Students at Jordan Creek El­ementary in West Des Moines had the chance to ride in a combine and experience corn harvest firsthand last week with Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey.

Through an Agriculture in the Classroom program called FarmChat, students interacted with and asked questions of Northey, learning about Iowa crops.

FarmChat utilizes technology (Skype, FaceTime and other software platforms) to bring the farm into the classroom. Students can...