PLANT Foundation partners with California Milk Advisory Board to provide updated dairy education program to students throughout the U.S., around the world

The PLANT Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching children science through agricultural examples, is partnering with the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) to redevelop the program that teaches school-age children about dairy production and dairy foods.

Since 2009, the PLANT Foundation has connected students from around the world with where dairy foods come from through the Farm Academy program titled, “Milk: From the Dairy to Your Door.” This interactive program teaches students about the life of a dairy cow and the production of popular dairy products.

With support from the CMAB, an agricultural marketing board that represents California’s dairy farmers, the PLANT Foundation’s dairy program curriculum will be updated and redeveloped in 2019 to be in line with next generation science standards and include on-demand videos that make the program more accessible to educators.

“With fewer people connected to food and farming, programs like Farm Academy Live are important to bridge the gap for the next generation,” said Jennifer Giambroni, director of communications for the CMAB. “We’re excited to support the PLANT Foundation’s efforts to use science to show how farmers care for cows, where milk comes from and how it is made into nutritious, sustainable dairy foods.”

Since it was founded almost 10 years ago, the PLANT Foundation has used their Farm Academy platform to create a connection between the science and technology of agriculture and the science and technology of daily life. This connection is designed to ignite a passion for science in areas most central to the child’s life: food, agriculture and the environment. As technology continues to evolve and become more prevalent in the classroom and in children’s daily lives, the PLANT Foundation is working towards advancing their programming to keep up with the demand.

Support from organizations like CMAB is what allows them to continue to offer relevant content.

“We’re grateful that our partnership with CMAB will give us the opportunity to provide new programs that will focus on the technology and science of the dairy industry, while reaching a much broader audience of students by offering on-demand videos,” said PLANT Foundation Chairman Dino Giacomazzi.

The PLANT Foundation is a national non-profit organization formed to solve one of the most pressing issues facing agriculture today: how to interest the next generation of scientists, innovators and problem solvers in pursuing careers that will advance the agriculture industry. The PLANT Foundation launched Farm Academy in 2009 to create a connection between the science and technology of agriculture and the science and technology of everyday life for kids. Its programs lead to a future where students see opportunities in agricultural careers, becoming the innovators of tomorrow and solving problems facing farming. For more information, visit plantfoundation.org.

The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s more than 1,300 dairy families and is one of the largest agricultural marketing boards in the United States. With a mission to increase demand for products made with Real California Milk, the CMAB is celebrating 50 years in 2019 of promoting California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs. For more information and to connect with the CMAB, visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.