The people who will solve the problems of the future are sitting in our classrooms right now. Every day, your work prepares them for what comes next.
Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell
That belief is at the heart of All In for Ag Education Week. Its hallmarks are clear: broadening access to agriculture education, supporting educators, and connecting agriculture to real-life skills. Unlike other thematic weeks we celebrate with students, Ag Education Week is not simply about raising awareness. This week is a teaching tool, a curriculum connector, and a way to bring real-world relevance into everyday instruction — not just another themed week. That is why we are committed to hosting two All In for Ag Education Weeks in 2026: March 16–20 and Sept. 21–25.
That commitment comes with meaningful support for you, strong partnership from the agriculture industry, and a shared understanding that agriculture impacts every single person in this state — no matter their age or where they live.
As we have built All In for Ag Education Week, we have been intentional about respecting how much is already on educators’ plates. In collaboration with Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman and Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher, we have worked to ensure this initiative is not “one more thing,” but rather a resource that enhances what you are already doing. This spring, that support includes a 78 percent increase in lesson plans and resources per elementary grade level, a live virtual field trip for all grade levels to Compton Dairy through our partnership with The Dairy Alliance, a new cross-curricular project-based learning experience for middle and high school classrooms, and expanded tour options for middle and high school with the Colleges of Agriculture Tours — giving students opportunities to explore higher education and career pathways at Kentucky universities focused on agriculture.
We are committed to ensuring this work is valuable for the next generation, and valuable to you as an educator. You can be confident that what you are giving your students matters for their future and increases their proficiency of the standards.
The agriculture industry is ready to support your work in the classroom. I encourage you to visit the Ag Education Week website and explore the School Handbook, where you will find contact information for 300 farm and agribusiness tour hosts, 254 guest speakers and teachers from the agriculture industry willing to share their experiences, and more than 128 agriculture storybook readers — one in every county — ready to read accurate, engaging agriculture stories to your students. This initiative is deeply rooted in local agriculture communities across Kentucky, and those communities are eager to support you and your students. The School Handbook connects you to these individuals and provides you with lesson plans and resources.
Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher often emphasizes that collaboration, innovation, and vibrancy are essential to education. Those same qualities define this initiative. Kentucky agriculture is filled with innovative, passionate individuals who are ready to bring those qualities into your classroom or allow your students to experience it for themselves by stepping into their boots through a tour.
Every one of us is impacted by agriculture every single day. That does not change based on where we go to school, what we look like, or what our profession is. While All In for Ag Education Week helps students explore careers in agriculture, its relevance extends far beyond career awareness. Agriculture touches the food we eat, the desks in our classrooms, the fuel in our cars and buses, the clothes we wear, the flowers we buy, and even the sports we play. As Kentucky students grow into adults, they will make daily decisions that intersect with the agriculture industry. To do that well, they must become informed, educated consumers — and you play a vital role in that process.
Results from 2025 on this initiative are encouraging. Preliminary data shows a 23 percent increase in student proficiency of academic standards through Ag Education Week activities, educators rank all lessons and resources 4.12 or higher out of 5 stars, and county participation across Kentucky increased from 63 percent to 84 percent. This impact comes to life in classrooms across the state as Lt. Governor Coleman, Commissioner Fletcher, and I tour the state and visit your classrooms during Ag Education Week. At Madisonville–North Hopkins High School (Hopkins County), Brian Welch’s agriculture construction class — integrated with math — had students transforming a shipping container into a medical facility for Liberia. At Red Cross Elementary in Barren County, STEAM teacher Scott Johnson guided students as they designed products made from corn-based plastics. At Simpsonville Elementary, we witnessed true community collaboration through Bobcat Farms and partnerships with Simpsonville Parks and Recreation and the local farmers’ market.
Why have All In for Ag Education Week twice a year? Because this is what Ag Education Week is about: real-world learning, innovation, and collaboration. Keep the standards. Add the lens of agriculture. Watch vibrancy ignite in your classroom, your school, and your community.
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