Back to School, Back to Roots: Ag in the Classroom with Kevin Daugherty


By Tara Desmond • August 13, 2026

IL Corn is thrilled to be a partner of Illinois Ag in the Classroom, and in today's episode, we're learning about some of the resources offered to teachers and really anyone wanting to learn more about ag.


Nearly 500 teachers went through this summer's Ag Institute, learning how to take everyday lessons and connect them back to the fields right outside their classroom windows.


Kevin Daugherty, Director of Ag in the Classroom, joins IL Corn TV to walk through what that support makes possible: dissecting corn kernels to teach science standards, using children's books by Illinois authors to build reading lessons around agriculture, and a brand-new Route 66 road trip bingo game (timed to the highway's 100th anniversary this November) that gets kids looking for grain trucks, commodity trailers, and rivers along the drive instead of scrolling on a tablet.


Because agriculture education isn't about adding one more thing to a teacher's plate. It's about showing kids what's already there. Watch full episode.


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