Today’s farmers and ranchers produce an abundance of food and fiber as well as fish, and not only enough to feed us but also enough to help feed people around the world. According to the 2019 edition of the Food and Farm Facts book published by the American Farm Bureau Federation, one U.S. farm feeds about 166 people annually in the U.S. and abroad. Of those 166 people, 106 are in the U.S. and 60 are outside the U.S. The global population is expected to increase by 2.2 billion by year 2050. If you do the math, each farmer and rancher will have to grow and produce 70 percent more food than what they are already doing today.

“Path to the Plate” at South Texas Farm & Ranch Show helps over 700 3^rd grade students in Victoria experience the importance of agriculture and the relevance of the agricultural products in our lives. Farming, ranching, and farm products have a natural and user “fun” friendly connection to education and that connection is even more important today, when only 2 percent of the U.S. population lives and works on farms, producing food and fiber for the other 98 percent and for many people in other countries. At the same time, agriculture is as important as ever. It is as vital to our lives as the food on our plates. This special ag awareness program gives students the opportunity to rotate through seven educational sessions like Moo U, Pizza Garden, Water Stream Trailer, Meet the Meats, What’s on MyPlate, and Egg to Chick. The Texas Farm Bureau’s Mobile Learning Barn will be back, and the trailer can display up to seven commodities including corn, cotton, grain sorghum, pork, and beef.

Our educational programming partners include Texas A&M AgriLife Extension personnel in several surrounding counties, Victoria County Master Gardeners Association, Southwest Dairy Farmers Mobile Dairy Classroom, Victoria County 4-H and 4-H Ambassadors, Victoria Extension Education Association, and Texas Farm Bureau. The Victoria County 4-H Ambassadors help in facilitating sessions, not only keeps each session on time but also aids in the flow of student traffic from one session to the next which greatly contributes to the overall learning experience.

“Path to the Plate” allows agriculture to be the perfect context for teachers, agriculture advocates and community volunteers to teach health and nutrition as well as share a passion for educating about agriculture, food and natural resources. Today's students are tomorrow's community leaders and voting citizens. We want them to be healthy, empathetic, critical thinkers who are aware of agriculture and what an important place it has in their lives. Students need to know how and where their food and fiber products come from because one day they will be instrumental in feeding our world.