NMSU Teaches Teachers about Agriculture

Date:  June 19, 1997
Editor: D'Lyn Ford  (505) 646-6528, dlford@nmsu.edu

LAS CRUCES -- Each year one American farmer provides enough food and fiber for 129 people -- 97 in the United States and 32 abroad. That's just one of the global effects of American agriculture local teachers learned about recently during a three-day Ag in the Classroom workshop.

International Agriculture for Teachers was the theme for this year's workshop, co-hosted by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service, and NMSU's agricultural and Extension education department (AXED).

"This year's workshop focused on agricultural economics and the international implications of agriculture," said Tom Dormody, head of AXED.

Fifty-seven workshop participants, mostly elementary teachers, learned about international agriculture policies, border environmental issues and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"We even took a trip across the border to tour a maquiladora business that manufactures auto parts," Dormody said. "They were very accommodating and allowed us to wander around the plant and talk with workers."

Teachers receive one credit of continuing education for attending the workshop. Many participants received tuition scholarships for the workshop from local farm bureaus.

"We normally have between 45 and 60 participants in the program," Dormody said. "Word of mouth advertising by people who have been through the program in the past is our best selling point."

The theme for next summer's workshop will be wildlife science. "A lot of schools border open land where teachers could plan wildlife labs," Dormody said.