and Pumpkin Pie in a Bag
with Ms. Traci!
Fall is a great time for harvest lessons in the classroom. Here are some of our recent favorite lessons and 'ag'tivities:

The Lifecycle of a Pumpkin lesson with Pumpkin Pie in a Bag recipe is always a hit with students. Life cycle exploration and learning about all the science and math a grower needs to know to get to harvest is always eye-opening for students. Pairing a great book with good food creates tasty lessons. The 3rd and 4th graders at Dona Aña Elementary gave it a thumbs up!
Virtual Classroom Visits are always available and easy to set up on any platform, including Zoom.
Virtual STEM Challenge Fun!
Above, 1st-grade students create structures using toothpicks, fresh cranberries, and marshmallows.
NMAITC recently worked virtually with Mignon Lambley, with BNSF Railway, and Sarah Cerra's science classes at Chaparral Middle School, in Alamogordo (via our ZOOM Webinar platform) to learn more and ask questions about the transportation of agriculture commodities, via railway!
and the Pringle STEM Challenge
with Ms. Britney!
On a recent visit with three 5th-grade classes at Horizon Academy West, in Albuquerque, Britney helped students explore what life would be like if they had "A Day Without Agriculture." Students then discovered the importance of packaging and how STEM plays a vital role in why certain containers are chosen for specific products. Students worked in groups to construct their own Pringle chip container out of various materials and tested its durability by dropping them to see how well their design would hold up on the market.
Our teacher workshops are engaging and tailor-made for the individual needs of attendees. We were excited to get back to in-person hands-on workshops this fall.
NM MESA teachers went head to head with a STEM challenge designed for Increasing Food Production With Precision Agriculture.
Hatch Valley AG STEM Academy is working to incorporate agriculture in grades K-12. They kicked off their school year with this teacher training, that included:
  • Building teacher Ag-knowledge with Truth or Bull Kahoot
  • Highlighting "The Why" agriculture is critical to our students' futures to increase student engagement
  • Networking to see how their colleagues are implementing ag across the curriculum
State Fairs Offer Great Opportunities for
Education & Fun
NMAITC works with a committee of dedicated volunteers to organize 3 days of ag education at the Southern NM State Fair in Las Cruces.

The 3rd-grade AGventures program had 20 engaging presenters that enabled classes to rotate through 10 stations. Each class had an FFA tour guide. Topics included information on the Science of Making Butter and the Dairy Industry in NM, NM Beef, Tractor/Farm Technology "Then and Now", Growing Pecans, Food Safety & Nutrition, NM FFA, How Livestock Animals Save Lives, Insects in Agriculture, Weeds/Plant Science, Selecting Breeds, and Pollinators and Their Importance for Our Food Source.

The STEM Ag Career Fair day connects 40 presenters with 400 middle and high school students from across southern NM to open their eyes to the AGmazing world of careers in the ag and natural resource sciences.

NMAITC also had 2 presentations for the education days at the Eastern NM State Fair in Roswell. We provided the opportunity for students to make their own butter and learn about NM dairy, as well as offering a seed exploration station where students got to explore seeds from various plants and foods and even got to take home a "baby seed" of their own in the form of a Living Necklace!


Grows Blue Ribbons &
Ag Education

The final raised beds (outdoor science labs) of the NM Grow Project Grants were assembled. Many schools entered their harvest items into local fairs with impressive results!

KinderGARDENERS at Hillrise Elementary were awarded 3 blue ribbons for their vegetables which they attributed to the many opportunities they had to tell their vegetables how beautiful they were and offer lots of loving pats to encourage them to grow.
Aztec Youth Academy also entered a plethora of their harvest and won many awards for their efforts including 4 blue ribbons! Way to grow!
Stay tuned for the next application window for the NM Grow Project Grant! It will be announced in our e-news first so be sure you are signed up to receive our e-news now!
Students Learn How Ag is Used "Right This Very Minute" With This Year's Ag Literacy Project
FFA & Ag Groups are ready to go! See who has been trained so far in your community. More are scheduled for trainings, coming up (like 4-H and other ag groups). We can connect you to a great group of presenters.

  • Artesia FFA
  • Dexter FFA
  • Hagerman FFA
  • Centennial FFA (in Las Cruces)
  • Sigma Alpha Sorority (NMSU)
*Pictured above: NMSU Sigma Alpha Sorority received training in October. They are ready to present. Thank you for volunteering your time to share ag literacy with your community. Go Aggies!
Jornada Elementary 3rd graders recently received classroom presentations on the First Peas to the Table which was last year's ag literacy project. NMAITC continues to offer opportunities for presentations for previous year's ag literacy projects.
How to apply & what you get!

HOW: Request a visit by clicking the "Request a Visit" button below. Specify you're interested in having an Ag Literacy Project presentation and we can connect you with a local group who has been trained (or Traci/Britney can make a visit).

WHAT YOU GET: This is an hour-long presentation, packed with engaging activities & handouts to learn about agriculture, learn basic concepts about the water cycle, and even write Thank You letters to local farmers & ranchers! In the end, your class will be presented with the paperback version of the book so that you can continue connecting agriculture into your classroom - even after we leave.
NMAITC AGvocates for the
Future of Agriculture
NMAITC recently had the opportunity to work closely with the NM Farm & Livestock Bureau's CEO, Chad Smith, and the Director of Government Affairs, Tiffany Rivera, to train the 2021-2022 NM FFA State Officer team on the importance of advocacy at the legislative level. Ms. Rivera also helped facilitate an opportunity for us to share the NM Ag in the Classroom program and reiterate the importance of ag education with the Water & Natural Resource Committee at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.
Check us out on social media, where we share FREE educational resources and engaging videos that are helpful in teaching concepts in agriculture relating to crops and livestock.

Just in time for Thanksgiving - Here is a great video produced by the Iowa Ag Literacy Foundation, which showcases the importance of SCIENCE and raising/producing turkeys, as well as highlighting the variety of careers associated with growing turkeys.

Be sure to check out our page as we continue to share the latest and greatest advancements in ag that can be related back to New Mexico, like NASA growing an NM-grown chile variety in space!
Click on these new partner logos to learn more about the great organizations that want to support agricultural education.