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By Lana Robinson
Field Editor
The story of agriculture is reaching more and more Texans, thanks to Texas Farm Bureau's Ag in the Classroom (AITC) program's "mobile learning barns."
The 16-foot trailers—eight in all—boast eye-catching graphics and crowd-drawing exhibits showcasing Lone Star crops. The popularity of the organization's sprawling fair exhibit, "Planet Agriculture," sparked the first one. According to Tad Duncan, associate TFB Research, Education and Policy Development director and AITC coordinator, the original pilot model was in so much demand that the TFB Board authorized seven more.
"The mobile learning barns are a tool to be used by county Farm Bureaus to display agriculture information at schools, county livestock shows, the mall or whatever venue they see fit," says Duncan. "We rolled out the first three trailers in 2004. The last of the trailers was delivered in August of this year. To date, I'm going to say 200,000 people have viewed these trailers, and the biggest part of that number was before we had all of them in circulation."
The trailers are equipped with sides that open up to exhibit graphic displays, showing the wide variety of crops and livestock grown in Texas. Each trailer has five exhibit areas with two pull-out units. A rainfall simulator to explain soil and water conservation is standard equipment. Inside graphics are regionalized. For example, fruit and vegetables, along with grain, cotton, and cattle, are associated with South Texas. Timber graphics are included in the exhibits for East Texas and poultry graphics are in the works, whereas a southeast Texas trailer's focus is rice.
"We also tried to regionalize the trailer wrap. The East Texas trailer has a forestry scene, poultry, and nursery /greenhouse on it," he notes. "But as far as commodities go, they can be changed or interchanged to feature anything they want in any one of the exhibit areas—commodities or graphics related to the Texas Farm Bureau organization."
Duncan says each trailer is shared by three TFB field representatives. Currently, the trailers are stationed at Amarillo, Abilene, Denton, Waco, Nacogdoches, Waller, Beeville, and New Braunfels for easy dispatch to any region of the state. Field staff keeps up with the trailer schedules and transports them for use within their area, or a neighboring area when there is a need for it.
"The county Farm Bureaus love the trailers. They help so much, particularly for their ag days or ag fairs because you can kind of have a one-stop shop where the county FB volunteers can come and talk about corn and cotton and the kids don't have to move, other than to the other side of the trailer. These offer so much flexibility. The graphics and messages can be aimed at children or adults. Teachers think they're neat. It's a quick set up and take down, not a real involved process," Duncan explains.
Duncan has personally taken the display model to entertain attendees of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agriculture fair in Dallas and has seen positive feedback from schools and fairs.
"It's been a neat project, designing these trailers, and seeing them serve the purpose for which they were intended. I've enjoyed it," he says.
