How are you celebrating American agriculture in your life? In advance of National Ag Week, March 19-25, and National Ag Day, March 21, Central Valley third-grade students were “learning with lettuce” how to bring more agriculture into their lives last week. The UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center offers the free lettuce plantings every year at Farm and Nutrition Day in Fresno County and Kings County, typically around the time of National Ag Week.

National Ag Week and National Ag Day celebrate American food, fiber and fuel producers and their important contributions to our lives.

Volunteers enjoyed working with each student to get their seedling off to a great beginning.

Students with the help of volunteers learned how to plant tiny lettuce seedlings into a pot of healthy soil to take home for transplanting later. In addition to helping the students connect their food to agriculture, the lettuce planting offered an engaging, hands-on experience growing healthy and nutritious food at home.

Third grade students from Fremont Elementary School joined classmates on their way to Kearney's lettuce planting at last year's Farm and Nutrition Day.

Julie Sievert and Laura Van Der Staay prepared a lesson that teaches students about the parts of a plant and what a plant needs to grow our food, fiber and fuel crops.

National Ag Week is a nationwide effort coordinated by the Agriculture Council of America to tell the vital story of American agriculture and remind citizens that agriculture is a part of all of us. National Ag Day encourages every American to:

• Understand how food and fiber products are produced.
• Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.
• Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.
• Acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.

Kearney director Jeff Dahlberg was interviewed about Kearney's education and outreach programs.

Each American farmer feeds about 144 people. As the world population soars, there is even greater demand for the food, fiber and renewable resources produced in the United States. Agriculture is this nation's #1 export and incredibly important in sustaining a healthy economy. That's why National Ag Week is a great time to reflect on and be grateful for American agriculture.

With lettuce seedlings in hand, happy junior gardeners were ready to continue the learning experience at home.

Central Valley students eagerly lined up to get started on their lettuce planting fun.