The Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council (MSR&PC) has partnered with U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) to start a program to help urban teachers learn more about agriculture so they can teach it to their students. To kick it off, educators in Minneapolis and Sacramento are invited to take a farm tour at the end of August to engage with farmers and others who work in the agriculture industry.

“We hope to teach the teachers,” said MSR&PC CEO Tom Slunecka. “We want to make sure that teachers in large cities hear the story of agriculture and have the tools to help them teach.”

The teachers who take part in the program will learn about innovation in today’s agricultural industry, sustainability, crop biotechnology, animal health and welfare. They will also learn more about USFRA’s Discovering Farmland curriculum and receive an iPod Touch and virtual reality headsets to help incorporate agricultural videos into their curriculum and classrooms.

The Minneapolis event will be held August 29 and the Sacramento event will be on August 31. There is no cost for participation and the curriculum tools are free.

Click here to hear the full interview with Slunecka on why MSR&PC decided to partner with USFRA on this program.