It’s all about education in the classroom, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) explained to AgriTalk host Chip Flory. Last week, Feenstra, alongside U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-CO), introduced the Future Funding for Agricultural Research, Mentorship, and Education Reauthorization (Future FARMER) Act.
The Future FARMER Act starts in the high schools and extends into community colleges, providing dollars and support for future farmers and ag education.
“Education – especially agriculture education – is vital to the long-term success of our economy, rural communities, and our country. On my Feenstra Agriculture Tour, I have met with agriculture students at Morningside University in Sioux City, toured the student-operated farm at Iowa Lakes Community College in Emmetsburg, and spoke to FFA students at Akron-Westfield High School. The bottom line is – we must invest in educating the next generation and supporting our teachers so that we can maintain Iowa’s status as the breadbasket to our country and the world,” Feenstra said in a release.
This legislation reauthorizes the Food and Agricultural Sciences Education account in the Farm Bill, which includes secondary education, two-year postsecondary education, and several other important educational programs. It also funds the Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) program, which currently supports agriculture education initiatives for five million students and 60,000 teachers nationwide, including approximately 160,000 students and 3,000 teachers across Iowa.
It also creates opportunities for crop insurance for beginning farmers and provides them with a discount.
“The Futures Farmers Act also creates livestock protections for insurance also for the beginning farmer. It also extends that crop insurance from five to 10 years for the beginning farmer. It’s a really big deal and it’s all to help that beginning farmer,” he told Flory.
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