LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska schools need to debunk agriculture stereotypes in the classroom, several farm groups and students told state lawmakers Tuesday.
The Legislature's Agriculture Committee heard testimony that many Nebraska students think that all eggs are white and all farmers wear overalls and straw hats.
Those stories came from supporters of a bill that would create an Agriculture Literacy Task Force to study whether schools in the state are effectively teaching children about agriculture and how food gets to their plates.
Sen. Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids introduced the bill to study whether agriculture plays an adequate role in school curriculums across the state.
Although agriculture is Nebraska's largest industry, Sullivan said officials need to examine what students are learning because more children are growing up with no connection to farming and ranching.
Debbie Borg, representing the Nebraska Soybean Association, told lawmakers that she recently spoke to 600 students in Kearney and asked them "Do I look like the farmer you thought you would meet?"
No, they said.
Borg said the students told her they thought she "would be dirty and have hay in your mouth."
State Department of Education officials oppose the bill because they said they are already studying the issue.
Assistant Commissioner Brian Halstead, told lawmakers the department is not opposed to the concept of the task force, but work is already being done to address the issue. A report on changes to the social studies curriculum is due in October, he said.
"Ag literacy is important to this state, this country and the world," Halstead said. "But why create another task force? Come on over with us and see what we are doing. We'll see if we can work together."
Sullivan's plan is to create a nine-member panel made up of the heads of the Legislature's education and agricultural committees, the commissioner of education, the director of agriculture, two representatives of educational interests and one representative from a private agriculture literacy group.
They would examine educational standards and curriculums to evaluate whether they provide a meaningful understanding of agriculture and its contribution to the state. The panel would meet for about six months, with a report due in to the Legislature in November.
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Legislative Bill 884
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