BEAR RIVER CITY, Utah — We all use the food they make several times a day, but do you really know where it comes from and what goes into a family farm operation?
It's now a topic offered in a 52-week Cultivate Curriculum course that supplements teachers in schools and families at home.
"[The] curriculum for intermediate and primary-aged students designed on our farm in Utah. We know that not every kid has access to a farm and we are privileged to be raising our kids in this environment, so we’ve designed things that can bring a little piece of our farm to them," said the program's creator, Laura Holmgren.
The Bear River City resident launched what she calls Cultivate Curriculum this fall, which is the perfect time, Holmgren believes, to highlight the work that’s done on the family farm.
"We’re harvesting, and that’s when we get to see the needle move a little bit, and as a kid, my kids love harvest season," explained Holmgren. "Lots of equipment on the farm, lots of tractors, lots of finished food products."
Holmgren said now is a good time to grow a love for farm-based learning.
"Only 2 percent of Americans are in production agriculture, but we all use those resources three times a day; when we eat," she said. "So it’s so fun for us to learn where our food comes from, how it’s grown, but [from] the people who are in production."
Farming is often in the blood of Utahns, like Holmgren's daughters who are the seventh generation at the family farm that started back in the 1800s on this same plot of land in northern Utah.
"That’s an important part of not just food production, but really America’s history," Holmgren said.
Originally focused on cattle, Holmgren said her family farm has had to evolve in order to survive and continue to provide for their growing family. That's something shared in the online courses cultivatecurriculum.com.
"Our study unit, it’s complimentary to public, private and homeschool curriculum. It’s 52 lessons that fall on the 52 weeks in the year and allow you to follow our farm through all four seasons," explained Holmgren.
And if there’s one thing Holmgren wishes Utah residents knew about our local farmers?
"I hope that people who can conveniently buy onions at the market know that they were also made with love," she shared. "They were not just put out mechanically on some sort of food line. We care about the products that we’re growing and we hope that our consumers know that."
