Consumers today want to know more about how their food is grown and raised, but many have never visited a working farm and aren’t familiar with modern farming practices.

The Iowa Farm Bureau is a founding partner in the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation (IALF). Launched in 2014 by the state’s farm, education and business community, the IALF aims to help increase the knowledge and awareness of agriculture and its global significance.

The IALF offers training workshops, educational materials and financial support for teachers and Ag in the Classroom volunteers to introduce ag-based curriculum into Iowa schools.

The Ag in the Classroom program has received the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council Seal of Approval for connecting ag literacy programs to science, technology, engineering and math curriculum.

The IALF, in partnership with the Iowa Farm Bureau, offers teacher supplement grants up to $200 to support the integration of agriculture into regular classroom instruction or after-school programs with an academic focus. The grants are available to pre-school to 12th grade teachers and school librarians in Iowa.

In addition, county Farm Bureau leaders support agriculture education in local schools through the Ag in the Classroom program.

For more information, visit www.iowaagliteracy.org.