As the 2023-2024 School Year officially begins, the Arizona Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom (AZFB AITC) program is excited to be back in the classrooms educating youth about agriculture, food, and the folks that produce it. This year will mark the 15th year that AZFB AITC has been providing standards-based curriculum and programs to Arizona Schools. 

“I can’t believe it has been 15 years! I guess time really does fly when you are having fun,” says Education Director Katie Aikins. 

"Our education program has been one of the more effective efforts for educating our youth about Arizona agriculture, aligned with state education standards and ensuring that students retain knowledge in reading, math and the other subject areas," says Strategic Communications Director Julie Murphree. "What's been as fun to see is the extended effort to reach all age groups all the way up to college-level."

Over the past 15 years, the program has engaged over 1.3 million students and adults through classroom presentations and community events, had over 135,000+ video views on our educational videos, lent out Commodity Curriculum Kits to over 2,000 classrooms, and added 2 full-time Ag in the Classroom Managers. We can’t wait to see what the next 15 years bring!

Check out how our program has grown through the years!

2008-2009 School Year        24,260      students, teachers, and adults
2009-2010 School Year        47,471      students, teachers, and adults
2010-2011 School Year        45,036      students, teachers, and adults
2011-2012 School Year        117, 805   students, teachers, and adults [AZ Five Cs AgMag produced]
2012-2013 School Year        64, 838    students, teachers, and adults
2013-2014 School Year        60,943     students, teachers, and adults
2014-2015 School Year        69,330     students, teachers, and adults
2015-2016 School Year        77,758     students, teachers, and adults            
2016-2017 School Year        94, 352    students, teachers, and adults                               
2017-2018 School Year        100,418   students, teachers, and adults
2018-2019 School Year        110,523    students, teachers, and adults [Hired a 2nd staffer for the Education Program]
2019-2020 School Year        120,769   students, teachers, and adults
2020-2021 School Year        141,662   students, teachers, and adults
2021-2022 School Year        128,130   students, teachers, and adults 
2022-2023 School Year        150,403  students, teachers, and adults

If you are a teacher and would like to bring agriculture into your classroom or know a teacher who would, visit www.azfbaitc.org or reach out to aitc@azfb.org.