Connecting Students with Agriculture
Program Overview
The Adopt a Farmer program is open to any 6th, 7th, or 8th grade classroom in Oregon, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the school year. Whether your classroom is rural, suburban, or urban, we work to pair each class with a regionally relevant farm or ranch so students can learn about the agriculture happening right in their own backyard.
A typical Adopt a Farmer match includes:
- One or more classroom visits from your adopted farmer or rancher
- Hands-on educational activities
- An introduction to the farm, crops, livestock, or agricultural career paths
- A field trip visit to your adopted farm or ranch
Adopt A Farmer is a no-cost program for classrooms thanks to our generous sponsors.
Our goal is to make agricultural education accessible, engaging, and memorable for classrooms across Oregon.
What Teachers Are Saying
“It was a very genuine attitude of working together to help teachers meet their needs as well as helping farmers share their work of growing food and other products like grass seed.”
-Meadow Park Middle School teacher, Susan Duncan
“It gets them out of their comfort zones, away from screens, and has the potential to spark a lot of curiosity.”
-Newport Middle School teacher, Chris Martin
Field Trips
A field trip with Adopt a Farmer is a hands-on opportunity for students to step onto a working farm or ranch and see agriculture in action. These visits bring classroom learning to life as students explore how food, fiber, and natural resources are produced in Oregon.
Each field trip is hosted by a participating farmer or rancher and is tailored to highlight the operation and region students have been learning about throughout the year. Students may tour fields, barns, equipment, or processing areas, ask questions directly to the farmer or rancher, and learn about topics such as crop production, livestock care, water use, soil health, technology, and agricultural careers.
Field trips are designed to be interactive and engaging, giving students the chance to connect what they’ve learned in the classroom to real-world practices on the farm. A typical visit may also include hands-on activities, demonstrations, or guided discussions led by the farmer and program partners.
Classroom Visits
A classroom visit brings your adopted farmer or rancher directly into the school to introduce students to agriculture in their region. These visits help students connect with the people behind their food, fiber, and natural resources.
During the visit, students hear about daily life on the farm, explore key topics like crops, livestock, and technology, and participate in hands-on Adopt a Farmer activities designed to spark curiosity and conversation.
Each visit is tailored to the student’s grade level and teacher’s curriculum plan, helping set the stage for the field trip and a deeper year-long connection to agriculture.
What's Included
Adopt a Farmer is designed to make agricultural education easy, accessible, and impactful for classrooms across Oregon. We handle the logistics so teachers can focus on learning and student engagement.
Participating classrooms receive:
- A hands-on, year-long agricultural learning experience
- A regionally relevant farm or ranch partnership
- Classroom visits from your adopted local farmer or rancher
- A guided field trip on the farm or ranch
- Bus transportation costs covered
- Substitute teacher costs covered
- Materials and activity supplies provided
From start to finish, Adopt A Farmer removes barriers and creates meaningful, real-world learning opportunities that connect students to agriculture in their own communities.
Program History
Started in 2011, the Adopt a Farmer program was created to help bridge the gap between students and the agricultural community that surrounds them. The program was built on the idea that students learn best when they can connect classroom concepts to real people, real places, and real production systems.
Recognized statewide for its hands-on approach to agricultural literacy, the Adopt a Farmer program has introduced more than 25,000 Oregon students to modern agriculture.
At its core, the program remains focused on building understanding, strengthening agricultural connections, and helping students see the role agriculture plays in their everyday lives.
FAQ- Adopt a Farmer
Get the answers to common questions about Adopt a Farmer and discover how your classroom can grow through agricultural learning.
Not a penny, seed, or bushel! Thanks to the support of Oregon’s agricultural community, Adopt a Farmer is completely free for participating classrooms. We believe every student should have the opportunity to connect with agriculture, regardless of budget.
Yes. Oregon Aglink funds at least one field trip to the farm or ranch so students can experience agriculture firsthand and connect classroom learning to real-world practices.
All program costs are covered through Aglink support and donations.
Field trip funding is provided by Oregon Aglink, but transportation logistics are typically coordinated by the school or district.
Farmers visit classrooms 1 to 2 times throughout the school year. In the classroom they can facilitate ag related activities, share their story, answer student questions, and connect agricultural practices to topics like science, conservation, economics, and technology.
Students participate in a farm field trip, engage with their farmer through classroom visits, and take part in hands-on activities that connect agriculture to science, math, and real-world problem solving.
The program connects directly to STEM subjects including science, technology, engineering, and math. Agriculture and STEM integrate very well, giving students real-world examples of concepts they are already learning in the classroom.
No prior agriculture experience is needed. The program is designed to support teachers in bringing agriculture concepts into their existing curriculum.
Adopt a Farmer is designed primarily for middle school classrooms, but placement may vary depending on program availability and school interest.
Students are paired with a variety of Oregon farms and ranches, which may include dairy, specialty crops, grass seed, hazelnuts, berries, and more—depending on the region and participating farmers.
Each classroom is paired with a farmer for the full school year, allowing for ongoing learning and relationship-building.
The goal is to help students better understand where their food and fiber come from, build agricultural literacy, and connect rural and urban communities through hands-on education.
