Books

Mark Seib, a grain farmer in southern Indiana, has finished soybean harvest and is closing in on corn.

The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture is on a mission to spark students’ curiosity about where their food comes from, but we cannot do it alone.

Registration for the 2025 American Farm Bureau Convention is officially open. Whether you are a seasoned attendee or thinking of joining us for the first time, this is an event you do not want to miss.

As a father and now a grandfather, one of the most bittersweet moments is watching your kids and grandkids climb onto the bus for the first day of school each year.

Summer break is just around the corner, but learning is always in season. The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture is abuzz with resources, activities and literacy items for learners of all ages.

Early in my first year at the Big U, a new friend from Chicago’s South Side asked me what he thought was an innocent question.

The first economist, Scotland’s Adam Smith, had it right almost 250 years ago, as writer Eric Schlosser notes in the foreword of an important new book by Iowan Austin Frerick.

As most of the country leaps forward into daylight saving time and you stumble about in a semi-jetlagged state and reach for that extra cup of coffee, you might be tempted to grumble under your breath and blame farmers.

“Magnificent Trees of Indiana” is a perfect book for nature enthusiasts, with more than 200 photographs of Indiana’s tree and old-growth forest remnants.

Have you opened a holiday book yet this season to read to the kids? Or, if your grandkids are like mine, maybe you find yourself reading an old favorite again and again as they recite the words along with you.

Now here’s a “novel” way to increase our brain function. It doesn’t involve getting more exercise or eating certain foods. It doesn’t include doing puzzles. We only need to grab a book and start flipping pages.

Gift-giving can be stressful. Slippers? Wrong size. Candles? Wrong smell. Candy? Well, no, candy is always good, but I’m sure you’ve been in this situation before.

Hoosier writers Beth Gormong and Susan Hayhurst are proud to present “Growing the Fruit of the Spirit: 100 Devotions for Farm Families.”

How do we go on vacation when we can’t afford to travel anywhere? The answer may be a staycation: Spend time doing something different without leaving your home area.

Special workshops featuring the John Deere D tractor will be held during the Historic Farm Days. “I am going to do a workshop or two and a walk-around with the D display,” said David Wolfe.

Indiana Farm Bureau members volunteer each year to teach nearly 60,000 students in pre-K through 12th grade about agriculture.

The 2023 Indiana Farm Bureau Book of the Year is “I LOVE Strawberries!” — a book about a girl’s love for the fruit and her journey to learn more about growing it.

While Steve Hallett’s journey to Purdue University took “a rather meandering path,” as he describes it, the idea to start a student farm at Purdue occurred more suddenly.

Food security is one aspect of national security. “A nation that cannot feed itself is not free,” said Amanda Radke, a fifth-generation rancher and author of children’s books who spoke during the Women in Agriculture conference presented by Illinois Farm Bureau.

Families, educators and anyone wanting to follow in the footsteps of farmers and ranchers can now pull on their boots for another exciting agricultural adventure with the latest publication from Feeding Minds Press.

Andrea LeFevre wants the world to know that farm women are more than a footnote. “Whatever needs to be done, we do it. That’s just farm women. We get it done,” she said.

The Lee County Farm Bureau Foundation announced that it is accepting Books by the Bushel grants. Books by the Bushel is a program designed to help increase agricultural awareness among children.

There’s no question that folks today have a real hunger to understand where their food comes from, and the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture is filling plates with books, resources and experiences for learners of all ages.

“It was a dark and stormy night” could have been an apt beginning to an exciting tale told by Nancy Liddy to her two grandsons in Madison, Wisconsin, via Skype recently.