26 MME. CLAIRE CAMPBELL, an elementary French teacher and fifth-generation farmer, says the best part of her job is bringing agriculture to the classroom. “I love teaching my students about where their food comes from,” says Campbell, who raises turkeys, produces eggs, and grows 1,000 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat on her family farm, Ross Enterprises Ltd., near Moorefield, Ontario. So, when she heard about the launch of Grain Farmers of Ontario’s new Grains on the Go trailer, she jumped at the chance to have her students at John Mahood Public School in Elmira, Ontario, participate in a pilot education program designed to teach students about grains and grain farming in Ontario. GOOD IN EVERY CLASSROOM As part of Grain Farmers of Ontario’s consumer outreach program, Good in Every Grain, the Good in Every Classroom program connects educators and students with free curriculum-linked resources about food, agriculture, and nutrition. Lesson plans, worksheets, video libraries, and the popular Grains on the Go INTERACTIVE PROGRAM BRINGS THE FARM TO STUDENTS Mary Feldskov ELENA KNUDSEN GAVE THE 360° VIRTUAL REALITY COMBINE SIMULATOR A TRY. PHOTO COURTESY OF CLAIRE CAMPBELL. ‘What’s Growing On?’ seed kits are made available to thousands of students each year. Recognizing that students learn best when they can see, touch, and learn about agriculture in person, Grain Farmers of Ontario communications specialist, Brianne Curtis, wanted to find a way to bring the farm to students. “It’s not always possible for students to take field trips to farms,” says Curtis, citing the cost of bussing, urban schools’ proximity to farms, and biosecurity concerns as barriers. With plans already underway to replace the ‘Growing Connections’ consumer activation trailer that traveled to large events like the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (RAWF), with a smaller, more compact, and more modern exhibit, Curtis says that integrating the new trailer with Good in Every Classroom — and taking the farm to students — was a natural evolution. A HIT WITH STUDENTS The Grains on the Go trailer was launched at the 2022 March Classic, and immediately became a big hit at summer events like Canada Day celebrations at Parliament Hill, the Honda Indy, and the CNE. The fully-accessible trailer, which is smaller, lighter, and easier to tow than its predecessor, the ‘Growing Connections’ trailer, highlights the five grains — barley, corn, oats, soybeans, and wheat — and the Ontario farmers who grow them. It features kid-friendly activities like trivia and interactive videos, and a 360° virtual reality combine experience that gives students an opportunity to see what it is like to combine a field of soybeans. On the day the Grains on the Go trailer traveled to Elmira, Ontario, in February 2023, there were long line-ups of students eagerly Public Outreach
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