It's the beginning of yet another school year. Students and parents are gearing up with school supplies and new schedules and educators are preparing and updating their curriculum for the coming year. This is the perfect time to bring dairy to the forefront of teachers' minds. After all, dairy is the largest segment of agriculture, our state's number one industry.

Groups of dairy supporters around the state are making sure that dairy has a spot in the classroom by providing teachers with essential information. Resource packets full of agricultural and dairy support materials are a popular item among educators. Consider sharing the ideas and resources below with schools within your own county. For minimal dollars, teachers can have a world of dairy resources at their fingertips.

The Fond du Lac Agri-Business Council serves as the agricultural liaision to more than 50 schools. Each year, the county's two paid ambassadors gather materials from more than a dozen agricultural sectors and prepare 500 resource packets for educators. The ambassadors hand deliver the resource packets during their school visits. The Council has provided area schools with resource kits and agricultural programming opportunities for 13 years and currently offers 30 different programs. Teachers are provided with a resource kit and supplemental program materials when an ambassador visits their classroom. The extreme popularity of the program (the ambassadors reach 12,000 school children each year) has prompted the council to limit visits to two per classroom, per year. "We have received rave reviews on this program and our resource kits. We frequently hear that many of these kids wouldn't have exposure to such a wide variety of agricultural information without a program such as ours," Laura Krause, director of agricultural programs, says.

Fond du Lac County also reminds teachers of the library of ag-related videos that they have available. "Teachers can request a variety of videos from us, allowing them to show what works for them without the upfront costs," Krause says.

Another resource that groups often turn to when passing agricultural information along to teacher is the "Ag in the Classroom" program from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. Nearly every county in the state has an "Agriculture in the Classroom" coordinator. Each volunteer visits classrooms increasing ag literacy among students and teachers alike. The "Ag in the Classroom" program has numerous resources available for inclusion in teacher resource packets or as part of school presentations. A very thorough resource packet of Wisconsin agricultural programs and resources is available at www.wisagclassroom.com. To find your local "Ag in the Classroom" coordinator, visit the website or call Darlene Arneson at 608-828-5719.

In many other counties around the state, County Dairy Leader Groups provide teachers with resource packets at the start of the school year. This allows them to incorporate dairy activities, request more information and schedule field trips throughout the year. Some teachers have begun to look for the packet to arrive each year.

"Our County Dairy Leader Groups have found success with different age groups and at different times of year. They do what works best for them but are all after the same goal, to implement dairy education in schools," Becky Kronberg, manager of local markets at WMMB, says.

As you develop your resource packet, look to the resources below:

• WMMB Grassroots Resources Kit: Each June, WMMB provides kits to each County Dairy Leader Group around Wisconsin. The kits contain activities, general dairy information, and fun facts. For activity ideas, contact Becky Kronberg, manager, local markets communications, at 800-373-9662 or bkronberg@wmmb.org.
• WMMB 2005 Dairy Promotion Materials Catalog: The Dairy Promotion Materials Catalog offers affordable dairy giveaways, great for the classroom. To request your copy, visit www.wisdairy.com/catalog.
• Wisconsin Dairy Council: The Wisconsin Dairy Council, the nutrition arm of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, works closely with educators and foodservice directors around Wisconsin. To find out more, visit http://schoolfs.wisdairy.com.
• Ag in the Classroom resources: Visit www.wisagclassroom.com to find lesson plans, children's books, Wisconsin agricultural statistics and more. For additional information, contact Darlene Arneson at 608-828-5719.

For Wisconsin Dairy Impact information, email or call Moriah Morris at 800-373-9662.

UW-Extension offers full-color brochures of county-specific agricultural and dairy statistics.