Illinois Fertilizer
Conference Proceedings
January 26-28, 2004
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Lisa Muirhead Martin and Jean Trobec1
This is the third year of this FREC-funded project. FREC funded the purchase and distribution of workbook/coloring books entitled “Fun with the Plant Nutrient Team” beginning in 2001and continuing through 2003. The Potash & Phosphate Institute and the Foundation for Agronomic Research developed these books, which are targeted at third- and fourth-graders to teach them the importance of plant nutrients in the production of food and fiber.
This project is coordinated by the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA), a statewide association whose membership consists of owners, managers and employees of retail agrichemical facilities located in Illinois. IFCA also represents pesticide and fertilizer manufacturers and agricultural equipment manufacturers and distributors.
The majority of IFCA’s 1,000-plus members are responsible for serving the needs of Illinois’ agricultural producers. IFCA’s mission statement is to assist the crop production supply and service industry while promoting the sound stewardship and utilization of agricultural inputs.
The IFCA Board of Directors and IFCA Agronomy Committee feel strongly that the IFCA become more involved in the education of children on the importance of plant nutrients. A recent “on-the-street” survey performed by PCS in the Chicago area found that most people had a negative view when asked specifically about “fertilizer.” The public’s feedback indicated that they felt that fertilizers were the same as pesticides and generally not good for the environment. However, when asked the same questions about their feelings about “plant nutrients,” the response was much different. The public generally had positive feelings about nutrients and felt they were important to farmers and for people’s lawns and trees as well. A copy of these on-the-street interviews are available in the video “Fertile Minds,” which was included as part of this proposal.
FREC first funded this project in 2001. Since that time, IFCA has distributed over 13,250 “Fun with Plant Nutrient” workbook/coloring books and the accompanying teacher guides. These books are utilized by IFCA members in their local schools. They are distributed directly to schools and provided to County Ag Literacy Coordinators, and IFCA participates in the Illinois Science Teachers Conference, where these educational materials are picked up by science teachers around the state for use in their classrooms.
FREC helped get this important education program off the ground, and with continued support, we eventually hope to reach more schools in rural and urban areas. Although over 13,000 books have reached children, this remains only a fraction of the audience that needs to learn about N, P and K and the importance of the nutrients in our life cycle.
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Agrichemical Dealers (who use them to make presentations
in local schools)
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8,170
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Distribution directly to school teachers
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3,560
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County Ag Literacy Coordinators |
900 |
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Illinois Science Teachers Conference |
625
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1 Lisa Muirhead Martin is the administrator of the Illinois Certified Crop Advisor Program, and Jean Trobec is the senior vice president of the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association
