Agriculture is an important part of our everyday lives.

One of the reasons I started this blog was for agricultural education.  So far, I have mostly just been sharing my personal stories.  Today I would like to launch the first of a new label, AG ED 101.   Years ago I attended an Ag in the Classroom workshop.  After attending the workshop I started going to the local schools and talking about agriculture and how it affects our everyday lives.  This is one of the stories from the "ag book"  that I shared with the kids.......

We depend on agriculture for much more than just our food and clothing.  Let's take a look at an average day and see some of the agricultural products and byproducts that you might use.

You wake up on sheets of cotton that have been woven with cornstarch for sizing.  You step out of bed onto a carpeted floor.  The rug pad underneath the carpet is made from hair from the hide of cattle.  As you reach for your robe, you might notice how warm it is in the house.  The insulation used in the walls is produced with a byproduct from cattle and hogs.  The plaster on the walls is made with a binder produced of hide of hogs and cattle.  The wallboard also contains cornstarch and soy flour from the soybean.  The soap you use to wash your face is make from byproducts of corn, soybeans and cattle.  At the breakfast table, you notice that everything came from agriculture in some form or another.  The food might have been made sweet by a corn sugar called fructose.  As you eat, you remember your homework assignment that you finished last night; the paper you wrote it on contains a corn and soybean byproduct that helped hold the ink.  The tires on the school bus are made with a byproduct of beef, stearic acid, that is very important to make the tires run cooler, therefore, they last longer.  The bus might by fueled by gasohol which is a grain alcohol made from corn and gasoline.  You arrive at school ready for a great day made possible by agricultural byproducts. 

Did you learn anything new from this story?  I would love to have you leave a comment and let me know.  Until next time, I'm still livin' the life, the farm life that is.............