The Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom Summer Conference is set for July 7th and will bring together educators, extension personnel, and youth leaders from across the state for a full day of agriculture-focused learning and classroom resources. According to Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom State Coordinator Emily Ague, who spoke with associate farm reporter Carli Davenport, the annual event continues to grow and will be held this year at a larger venue to accommodate increased participation and expanded programming.
“We’re so excited,” Ague said. “Our state summer conference is going to be on July 7th at the Edmond Conference Center, so we’re really excited about that.”
Agriculture-Themed Speakers and Educational Resources
One of the highlights of the conference will be a lineup of speakers focused on connecting agriculture with education. Ague said every attendee will receive a book as part of the conference experience. “We’re actually providing a book for all of our attendees, so they’re all going to be able to go home with a book,” she said.
Featured speaker Will Jordan, author of Wally the Wrangler, will discuss the creation of his book and ways educators can incorporate it into their classrooms. “It’s about a cowboy who visits a ranch, it talks a lot about beef cattle, and talks about cuts and all kinds of stuff,” Ague said. “He’s going to talk a little bit about his book, creating that, and talk a little bit about what’s in there and how teachers can use that in their classroom.”
The luncheon keynote speaker will be Oklahoma meteorologist Lacey Swope, who Ague said has long been an advocate for agricultural education. “She’s always super passionate about agriculture, about farmers and ranchers, and making that connection to the weather and how that’s so important,” Ague said. “So, we thought she would be a great person to come and talk to our teachers during our lunch.”
Open to Teachers, Extension Educators, and Youth Leaders
While classroom teachers remain the primary audience, Ague emphasized that the conference welcomes a broad range of educators and youth-development professionals. “We invite all educators, extension agents,” she said. “We’ve even had some people reach out. We have, I think, a couple of FFA members that are going to come with their ag teacher and just kind of learn a little bit about what they can bring back to the classroom.”
The conference is designed to provide practical, ready-to-use resources for educators working with students of all ages. “What’s great about it is, we have teachers or industry leaders, people that are working with youth, teaching all the sessions,” Ague said. “That way, they can really find out things that they can use in their classroom.”
She added that the event offers opportunities for educators across grade levels. “We have such a wide variety of sessions and workshops available for everyone, anywhere from pre-K to 12th-grade teachers,” Ague said. “If you’re 4-H or any educator, we would love to have you come.”
Registration Information
Registration is currently available through the Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom website. Ague encouraged interested participants to sign up before registration closes at the end of the month. “You can actually go to our website and go under 2026 AITC events,” she said. “It says register for the 2026 Ag in the Classroom Summer Conference.”
After completing the online registration form, participants will receive payment information from conference organizers. “Annie, one of our other coordinators, is actually going to follow up, and she’s going to send you the payment link, so you can pay that $35 fee,” Ague explained.
Although early bird registration has ended, attendees still receive several benefits. “You no longer get a T-shirt with your registration, but you do still get lunch,” Ague said. “It pays for a whole day’s worth of activities and all that. It’s definitely worth the $35 to come.”
Busy Summer Ahead for Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom
Beyond the July conference, Ague said Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom has an active summer schedule planned. “We actually start our Ag in the Classroom summer road trip tomorrow,” she said. “We have a bus full of teachers that are going to be going on three days of ag field trips.”
The tour will take educators through several agricultural operations in southern Oklahoma. “We’re starting in Pauls Valley, going down through Ardmore, and we’ll also spend some time in Madill over the next three days,” Ague said.
Later in June, Oklahoma educators will travel to the National Ag in the Classroom Conference in Rhode Island. “We have, I believe, about 11 educators, including ourselves, that will be presenting workshops at conference,” Ague said. “I think we have a group of about 30 people going with us from Oklahoma.”
Additional summer activities include support for Riverology programming and preparation for Read an Accurate Ag Book Week, scheduled for September 8-11. “We just have lots of great things coming up before we start the school year,” Ague said.
With expanded programming, new educational resources, and opportunities to connect agriculture with classroom learning, Ague believes this year’s conference will provide valuable tools for educators across Oklahoma. “It’ll just be a great opportunity for teachers to come and learn more about Ag in the Classroom and things they can do in their classroom,” she said.
