Discussions of the following questions in these breakout sessions are posted as comments here.
1. What are we currently teaching in our curricula?
2. What concepts of sustainability are integrated into your programs?
3. Given the current state of agriculture in Kansas, what issues might NOT be addressed in our current programs (farm transitions, economic challenges, climate change, etc.)?
Here are the notes from Group A on the following questions:
1. What are we currently teaching in our curricula?
2. What concepts of sustainability are integrated into your programs?
3.Given the current state of agriculture in Kansas, what issues might NOT be addressed in our current programs (farm transitions, economic challenges, climate change, etc.)?
What are we currently teaching in our curricula?
HS: CASE curriculum; ag from an inquiry/project base; communication skills; rural, but also urban satellite of St. Joe; most students probably won’t be farmers, generations removed; teach from consumer base; soil health; animal science; classes articulate with Highland Community College
Kansas Ag in the Classroom : K-State Colleges of Ed and Ag coordination to provide curricula to HS teachers through institutes; Where does food come from? Ag production, and food science; can we sell products from schools to supplement income? inquiry and project based; FFA and 4-H; student from K-State in Ag Education; AFNR (ag food natural resources)
interest in bridging gap from formal schools to community orgs and professionals
permaculture/community garden perspective: wonders what students are learning in classrooms; are they just getting commodity ag? different backgrounds; students who come to their programs are not from ag backgrounds
adult educator with community organization: clients do not reference formal education–they don’t come from the pipeline ag educators
What concepts of sustainability are integrated into your programs?
adult educator with people who already have ag education and experience: give them what they are asking for: “adaptive planning”; Alan Savory coming to KS for No-till on the Plains; integrating livestock back into farming systems; also strong on economic planning; and social aspects, from communal to family farming; some kids bypassing traditional education, but getting both kids and “re-careering” people
Given the currents state of agriculture, what issues might NOT be addressed in our current programs?
“It’s hard to go back to farming.” economic barriers; transition difficult; estate planning problems; the financial barriers, social obstacles; a lot for young people to absorb
Issue of mid-scale farmers: how is that being addressed in traditional education? Is there a place for mid-scale farming (have large scale, micro scale programs)
Community infrastructures, like groceries
Still issue of, say 3 sons, how to accommodate all three? Only room for one?
Capital issues: huge obstacle across the range
Banking industry: changes there affect availability of credit; no good mechanisms for facilitating transitions
Also reluctance to borrow among some beginners–can’t cash flow it out, lack of depth in experience risk
Osmosis, tacit knowledge that came from “growing up with it” has been lost.
Climate change introduces a new level of risk; experienced farmers may have rigidity issues, but beginners will need “wicked skill sets”
What about collective skills of working together? Issues of the “common” raise collective issues.
Market structures are another place for collective work; value chain collective cooperation
The reason there are so many organizations doing this kind of work is because higher ed system works against more holistic approaches
Here are the notes from Group B on the following questions:
1. What are we currently teaching in our curricula?
2. What concepts of sustainability are integrated into your programs?
3.Given the current state of agriculture in Kansas, what issues might NOT be addressed in our current programs (farm transitions, economic challenges, climate change, etc.)?
Group B Responses:
1. What are we currently teaching in our curricula?
-In our communities a potentially old model of soil testing and the master gardeners program
-In our k-12 programs we are teaching basic science concepts
-A systems thinking is being taught more in environmental sciences than in liberal arts programs
-Reductionism, separating livestock management and plant sciences
-Farm to school is being taught as a nutritional program
-teaching expertise not passion
2. What concepts of sustainability are integrated into your programs?
-Prairie ecosystems
-water (not systems but) management: strategies and irrigation technology
-cover crops
-soil health
-nutrition
-season extension
-K-state, rotational grazing management
3.Given the current state of agriculture in Kansas, what issues might NOT be addressed in our current programs (farm transitions, economic challenges, climate change, etc.)?
-Intergenerational learning
-Lack of education intersection of agriculture and related fields such as : horticulture, ecosystem studies, wildlife management, community food systems, economic development as it relates to agriculture, land use decisions
-The water cycle
-Economic viability and sustainability
-There is a research and data gap for non traditional crop producers or sustainable management techniques
-Farm to school as agricultural education
-A community understanding of soil biology
sustainability in the master gardeners program
-observational techniques