Rita Taulbee, a 2nd-grade teacher at Lebanon Junction Elementary School (Bullitt County), has been named the Kentucky Agriculture/Literacy Teacher of the Year by Kentucky Farm Bureau.

Taulbee, who is in her 13th year at Lebanon Junction Elementary and her 15th year overall in teaching, includes discussions about the importance of farming and farmers in her curriculum. She and her students oversee two small raised beds at the school, and she said classroom discussion involves straight line planting versus square foot gardening.

Taulbee received a $500 prize along with the award, which recognizes teachers who incorporate agricultural concepts into their classroom. She will represent Kentucky at the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in June in Litchfield Park, Ariz.