Seeing students engaged in what they are learning is one of the highlights for any educator, because when students are engaged in the classroom, they are learning more and figuring out how to apply that knowledge to their own world.

Robbie Fletcher

Kentucky Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher

Agriculture is one of the most direct experiences we can engage our students in because it is all around us, from the food we eat to the clothes we wear, and many of our children in Kentucky are already surrounded by agriculture because that is what they grew up with.

When we started All In for Ag Education Week in 2025 – we being the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the Kentucky Department of Education and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman’s office – we set out to expand agriculture education in the Commonwealth to ensure students have more vibrant learning opportunities that are important, relevant and joyful to our students. We have coordinated our efforts to provide a variety of resources for educators, students and families to incorporate agriculture into their education and established an entire week’s worth of activities celebrating agriculture and its role in the economy.

This year, we are holding All In for Ag Education Week twice: March 16-20 and Sept. 21-25. The event last month was a tremendous success in showcasing just how influential agriculture is on our lives and provided engaging learning opportunities for students. We visited several schools throughout the week to see how students were personally interacting with agriculture, including classes where students take care of small animals at Highland Middle School in Jefferson County and how students are learning to grow soybeans at North Washington Elementary School in Washington County.

When students explore agriculture, they explore vibrant learning experiences. Science labs turn into soil testing, math turns into planting grids, and reading turns into research on crops, animals and potential careers in agriculture.

We extended All In for Ag Education to twice a year because we saw how impactful the lessons have been and just how much fun students have exploring agriculture. With all of the school visits we made – myself, Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell and Lt. Gov. Coleman – we got the chance to see first-hand how excited students get about interacting with farm animals, learning how to plant vegetables and exploring the technology involved with agriculture.

Last month, we also included a live virtual field trip to Compton Dairy in Columbia to get some insight on what it’s like to be a dairy farmer, more tours for older students to explore colleges of agriculture across Kentucky, and more opportunities for project-based learning across all grade levels.

All of these aspects of All In for Ag Education Week center around connecting agriculture to real-life skills. We want to encourage students to explore potential careers in agriculture, but even if they aren’t aspiring farmers or interested in other careers in the industry, All In for Ag Education Week helps students develop valuable skills such as understanding nutrition, sustainability and how agriculture touches on many other aspects of our lives. We also hope these experiences can help students become educated consumers, having information about what goes into the food and products they are buying.

With the first All In for Ag Education Week of 2026 behind us, we are looking at more ways to incorporate agriculture into the classroom and get Kentucky’s students excited about the industry so the next All In for Ag Education Week in the fall is even more successful. Thank you to everyone who has made All In for Ag Education Week possible and we hope you’ll join us once again in September.