Autauga County Young Farmers bring agriculture lessons to local schools

Forty copies of I Love Blueberries are going into six Autauga County elementary schools and the Autauga-Prattville Public Library, giving students a new way to learn where food comes from and how blueberries are grown. The donation is designed to turn a children’s book into a hands-on agriculture lesson that reaches classrooms, library programming and, eventually, family conversations at home.

The Autauga County Young Farmers chapter teamed with the Alabama Farmers Federation Women’s Leadership division, Alabama Ag in the Classroom, the Alabama Farmers Agriculture Foundation and Young Farmers of Alabama on the project. Each copy came with an educator guide meant for teachers and library staff, with activities that go beyond reading the story and into germinating blueberries, learning about their health benefits, exploring hydroponics, studying water use in farming and using poetry to reinforce agricultural literacy.

Ellie Watson, who chairs the Autauga County Young Farmers chapter and serves on the State Young Farmers Committee, has said the effort matters because too many children assume food simply appears on grocery shelves. The goal, she has emphasized through the chapter’s outreach, is repeated, accurate exposure to farming so young people understand the work behind safe, high-quality food and recognize the people who produce it.

The book itself has national recognition. The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture named I LOVE Blueberries its 19th Book of the Year on Jan. 11, 2026, at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 107th Convention in Anaheim, California. The foundation says its Accurate Ag Books database now includes nearly 500 titles that present agricultural topics accurately, and its educator guide for the book is built around five lessons for grades K-3 on blueberries, hydroponics, plant growth and related topics. Feeding Minds Press says the story follows Jolie, who wants to grow her own blueberries with hydroponics, and her new friend Margot.

In Autauga County, the effort lands in a community already connected to agriculture education and extension work. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System reported serving 4,047 people in the county through 78 programs in 2023, and the chapter said this is the second year it has shared accurate agriculture books with local schools. That continuing outreach adds another layer to the county’s farm network, which includes the Autauga County Farmers Federation, the Autauga County Board of Education and the Autauga-Prattville Public Library, while families such as the Wendlands have also drawn statewide attention for farm leadership and youth advocacy.