BASF Celebrates 10 Years of National Teach Ag Day

More than 100 teachers, students and industry experts took over the BASF headquarters for a day of collaboration and celebration.

National Teach Ag Day celebrated 10 years of service on September 19 with more than 100 teachers, students and industry experts, at BASF’s headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

 

The BASF-sponsored event focused on careers in agriculture and celebrated ag teachers making a difference in their profession. To amplify the message to those not in attendance, the event was shared via webcast to more than 28,000 virtual attendees from across all 50 states.

 

Paul Rea, Senior Vice President of Agricultural Solutions for North America at BASF, spoke at the event and shared his thoughts.

“Teach Ag is an important partner for BASF in terms of advocating for agriculture, in general. If we are going to solve the big challenges of agriculture that we will face in the future, agriculture teachers will be key to building the best talent across backgrounds and with a range of skills”. – Paul Rea

Keonte’ Edmonds, an Agriculture Science teacher at Heritage High School in Wake Forest, North Carolina, participated as a presenter and panelist during the National Teach Ag Day programming. He shared the importance of teachers and their influence over the next generation of agricultural leaders.

“We are trying to feed a growing population and there is a true need for farmers and those in the agriculture field.

 

Teachers will lead our future agriculture service members and researchers by sharing best practices in the industry.” – Keonte’ Edmonds

The National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) organizes National Teach Ag Day each year and has seen a lasting impact in the last ten years of the program.

 

Ellen Thompson, Project Director for the National Teach Ag Campaign, shared the impact of the program.

“Agriculture teachers inspire and cultivate the next generation of leaders, problem-solvers, entrepreneurs and agriculturists. Over the last ten years, the number of teachers going into the profession has increased with the highest ever number of teachers graduating with agriculture education degrees. There is also the highest rate of retention with 96% of the teachers staying in agriculture.” – Ellen Thompson

BASF is a proud supporter of National Teach Ag Day and NAEE and will continue to provide support and resources for agriculture education.

 

For more information, visit the Teach Ag Campaign Facebook Page.