N.C. A&T State University has been honored as a Teach Ag Champion by the National Teach Ag Campaign, in recognition of serving as host institution for the annual National Teach Ag Day program and webcast, held in September at the N.C. A&T campus.

“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by a national organization of this stature. As our communities increasingly see the need for local food production systems, teaching agriculture continues to be critical to the health and food security of the entire nation, and we take this responsibility seriously,” said Dr. William Randle, dean of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

The National Teach Ag campaign coordinator, Ellen Thompson, estimates that there were gatherings in more than 47 states and that more than 2,000 viewers tuned in to the National Teach Ag Day webcast, which was built around a video stream originating at N.C. A&T. In addition to helping to serve on the program panel, the A&T ag school produced the webcast, which is available for viewing at the National Teach Ag Campaign website at http://www.naae.org/teachag/live2013.php.

The National Teach Ag Campaign is an initiative of the National Council for Agricultural Education, led by the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE). It is funded by the CHS Foundation as a special project of the National FFA Foundation. With strong programs in agricultural, environmental, family and consumer sciences designed to serve the needs of agribusiness, rural communities, and urban food producers, N.C. A&T is an active partner of the National FFA, an organization with half a million members nationwide.