Agricultural Literacy Week to teach farming importance
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Farming is very important to Indiana, and lawmakers want everyone to know that. Each year Indiana generates an annual economic impact of more than $31 billion from agriculture.
Lawmakers have created a resolution to make Feb. 20-24 Agriculture Literacy Week.
They hope to use the week to educate people on Indiana’s agriculture scene, create conversations about farming and maybe even inspire people to start their own gardens.
Urban agriculture is a type of farming tied into the literacy week.
“It’s something that people do to improve the quality of their neighborhoods. They do it as a business, as market farms, they sell at farmers markets to local businesses, and it’s also space where people really try to provide benefit to their communities,” said Emily Toner, urban agriculture educator with the Purdue Extension of Marion County.
Urban agriculture can be accomplished by using raised gardens, vertical gardens, or trellis structures.
“We have a lot of areas with low food access and not a lot of fresh food, so a lot of people do urban agriculture projects as a way to bring fresh, healthy food into their neighborhood to share with their community,” Toner added.
Indiana Farm Bureau has a program during the week to help teachers educate their students in the classroom. Materials can be found here.