have been managing the social media accounts for Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom. I have been able to help increase followers, reach, number of posts, as well as create a content calendar for the next 12 months. I assisted in the launch of the Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom Instagram account, @wiagclassroom, to increase our audience reach on different social media platforms.

One of the projects I completed was planning and designing a tri-fold brochure titled ‘Things you Should Know About Wisconsin Agriculture’. The brochure contains 2023 statistics and facts about Wisconsin agriculture. This free brochure is designed to be used with students and groups of all ages. Whether you were from an agricultural background or not, you could learn something new from the brochure.

I gained facilitation skills and presented my first workshop at the Wisconsin State FFA Convention. The one-hour program led students through the programs and resources Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom has to offer, as well as how to apply for the Food for America grant program to help fund their agricultural literacy events.

The experiences in this internship have been very diverse. In addition to major projects, I wrote scripts for the ‘Making You a Little Smarter’ radio advertisement program, helped pack teacher workshop kits, organize labs and support Summer

Educator Experiences, and taught more than 700 students about DNA at the Milwaukee Ag Discovery Day.

I have truly enjoyed this internship and getting to know all of the staff and members of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau. Thank you for the opportunity to grow awareness of agriculture while growing my own skills.

Fall Ag in the Classroom Rally

Friday, October 27

Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, Fond du Lac

Agenda

10:30 a.m. – New Coordinators Intro to Ag in the Classroom*

In-person OR virtual option (Must register for virtual option)

11:30 a.m – Registration and Lunch

12:00 p.m. – Welcome, Beth Schaefer

12:15 p.m. – Wisconsin Ag Literacy Trivia

Are you Smarter than a 4th-Grader? What's new in the classroom.

1:00 p.m. – Essay Experts Panel – Pro Tips for County Essay Contest, Volunteer Panel

Rebecca Poppy, Winnebago County

Tonra Degner, Juneau County

2:00 p.m. – Partnership Opportunities and Ideas, Panelists: Ag in ALL Classroom Grant Winners

3:00 p.m. – Make and Take Ideas for All Classrooms, Learn ag literacy by doing, and take it with you!

4:00 p.m. – Wrap-up and Dismiss

* New Coordinators Intro to Ag in the Classroom

Are you in your first 1-5 years of being an Ag in the Classroom chair? Plan to attend the new, Intro to Ag in the Classroom session before the Fall Rally kicks-off! Join inperson or virtually to learn the ins-and-outs of serving as a county Ag in the Classroom chair.

Leadership

Training Series

Brought to you by the WFBF Promotion and Education Committee

Saturday, October 28

Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, Fond du Lac

Storytelling Strategies

9:00 a.m. – Welcome

9:15 a.m. – Opening Keynote, Lady Farmer Darci Daniels

10:30 a.m. – Sustainable Storytelling Panel Panelists: 35 Under 35 Finalists

12:00 p.m. – Lunch (provided)

1:15 p.m. – Gather Wisconsin Masterminds, Cassie Sonnentag

2:30 p.m. – Closing Comments

LaClare Family Creamery Tour and Dinner

For those attending the Ag in the Classroom Training on Oct. 27 or traveling the night before, join us Friday evening for a tour and meal at LaClare Family Creamery. Learn about the cheeses and cheesemaking operations and enjoy dinner featuring artisan cheeses. Advance registration is required and an additional $15 fee applies.

LaClare Tour and Dinner Schedule

Friday, October 27

Before 5:00 p.m. - Explore the visitor center on your own

5:00 p.m. - Welcome and Cheese Tasting

5:30 p.m. - Dinner

6:30 p.m. - Tour and Discussion

Hotel Information

A block of rooms is being held for Friday night at the Radisson Hotel, 625 Rolling Meadows Drive, Fond du Lac. Call 920.923.1440 and ask for the 'WI Farm Bureau Foundation' room block. Rooms must be reserved by Oct. 1 to receive the discounted $129+tax rate.

Registration

$20 for one day only or $30 for both trainings. Additional $15 for the LaClare Tour and Dinner. Register online at bit.ly/FallWorkshops2023. Registration deadline is Oct. 16.

Foundation

Gather Your Donations Now For the Silent Auction

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Foundation Silent Auction will be back to help to raise funds for agricultural education and leadership programs. The funds raised are used to support the Ag in the Classroom, Young Farmer and Agriculturist, Promotion and Education, Collegiate Farm Bureau and WFBF Leadership Institute programs. What is popular to donate? Gift baskets, theme baskets, sports related, gift certificates, Wisconsin products, kid’s items or baskets, homemade items, sampling of items from your county, hotel or event certificates, experiences and the list can go on.

If you are attending the WFBF Annual Meeting, you can simply bring your item along to the meeting. We request that you complete the online donation form at bit.ly/fbsilentauction23 by Nov. 20.

to the Following WFB Foundation

• Cassie Hartje in honor of John Hromyak

• Dodge County Farm Bureau in memory of Claude Rex

• Dan and Julie Merk in memory of Michael Adler

• Joseph Kaczmarek in memory of Jean Kaczmarek