Part of our mission at NC Farm Families is to “share the truth and educate the public.” Often times, education takes place with the littlest members of the public—youth. We are so thankful for the many educators that shape our youth. We are extra grateful for educators who incorporate lessons in agriculture.
Olivia Herring is one such teacher who puts an importance on agriculture education. Her passion and efforts to improve agriculture literacy in, not just her classroom, but classrooms all over, certainly makes her an amazing highlight for our “friends of famers” series.
Teachers plant the seeds of knowledge that will grow forever.
Deep Roots
Olivia as a baby
Olivia Herring grew up in Scotts Store, NC in Duplin County. She attended B.F. Grady Elementary School and East Duplin High School growing up. After graduating high school she enrolled in UNC-Wilmington not in education, but instead as Pre-Med to pursue a career in the medical field.
“My parents told me they knew I was going to be a teacher from the time I was 5 years old – I think good teachers are just ‘born’ to do it!” Olivia said.
Unfortunately, teaching during this day and time isn’t exactly appealing, which is what lead Olivia to pursue a different path. After two years in college, she continued to feel the tug of teaching, so she answered her calling and changed majors. She later got her Master’s from Gardner-Webb in Curriculum and Instruction.
Although Olivia loves to travel and has been to almost every state in the USA an visited several countries, her roots run deep in her community and in agriculture. So, she returned back to Duplin County to teach. Olivia’s family goes back six generations in the area. Her grandpa Oliver (known to all as “Cotton”) were large landowners and worked on his family’s farm. He would later start his own logging business. The family has retained most of the family land. Being in Duplin County, it is no surprise that there were hog farms close by, which suited Olivia just fine. Pigs are her favorite farm animal, after all. In her words, “I just can’t imagine a world without pork!” Amen, Olivia!
Olivia could not imagine a better place to begin her teaching career than in Duplin County Schools. Afterall, Duplin County was where she went to school. It was in this community and attending these schools, that she was surrounded with peers and teachers who took pride in agriculture and encouraged this passion in students too. Returning as a teacher, she felt the same sort of encouragement.
“Working in a small community really gives you a sense of family – everyone supports your educational endeavors and it’s nice to have that encouragement,” she said.
Last year, Olivia chose to move to another small rural community by accepting a teaching position at a new charter school--Emereau: Bladen, in Bladen County. Olivia chose to move to the area because she dates a local farmer in Bladen County, and we all know that you have to move to the farm because the farm isn’t moving! She’s enjoying farm life and watches the beautiful sunsets most every evening on the farm.
Teaching About Agriculture
At Emereau, Olivia is a first-grade teacher. Because of her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, she has focused on how she can enhance lessons that are aligned with state mandated standards with the integration of agricultural concepts in the curriculum.
“The parents give me a lot of support for this initiative and implementing agricultural topics is something I hope will also enhance our community service in the future,” Olivia said.
Because of Olivia’s deep roots in agriculture and rural Eastern NC communities, incorporating agriculture in her curriculum seemed the natural thing to do. Olivia believes that incorporating agricultural concepts enhances classroom lessons and engages students, especially in rural schools where they can easily make the connections from what they are learning to the community they live in. Olivia wants to encourage her students to explore how important the agricultural field is at the community level and the entire world.
It isn’t just that Olivia feels that ag literacy benefits and engages students, she also feels that it is important for the entire community, especially because of recent events. Nuisance lawsuits hit Duplin and Bladen Counties hard. These lawsuits made national headlines and have put our farmers in a negative light, but Olivia wants to support farmers and shine a positive light on them.
“Today, farmers are being attacked because of a lack of education people hold about farms and agriculture,” Olivia said. “We have to teach students, and all learners, about how we obtain the things we need to live because we are going to need future generations to choose the ag industry and provide these things for us.”
Olivia has advocated for agriculture as both a student (in college) and as a teacher. She believes in the farmer and knows just how hard they work, and how much they care for the land and the animals. When she hears misinformation, she shares her experience and passion, setting the record straight.
Teachers don’t just teach, they inspire, and Olivia is doing just that. She has a heart for inspiring students to learn about agriculture and all it has to offer—food, fuel, fiber, and careers. Although, her first graders will probably change their mind about what they want to be when they grow up a few times before college, they are getting valuable hands-on experiences in their agriculture lessons that is teaching them life skills.
Olivia’s students have been able to complete projects like chick incubation, raised-bed gardens, produce stands, and even partnering with parents to sew clothes (an extension of their cotton unit). A favorite has been the raised-bed gardens.
“They love having the responsibility of keeping a plant alive and the reward of seeing them harvest the final product never gets old. I think this project also gives them a deeper understanding of what farmers do, where our food comes from, and having respect for the land,” Olivia said about the raised-bed project.
Her students also come visit Olivia at her and her boyfriend, Eddie’s produce market, called Eddie’s Produce. So, not only are they getting to grow food, but they are also able to meet a real-life farmer!
Olivia hopes to partner with other teachers to start a community pantry in the future, as well as to have an FFA club as they start high school at Emereau. Olivia is filled with many hopes, dreams and ideas for the future. Despite having to say “good-bye” to her students abruptly due to COVID-19, she and her class made the best of the situation. Olivia’s passion has not been diminished. She is even more excited to return to the classroom and see her “kids”.
To prepare for the future, Olivia is participating in the Ag Summit Virtual Conference. Originally, set for an in-person conference in Utah, Olivia, along with other attendees will be participating virtually rather than traveling like originally intended. The silver-lining to this situation is that the conference is FREE and available to anyone looking to incorporate agriculture in the classroom. Olivia will be attending each session to gain knowledge of ag literacy across all grade levels so she can strengthen her instructional practices as well as encourage and help other educators with endeavors to do the same.
“I encourage any educator, even those who do not teach in rural schools, to register for this conference because it is an opportunity to strengthen our skills and enhance our instruction to engage students and ensure their success,” Olivia urges.
She was originally awarded a scholarship to attend the Summit in Utah, but because of its cancellation, she will be able to apply that scholarship to next year’s conference in Iowa. This scholarship is made possible by the CHS Foundation, and Olivia is extremely thankful for their support.
To learn more about the conference (held June 24-25 virtually) and register, visit https://www.agclassroom.org/conferences/virtual.cfm?fbclid=IwAR1Q7R6C4CdEvXZF2CYstXPiHY43QPWqnfLVMDG6ke525HOTyK_XKKYMR_0
Olivia is hopeful that learning how to incorporate agriculture in the classroom will teach students the importance of rural communities to the world. She also wants students to realize that agriculture is filled with a plethora of career opportunities—science, technology, humanities, and math.
Olivia’s efforts in the classroom do more than help students explore career opportunities or understand where their food comes from, she is sharing her passion for farmers and agriculture with the next generation, and hopefully, some of that passion and love will rub off on her students and stick with them into adulthood.
It takes a big heart to shape little minds, and we are so thankful that educators like Olivia Herring have such a big heart for both their students and for agriculture.
Farm families extends beyond the farmer and their immediate family members. It also includes a large network of friends and colleagues that have a part in helping the farmer grow crops and raise livestock. We want our “friends of farmers” to be highlighted for three reasons:
They work hard and deserve to be recognized and thanked.
While farm families are our core, agriculture is a much bigger family. Farming wouldn’t work without our friends.
To show just how profoundly agriculture connects us.
If you would like to nominate a “Friend of NC Farm Families”, shoot us a message!