Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom

08/16/2026

🌱 Educator Spotlight: Kara Jensen 🌱

This week, we’re shining the spotlight on Kara Jensen of Alton, one of our incredible educators at Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom! 💚

Kara joined our team in Fall 2024 and reaches an incredible amount of students each month across Sioux, Lyon, O’Brien and Plymouth counties.

Agriculture has always been close to Kara’s heart. She grew up on an acreage outside of Hawarden where her family raised dairy goats. Through 4-H, Kara completed projects with meat goats, bottle and bucket calves, and swine. She has also shown her herd of Toggenburg dairy goats at the county, state and national levels since 2000! 🐐

Kara graduated from West Sioux High School and continued her education at South Dakota State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics. After college, life took her to Iowa City, where she worked as an optician for four years before welcoming her daughter in 2022.

Since then, Kara and her daughter have made their way back home, bringing her right back to the agricultural industry she has always loved. ❤️🌾

Kara joined Lyon County Farm Bureau in 2024, where she currently serves as the Outreach Coordinator while also sharing her passion for agriculture as an educator with Siouxland Ag in the Classroom.

We are so thankful to have Kara on our team and for the passion she brings into classrooms across Northwest Iowa! She is helping students understand agriculture, where their food comes from, and the many opportunities within the agricultural industry.

Help us give Kara a big thank you for helping grow the next generation of agricultural leaders! 🌽🐄🌱

08/15/2026

🌽🐄☀️ What a SUMMER it has been with Siouxland Ag in the Classroom! ☀️🐷🌱

We have had an absolute BLAST bringing agriculture to life at summer programs, libraries, and community events all summer long! 📚🚜❤️

From beef to butter, corn to crops, and pigs to pollinators, we’ve been learning, creating, playing, and getting a little messy along the way! 😄

🥩 Beef: We learned where beef comes from and made our very own 🍪🍔 cookie burgers!

🐄🥛 Dairy: We milked a pretend cow, learned about dairy, made butter, and even made our own delicious ice cream! 🍦

🧶 Fibers: We learned about the fibers that come from agriculture and made our own pillowcases! 🛏️

🌱 Plants: We learned what plants need to grow and survive and even got to start our own seeds! 🌻

🌽 Corn: We explored all things corn, made oobleck, created bubbles, and of course… made POPCORN! 🍿

🐷 Pigs: We learned about pigs and put our engineering skills to work building pig barns! 🏠🐖

🚜 Farm Chore Games: We had SO much fun with some farm-inspired games!
💩 Scoop the P**p
🌾 Pass the Oats to Feed the Horses
🥚 Gather the Eggs
🥄 Egg on a Spoon
🐔 Chuck the Chicken
🐴 Catch the Horse Flies

The smiles, laughter, curiosity, and excitement made every stop so much fun! ❤️

A HUGE thank you to all of the libraries, summer programs, communities, and families who welcomed Siouxland Ag in the Classroom this summer! 📚🌾

We may be wrapping up summer, but the learning never stops! 🌽🚜🐄

Had an absolute BLAST this summer! ☀️❤️🌱

08/15/2026

🌱 EDUCATOR SPOTLIGHT: TERAH NELSON 🌱

We’re shining the spotlight on Terah Nelson, one of the incredible educators helping bring agriculture to life across Siouxland! 💚

Terah joined the Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom team in February 2025 and serves Woodbury
And Plymouth Counties, reaching more than 2,000 students each month through engaging, hands-on agriculture education. 🐄🌽

Terah has always loved agriculture!

Terah grew up in Lawton on her family’s Century Farm, where her family raises cattle, Belgians, hogs and chickens and grows corn, alfalfa and oats. She was also actively involved in 4-H growing up.

After graduating from Lawton-Bronson in 2006, Terah attended WITCC and earned her degree as a Veterinary Assistant. She spent 17 years working at Lakeport Veterinary Hospital in Sioux City before bringing her passion for agriculture and education to Siouxland Ag in the Classroom.

Today, Terah lives on a small farm near Lawton with her husband, Cody, and their two children, Tucker and Avery. Their farm is home to chickens, cows, dogs and cats. 🐄🐔🐶

What makes Terah’s role so special is her passion for sharing agriculture with the next generation. She helps students understand where their food comes from, how agriculture impacts their everyday lives, and the many exciting opportunities within the agriculture industry.

We are so thankful to have Terah on our team and for the energy, knowledge and passion she brings into classrooms throughout Siouxland!

Thank you, Terah, for helping us grow agricultural literacy—one student at a time! 🌱💚

08/13/2026

08/13/2026

🌽🐄 Woodbury County Fair Kids Day was a BLAST! 🐓🐴

Terah and Danika took on Kids Day at the Woodbury County Fair on Thursday, and what a fun day it was! 🤍

One of our favorite parts was seeing so many familiar faces—especially the kids we’ve had in our classrooms! There’s nothing better than seeing the look on their faces when they recognize us. 🥰 Those little moments remind us exactly why we do what we do!

We had a full day of hands-on agricultural fun, including:

🌽 Making corn paint
🧠 Corn trivia
🐄 Scooping cow pies
🐴 Feeding horses oats
🎯 Barnyard toss
🐓 Gathering chicken eggs

The kids got to experience so many different aspects of life on the farm, and we loved watching them learn, ask questions, get their hands dirty, and HAVE FUN!

Agriculture education comes to life when kids can experience it firsthand—and we’re so grateful for every opportunity to bring these experiences to them. 🌱❤️

Who came to visit us at the Woodbury County Fair?! 👀
Drop a comment below and let us know! ⬇️🤍

Woodbury County Fair

08/13/2026

🌽🌱 Closing out our library programs in the northern region of SAITC! 🌱🌽

We wrapped up our time in Boyden with a fun journey through agriculture — from right here in Iowa, across the United States, and even around the world! 🌎🚜

To bring it all together, students created their very own “Iowa Ag in a Bag” take-home crafts. Each bag represented an important piece of agriculture, including:

🌱 Soil
☀️ Sun
💧 Water
🌽 Corn
🫘 Soybeans
🐄 Livestock
🌿 Plants

We love ending our programs with something hands-on that students can take home and use to share what they’ve learned with their families! 💚

A big thank you to the Boyden community and library for welcoming Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom! We’ve loved learning, creating, and growing together. 🌾

08/06/2026

08/06/2026

Before the fair project ever made it to the exhibit hall for judging, it started in one of our hands-on lessons at one of our library programs this summer.

Today, we’re celebrating what agricultural education is all about—taking learning beyond the classroom. One incredible 4-H’er was inspired to take what she learned during our lesson and turn it into a fair project!

Seeing students apply their knowledge in real life is why we do what we do. It’s more than a lesson—it’s curiosity, confidence, and creativity coming to life.

We’re so proud to see hands-on learning taken to the next level and can’t wait to see where this experience leads next. 🌱💚

Congratulations on your hard work, and thank you for showing that learning doesn’t stop when the lesson ends—it grows!

07/31/2026

Thanks Jordans Meat Market for the delicious honey bbq pork sticks to re-energize those STEM brains today! We had a great turnout!

07/31/2026

Shirley and Kara are ready to teach you about Everything but the Oink at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds for STEMfest! Come learn what it takes to keep pigs healthy, build your own pig barn, “shop” for pork by-products, and taste some pork!