West Des Moines, Iowa – February 3, 2026 – Iowa educators can sign up now for free classroom resources as the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation launches Read Across Iowa, a statewide program that inspires and helps teachers integrate agriculture into everyday learning through reading, science, social studies, and math. 

Read Across Iowa will kick off March 1 and provide a full month of academic, standards-aligned agriculture literacy programming that will provide Iowa classrooms with professionally published, agriculture-themed books and ready-to-use lessons that align with core curriculum. The program is designed to make agriculture literacy accessible to educators, with no agriculture background required.  

IALF will distribute 1,000 free Read Across Iowa kits to Iowa classrooms and education programs this month, in preparation for the March celebration. Kits are available while supplies last through an online signup. 

“Read Across Iowa makes it easy for educators to bring agriculture into everyday classroom learning,” said Kelly Foss, Executive Director of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation. “The books and lessons connect naturally to reading, science, social studies, and math, helping students see how agriculture fits into the world they experience every day.” 

Through agriculture-themed stories and lessons, students explore science, economics, the environment, and their communities, using agriculture as a lens for understanding the world around them. 

2026 Theme: Pollinators to Product
The 2026 Read Across Iowa theme, Pollinators to Product, explores the role pollinators play in agriculture and connects their work to the food, fiber, and everyday products students use. 

Each kit includes a curated set of books and hands-on materials, including:

  • My Family’s Soybean Farm by Katie Olthoff
  • Flower Talk by Sara Levine
  • The Beeman by Laurie Krebs
  • From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
  • Wax to Crayon by Inez Snyder
  • Bailey the Bee from Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Integrated Pest Management 

Additional resources include lesson ideas, read-aloud tips, seeds, soybean crayons, and classroom extensions that connect literacy with science and agriculture concepts. 

Sign up for a kit
Iowa educators can sign up for Read Across Iowa kits online at the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation website using this link: https://www.iowaagliteracy.org/Tools-Resources/Other/Read-Across-Iowa. Kits are limited to 1,000 and available while supplies last. 

Participation beyond the kit
Educators who are unable to receive a kit can still participate by signing up for weekly Read Across Iowa emails through the program’s website. The emails feature digital books, classroom activities, and online resources aligned with the program theme. 

“Our goal is to help educators seamlessly integrate agriculture literacy while fostering STEM learning and environmental awareness,” Foss said. “Whether teachers receive a kit or use our digital resources, they’ll find meaningful ways to connect students with agriculture.” 

Statewide reach and impact
Read Across Iowa serves both rural and urban schools across the state. In 2025, the program reached all 99 Iowa counties, engaged 83,009 students, supported 1,000 educators, served 288 of Iowa’s 329 school districts, distributed 5,000 books, and reached 33 percent of low-income schools. 

Over the past five years, Read Across Iowa has reached 276,599 students, supported more than 4,000 teachers, and distributed over 20,000 books statewide. 

Through statewide partnerships, the program continues to bring rich agricultural learning to youth across the state.  “Iowa students are naturally curious about where their food comes from,” said Dr. Sara Nelson, 4-H STEM specialist and director of the Iowa Space Grant Consortium. “Read Across Iowa uses meaningful stories to create authentic agricultural learning experiences. It gives teachers simple, standards-aligned tools to connect literacy with science and agriculture, helping students explore, imagine, and connect with Iowa’s agricultural roots through hands-on classroom learning.” 

Additional IALF education programs
Read Across Iowa is one of several education programs offered by the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation. IALF supports teachers year-round through agriculture-themed books and student publications, summer professional development workshops, classroom grants, and standards-aligned teaching materials designed to make it easy for teachers to integrate agriculture into core subjects. 

About Read Across Iowa
Read Across Iowa is a signature education initiative of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation, delivered in collaboration with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, and Iowa 4-H Youth Development. Books and materials are supported in part by funding from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Specialty Crop Block Grant, Iowa Space Grant Consortium, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa State University (Dean of Human Sciences, Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources), and other valued partners of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation. 

About the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation 
IALF serves as a central resource for all PreK-12 educators, inspiring the teaching of science, math, social studies, language arts, nutrition, and career and technical education through the lens of agriculture. The mission is to educate Iowans, with a focus on youth, regarding the breadth and global significance of agriculture. IALF believes it is important for all Iowans to understand the essential role agriculture has in their lives. Through Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) efforts, IALF serves as the state representative for the National AITC Organization and collaborates with the Iowa AITC network including County AITC programs engaging with teachers and students across Iowa’s 99 counties.   

IALF’s statewide initiatives are supported by agricultural stakeholders, including the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Beef Industry Council, Iowa Turkey Federation, Corteva Agriscience, GROWMARK, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship,  National Agriculture in the Classroom, and others dedicated to strengthening agriculture literacy among Iowa’s educators and students. For more information visit IALF online at www.IowaAgLiteracy.org, on Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).   


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