I am so thankful for my time with AITC!

My family and I have a few big transitions happening this year...we are moving to the family farm, and I will be transitioning to Clear Creek Amana as a middle school ag teacher. Change can be scary but also very exciting!

I am beyond thankful for my time with Ag in the Classroom and all of the experiences it has granted me. It is hard to believe that this will be my last blog post with Linn County Farm Bureau. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past 6 years!

The Linn County Education Outreach Program was established in 2017 to connect students to agriculture. As we wrap up another year, I can honestly say we are blooming in agriculture, and I am honored to be part of such a thriving program. We are bridging gaps between our local farmers and urban communities. More than ever, people are interested in knowing where their food comes from... we see towns allowing backyard chickens, we see community gardens growing during the heat of summer and we see families wanting to get back outside. This is a great time to be sharing our story of agriculture.

In the last 6 years I have had the opportunity to reach thousands of students through our monthly ag program, work with others to create programs/publications, and inspire teachers about the importance of agriculture through our teacher workshops!

I have also been able to conduct some PRETTY AWESOME FarmChats; including bison vs beef, ISU football sod, tilapia fish farming, Florida oranges, crickets for food, pork production, planting season, milk goats, turkey production, hatching, coffee, and more.

This position has also taken me to Ames, Des Moines, Arkansas, Kansas City and Orlando!

I have stepped out of my comfort zone to speak at both state and national conferences, to write about ag related topics on the blog and for the Spokesman local pages, work with a variety of age groups, and design lesson plans covering topics about wheat, beef, GMOs, economy, hydroponics, hatching, baseball, pollination, pumpkins, compost, soil, water, nitrogen, ag careers, cover crops, conservation, dairy, corn, soybeans, watersheds, geography and more!

I am not sure words can fully express how thankful I am that I was given the opportunity to build up our Linn County Education Outreach Program. I hold so much gratitude for the wide variety of knowledge, skills and experiences this role has granted me. I have put my all into this position, so many hours of dedication went into creating the program we have today, and I am so excited to watch the program continue to expand. I have left the program in the hands of a board that believes in its mission and for that I am so thankful.

I am looking forward to continuing my mission to #teachag. If you would like to stay in touch, my email address is morganleeball@gmail.com and my personal website is Flowers & Beef | HB Farms | Tiffin