In this e-learning resource, The Real Dirt on Farming in the Classroom enables students to engage with the latest 6th Edition of The Real Dirt on Farming while examining its key areas – animal welfare, crops and plants, sustainability, agriculture policy, hot topics in our food system & more!

Drawing from CropLife’s Real Farm Lives videos, which follows the McKennas, a multigenerational Prince Edward Island farm family, these interactive and engaging resources on carrots, turnips and potatoes aim to help Grade 10 and 11 students explore the value of Canada’s agriculture and food system. The resource includes a lesson plan on each of the featured vegetables, including a presentation and recipe.

The #MyFoodChoice resource is an inquiry based resource where students will lead their own research, to answer the question of "How can I make informed food choices?" Through the five lessons students will develop critical thinking skills by utilizing interactive student sheets, engaging videos, and more.

What is Wellness? What does Wellness mean to you? Why is it important to learn about health? How do we practice wellness everyday in our lives? Wellness is an active effort a person makes to work towards reaching the best state of well-being and health possible for themselves. Wellness incorporates many different elements of well-being that are all connected. Read "8 Dimensions of Wellness" to learn more.

A fun experience is going on a wetland field trip and learning about wetland ecosystems by studying life in a local pond, slough, marsh, fen or bog. These areas are often found on a local farm, and farmers must avoid these areas for protection of the wetland, and also because it is too difficult to use them for agricultural purposes. Through your classroom studies, and studies in the field, you will learn about organisms that live in, on and around wetlands and about adaptations that suit pond organisms to their environment. Through observation and research, you will also learn about the interactions among wetland organisms and about the role of each organism as part of a food web. The role of human action in affecting wetland habitats and populations is also something you will study.

Agriculture is a driving force in Canada's economy and Alberta is a major contributor to this sector. In this Ag 101 video, we broke down the numbers of Alberta agriculture!

Ag Bites is cooking carrot soup and baking biscuits—follow along through this instructive video!

Preserving refers to the different ways you can keep your food from spoiling! Canning is one such method. The canning process is when you place food in a jar and then heat it at high temperatures until it becomes airtight and any undesirable bacteria or micro-organisms are killed. Learn how you can make apple compote and pickles through the canning preserving method!

Ag Bites is baking scones today! These pumpkin scones are a great dessert for after dinner—and they're easy to make. Watch this videos and follow along to make this delicious treat!

Try these white chocolate cranberry muffins with orange zest and a glaze topping. Delicious!

The Nourishing Minds publication series has been developed as an educational tool for youth, educators, parents and anyone who wishes to learn more about agriculture and food systems. These magazines offer young people the chance to engage about a wide variety of topics such as food security, nutrition, climate change and sustainability and learn how they can take action. This issue we chose to explore agricultural technology because it will help us reach new levels of efficiency. These innovations make it possible to grow and raise enough food for an increasing population, achieve sustainability, and save farmers time and money during production.

Soil is the foundation for all life and every farm needs good, fertile soil to produce healthy crops. While soil only covers 10% of our Earth’s surface, most people don’t realize how important to life it is. Soil is a living, breathing world that supports all life on earth. Healthy soil is made up from approximately 45% minerals (clay, silt and sand), 25% air, 25% water and 5% organic matter (decomposing animals and plants). All of these ingredients, together with climate, affect the soil composition and how well the soil produces.

Over two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. The human body is 75 per cent water. Water is one of the most vital resources for life on Earth. Farmers have a vital role in protecting water quality. As with any resource, pollution can be a major problem. Water pollution is no different. There are many different types and sources of pollutants. When rain or melted snow move over the ground, they pick up and carry away pollutants, which end up in waterways. Agriculture works to prevent this with conservation techniques. But even with preventative measures, water can still become polluted. So, it is important for farmers to do water quality tests. It is also important to understand the importance of water filtration. Filtration is the use of a physical barrier or a chemical and/or biological process that removes the impurities from the water. Just as many people use filtration systems in their homes for their drinking water, farmers use filters to remove pathogens that can cause viruses and sediment that can damage irrigation systems, plants or animals. Your local municipal water treatment plants use filters to remove dissolved particles like dust, parasites, bacteria, viruses and chemicals.

These interactive, online learning labs cover a variety of topics, including: Environment, Food, Food Waste, Technology and Innovation, Careers and more! Have fun exploring these agriculture and food-related topics.

This manual has been developed to assist Instructors to teach young operators, aged 14 years and up, the\ knowledge and skills necessary to operate agricultural tractors and implements properly and safely in Alberta. It has been developed to utilize the Alberta Safe Tractor Operation and Hitching Guide, Student Manual, as a primary resource. The Instructor knowledge, as well as tractor and implement operator manuals are the other primary resources. Operator manuals are very important, as they provide very specific information on the tractors and implements. Supplemental information could include other written documents, demonstrations, safety videos, and guest speakers. The experience and skills obtained from this course do not provide a specific certification. After completion of the course, the young operator is expected to be supervised by a competent person. This training manual includes checklists to document the knowledge and skills of the youth. The documentation will be an important resource to assist the supervisor to provide informed decisions regarding the assignment of appropriate tractors and implements, the appropriate tasks, and the level of on-going supervision.

This Alberta Safe Tractor Operation and Hitching Guide (the Guide) is primarily written to introduce Alberta youth to the operation of tractors for agricultural purposes. It will also be useful for other new tractor operators providing they understand that it is focused on educating youth. The Guide does not provide enough information to fully train or authorize anyone to be a competent tractor operator. Resources such as Tractor and Implement Operator’s Manuals, the training, supervision, and oversight of a competent person, and any applicable regulations would be useful. Also, formal tractor training following applicable standards that includes actual hands-on operation, oversight, and supervision by a competent person would be necessary.

Worms play a very important role in maintaining healthy soil so that we can grow healthy food. Get to know Alex the worm in this fun, educational book to learn all about this topic!

Use this activity to help students visualize and understand agricultural land use.

What's in the field? It's barley! Join us for these fun barley facts.

Bee Egg Painting Activity

Bee Pencil Holder Activity

Learn all about bees!

Before the Plate is a documentary that attempts to close the gap between the urban consumer and farming in Canada. Follow young farmers and industry experts to learn what a modern Canadian farm operation looks like, and discuss the most pressing questions consumers have about their food. Be sure to check out the comprehensive, curriculum-linked Student Guide we have created to supplement the viewing of this documentary.

Biomass is the only renewable source of carbon and includes agriculture resources such as wood, straw, manure, and food waste. These resources can be converted into many useful materials like fuel, heat, electricity, and chemicals. Check out this lesson plan for a fun science experiment and to learn more about biomass and its connection to the environment and economy.

Read this storybook and get to know Blossom, a busy honey bee who is on a mission to pollinate her flowers until they mature into fruit. Learn about the role bees play in environment, including collecting nectar for their hive and pollinating flowers.

Why is it important for us to take care of the Earth's soil? Soil is vital for farmers to grow food, but only a tiny fraction of the Earth's surface has productive land. Taking care of our soil is key to feeding everyone on our planet!

A snapshot of Canada's Food Guide and nutritional information.

Dr. Natasha Kutryk, large animal veterinarian, talks about taking care of beef cattle.

Canola 7–12 presentation by Alberta Canola for Canadian Ag Literacy Month

Canola presentation by Alberta Canola for Canadian Ag Literacy Month