Upcoming Purple Plow Challenge to Focus on Native American Student Interests

A new grant from the Native American Agriculture Fund will allow the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture to develop a new Purple Plow Challenge focused on Native American student interests such as resilience and food security.

As with all Purple Plow Challenges, the Native American-focused challenge will provide authentic, hands-on learning opportunities that connect science, technology and agriculture. Through this project, students will research a real agricultural issue, design and test a solution, and present their finding, helping to build critical skills in leadership, problem-solving and financial literacy. The project will include educator training, resource development and broad outreach to Native American schools, after-school programs, 4-H clubs and other community groups.

“The goal with this upcoming Challenge is to inspire young Native American learners to engage with agriculture in ways that are both relevant and academically rigorous,” explained Julia Recko, managing director of the Foundation. “The challenge and the resources tied to it will strengthen Native American students’ connection to food systems and open pathways to future careers in agriculture and STEM.”

The first year of the grant includes searching for educators in the Native American community who would be willing to help the Foundation determine what topic would be the most interesting to their students and then creating the challenge. (Fill out this link if you’d like to be involved.) In the second year, the challenge will be launched and completed with the selection of a winner.

About the Purple Plow Challenge

The Purple Plow Challenge is a special project of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture (AFBFA) and made possible through generous support of title sponsor Corteva Agriscience. AFBFA created the Purple Plow Challenge to engage young people – and their teachers – in the multifaceted world of agriculture.

“We believe when teachers and students understand the science and technology involved in food and fiber production and enjoy learning about it, we may get more young people to pursue agriculture-related STEM careers,” said Recko. “We’ll also have more people informed about one of the most important industries for a sustainable society.”

The Purple Plow Challenge brand encompasses both the history and future of agriculture; the plow symbolizes the history of production agriculture, while purple represents the innovative and exciting ways that farmers, ranchers and many others involved in agriculture work to solve challenges today.

The Purple Plow Challenge site encourages students to research scenarios and build prototypes to solve problems related to food, hunger and sustainability. Individuals, groups and classes in grades five through 12 are eligible to enter the competition.

The current challenge, which is open through Dec. 2, asks students to design better irrigation systems to use water even more wisely, with a focus on how gravity affects water flow.

All of the challenges incorporate several Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core standards and come with numerous resources for teachers and participants.

About the Native American Agriculture Fund

The Native American Agriculture Fund is a private, charitable trust that envisions a future where Native farmers and ranchers thrive and play a crucial role in land stewardship and the nation’s economic viability. Their mission is to empower Native and rural communities with the knowledge, resources and support to foster robust agricultural practices, resilience and economic self-sufficiency. They believe that by investing in Native agriculture, they can strengthen rural America’s infrastructure development and job creation, benefiting everyone.