Danielle Zuidema Named a Team Leader for the 2013 AgCiting Program

2013 Mar 11

Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach in Sioux, O'Brien, Lyon, and Osceola counties has named Dordt College student Danielle Zuidema to the 2013 Ag Citing Leadership Team.

"We're pleased that our students are offered this opportunity to apply for and now serve as a professional in a servant leadership role," said Dordt College Department of Agriculture Chair Gary De Vries.

Zuidema, of DeMotte, Indiana, was named the Local Foods/Horticulture Team Leader. She hopes to effectively engage and inform youth about the many opportunities available to them in agriculture and life sciences. She is a sophomore majoring in agricultural business. She also has a minor in Spanish.

AgCiting is a partnership between ISU Extension, Dordt College, Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Lakes Community College, and the Northwest Iowa Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) region. The program is dedicated to increasing agriculture awareness and literacy among students in schools in Sioux, O'Brien, Lyon, and Osceola counties.

The 2013 AgCiting program will be held on Dordt's campus during Dordt College Ag Day on Friday, April 26, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and noon to 2:30 p.m. The program features five stations: Feeding 9 Billion People, Local Foods/Horticulture, Conservation, Global Climate Change, and New/Beginning Farmers. All five stations are taught using hands-on teaching/learning strategies. The AgCiting program has been designed to meet Iowa Core Curriculum Standards in Science for 6th through 8th grade.

"As our world population continues to increase and fewer people are directly connected to food production, it brings to light the need for the agriculture industry to have more individuals engaged in agriculture," said Stronhben. "I look forward to mentoring this team of talented young professionals to better tell the story of agriculture by providing science-based learning opportunities to our youth in Northwest Iowa and enhancing their agriculture literacy and understanding of food systems."

For more information about this program or other agriculture and natural resource education programs in the area, contact Strohbehn at kestroh@iastate.edu or 712-737-4230. To learn more about the Dordt College agriculture program, go to www.dordt.edu/agriculture.