FORT PAYNE, Ala. — Vocational agriculture instructors and FFA advisors for grades 7-12 will be provided free access to the regenerative agriculture online course, Regen Ag 101, the non-profit Soil Health Academy (SHA) announced today.
Thanks to a grant from global food company General Mills, SHA is providing the course on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“Most of SHA’s educational efforts in the past have been focused on helping farmers transition from conventional to soil health-improving regenerative practices,” SHA President Dawn Breitkreutz said. “By providing vo-ag instructors and FFA advisors with Regen Ag 101’s soil health educational resources, we hope to have an early and positive regenerative influence on the next generation of farmers.”
An online, self-paced, interactive media experience, Regen Ag 101 contains video lectures, case studies and supporting research gleaned from the best of Soil Health Academy live workshops across the U.S.
“The online course provides a comprehensive look at how regenerative agricultural principles and practices affect ecosystem function, the nutrient density of food and other wide-ranging benefits,” said Shane New, a managing partner with the Soil Health Academy’s education partner Understanding Ag, LLC. New is also a co-creator of the Regen Ag 101 course.
“As a former FFA member, I appreciate the role FFA advisors and vo-ag instructors play in establishing an educational foundation for our future farmers,” New said. “This grant provides a tremendous opportunity for these middle school and high school ag educators to gain deeper insights into soil health-focused regenerative principles and practices.”
In addition, General Mills is providing scholarship funding for middle and high school ag educators to attend, tuition free, one of SHA’s three-day, on-farm schools in 2022—also offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“The Soil Health Academy and Understanding Ag remain key partners in our efforts to educate and support farmers as they adopt regenerative agricultural principles,” said Mary Jane Melendez, chief sustainability and global impact officer, General Mills. “In addition to our ongoing, on-farm regenerative ag work with the Soil Health Academy and Understanding Ag, these education grants represent an opportunity to inform and inspire ag educators and students about the hope in healthy soil—and to establish an educational foundation to grow the next generation of successful regenerative farmers and ranchers.”
Ag educators and advisors interested in registering for the free on-line course or in attending a three-day SHA school tuition free, can visit SoilHealthAcademy.org.
–Soil Health Academy
Understanding Ag
