I grew up on my grandfather’s farm in Delaware, outside of Dover.  Leon Tarburton, or ‘Poppop’ as I called him, taught me to be respectful of the environment and to take pride in everything that I do. Although I purchased my first hybrid car, a Toytota Prius, after he had passed, I like to think that he is smiling down at me as I zoom around Delaware with lower emissions than the average vehicle. I’m thinking about agriculture in Delaware today because my Uncle Jack (Tarburton) was named as State Director for Rural Development of Delaware and Maryland by the Obama Administration this past Friday. Here’s the bio they shared about him:

“Tarburton is currently the Owner of Tarburton Consulting, which is a liaison between Perdue Farms and State government officials in Delaware. Tarburton served as the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Agriculture from 1993 – 2001. Also, he has worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1965 – 1966, before operating a potato and grain farm for 23 years. He has served with various organizations throughout Delaware including a period as President of the Delaware Farm Bureau and as President of the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts.” –

Source: USDA

Go Uncle Jack!

So what about agriculture-related lessons? The Delaware Department of Agriculture has a section online called “DELAWARE AG IN THE CLASSROOM” where teachers can learn about available “clusters for professional development credit dealing with land use issues in Delaware using the Food, Land & People curriculum”. Learn more about it here. The State is currently offering a 90-Hour cluster called “Using Food, Land & People to address the Delaware issue of land use”. The cluster has been approved for agricultural teachers of all grade levels, and for middle school teachers of science. Teachers who complete this 90-hour cluster will earn a 2% salary increase for a 5 year period. The cluster sounds very interesting – makes me wish I was eligible to participate!