These hands-on activities will help youth learn about careers in agriculture and cooperatives. Check the supply sheets and instructions to see what you will need to complete the activities at your school or home. Once you have gathered your supplies, you can do the STEM activities as you watch the videos, or view the video first, then do the hands-on STEM activity. 

Educators can request supplies at no-cost through the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation while supplies last! Email Ohio Farm Bureau-Hocking County (hocking@ofbf.org) to request complimentary supplies.

 

STEM: Fruit DNA Extraction with Dr. Dan Remley

To complete this activity along with Dr. Remley, you will need:

• Heavy duty quart Ziploc bag
• Banana
• Table salt
• Shampoo (look for sodium lauryl sulfate as a first ingredient)
• Water
• Cheesecloth or similar loose woven fabric
• Funnel
• 50mL vial / test tube or glass container
• 500 mL beaker or mason jar
• glass rod, popsicle stick, wooden skewer or toothpick
• chilled (refrigerated or briefly frozen) isopropyl alcohol

Fruit DNA Extraction printable supply list and instruction sheet by Northern Arizona University. Educators can request complimentary supplies to complete the activity with their students while supplies last. Email Ohio Farm Bureau-Hocking County (hocking@ofbf.org) to request complimentary supplies! Please be sure to indicate the number of students you are requesting supplies for and whether there are supplies in the above list you do not need.

 

STEM: Tomato Grafting with Brad Bergefurd and Thom Harker, OSU Extension

*View Tomato Grafting Video Transcript

Brad Bergefurd is an Assistant Professor, Extension Educator, and Horticulture Specialist with the Ohio State University Extension, with statewide responsibilities for research and extension outreach to the commercial specialty crops, horticulture and agriculture industries. Bergefurd is located at the OSU South Centers in Piketon, Ohio. Bergefurd holds degrees in Horticulture Science and Agricultural & Extension Education from Ohio State.

Thom Harker is a Horticulture Research Associate at the Ohio State University South Centers. He holds an Associate Degree in Greenhouse Production and Management from the OSU Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, Ohio. Thom has conducted research in the following areas: vegetables, small fruits, herbs, hops, grapes, pawpaws, pumpkins, greenhouse, hydroponic and aquaponic vegetable production.

To complete this activity along with Brad and Thom, you will need:

If growing your own tomatoes, you will need:

• Scion seed (the scion is a young shoot, branch, or bud taken from one plant variety to be grafted onto the rootstock of another plant variety)
• Stock seed
• Plant growing trays
• Soilless growing media
• Greenhouse grow facility

Grafting supplies:

• New razor blades or scalpel,
• Clips, glue, ties, or strips to secure the graft,
• Sanitation supplies (e.g. alcohol, detergent, bleach or a commercial disinfectant for hands, surfaces and plants, oil burner, gloves, bench paper), and
• Clean, climate-controlled spaces to a) assemble grafts and b) heal and acclimate grafted plants. A low or high tunnel may be ideal for healing and acclimation.

For printable instructions, use “How to Graft Tomatoes” written by Judson Reid with Cornell Cooperative Extension. Educators can request complimentary supplies to complete the activity with their students while supplies last. Email Ohio Farm Bureau-Hocking County (hocking@ofbf.org) to request complimentary supplies! Please be sure to indicate the number of students you are requesting supplies for and whether there are supplies in the above list you do not need.

 

CAREERS: Ag Careers “Heads-Up”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this fun activity, print these Career Cards and Pocket Instructions. Print the Pocket Instructions on a sheet of 8 ½” X 11” cardstock, then fold in half and staple two edges to form a pocket to hold the career cards. Printing on cardstock is best, so that cards can be re-used. The activity can be done in small groups, or with an entire class together. 

Objective: Deepen student awareness of careers in agriculture and cooperative businesses, encouraging them to explore careers they may be unfamiliar with. 

Preparation: Shuffle Career Cards and place them face down in the middle of the group or at the front of the classroom. Allow players to have access to the internet to research a career if they are not familiar with it. 

How to Play: 

1. Place all career cards facedown. 
2. Decide who goes first by who has a birthday closest to today’s date. 
3. The heads-up player draws a card and without reading it, holds the card to their forehead with the words facing toward the rest of the group.
4. The remaining players take turns giving the heads-up player clues to the career, with the heads-up player trying to guess the career until they get it correct. If necessary, players can look up the career online to help them understand the career so they can give helpful clues. 
5. If all other players have given a clue and the heads-up player still has not guessed the career, the heads-up player may then look at the card.  
6. Discuss opportunities in that career field and have players indicate their interest in that career. 
7. Play passes to the left after the career has been briefly discussed.  
8. Continue until all players have had an opportunity to be the heads-up player, or until you run out of career cards. 
9. Challenge players to think of new careers to put on the blank cards.  

 

LEADERSHIP: Personal Elevator Speech

An Elevator Speech is a brief introductory message about yourself and what you do that you use when you meet new people or are asked to briefly introduce yourself and tell what you want to accomplish. You should be able to deliver your message in 60 seconds or less – preferably less than 30 – but no more than 60 seconds.

Prep: Think of a time when you might want to use an elevator speech, such as: meeting new people at a conference or convention, hosting a tour for prospective students considering agricultural education/FFA, hosting an educational exhibit at your county fair, meeting university faculty when you are on a college tour, etc.

Write (and edit):

Start with an outline for your Elevator Speech, and then develop that outline into a brief, well-crafted speech.

Begin by introducing yourself.  Be confident.  Say, “Hello, I am….” Instead of “My name is….”

What you say after that, depends on the situation. Here are some examples of what your Elevator Speech might include:

• Where you are from (town and/or county)
• Education (school/grade/special programs)
• Employment (position or responsibilities/part-time or full-time/location)
• Anything else in your background that your want the person to know
• What action you want (This can range widely. Maybe you want the person you are talking with to come back to you with any questions about whatever it is that you are hosting. Maybe you want them to let you know about opportunities with their school or business. Maybe you would love for them to introduce you to a colleague. Maybe you want the person to invite you to a meeting to further discuss a topic that is important to you.)

Other tips:

• Avoid jargon that others might not be familiar with.
• Remember, keep it short! After you have drafted your elevator speech, look at it critically to edit and improve.
• Don’t forget about the person on the receiving end of your elevator speech. The best way to transition from a successful elevator speech to a successful conversation is giving the other person their own chance to share their elevator speech with you.

Action: After you have written your elevator speech:

• Read your elevator speech in your head, read it out loud, then recite it in a mirror to make sure it flows and sounds conversational. Then, practice with a classmate, friend, or family member to get their perspective. Make edits if necessary.
• After you have made edits, memorize your speech. Practice so your delivery will be conversational and relaxed. The challenge is to learn it by heart, but not sound robotic when you deliver your elevator speech.
• Once you have your elevator speech formula down, you can easily substitute new information to change your elevator pitch to fit any audience. Once you’re comfortable editing, rearranging, and substituting, you can create a few different versions ahead of time, or substitute in the most relevant information possible on the fly.

Using one of the situations mentioned above under “PREP” or another situation you or your instructor think of, practice by delivering your polished elevator speech to a classmate or to your entire class.