New York Agriculture Literacy Week

New York Ag Literacy Week: March 16-20th, 2026

New York Ag. in the Classroom and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Agriculture Department invite you to be a reader for the annual Agriculture Literacy Week to be held March 16-20th, 2026. In 2025, 3,100 books were donated last year with over 103,000 students participating in the book reading and related hands-on activity throughout New York State. In Chautauqua County, more than 50 volunteers read to over 3,200 elementary students with a book donated to every school or library that participated.

The selected book for 2026 is "Seasons on the Farm", written by Chelsea Tornetto, and illustrated by Karen Bunting. On a farm, each season arrives with new jobs to do– crops to plant, animals to tend to, and fields to harvest. Readers get an insider’s look at what spring, summer, fall and winter look like on a family farm, from adorable baby animals to rumbling tractors and pumpkins to pies. This sweet rhyming story is perfect for young readers, whether their home is on a farm or not!

Donate

Donations are necessary to purchase the books and classroom supplies. By making a donation, you will help our county provide books and supplies to area schools along with classroom guides and activities, as well as funds to support the continuation of this program! This year, our fundraising goal is $1000 in order to have a successful outreach effort. If you decide to donate, no matter the amount, your name will be recognized in the bookplate of EVERY book. Those who are interested in donating should fill out the PDF form below and return it completed by email, mail, or in person at our office by February 20^th. Donations can be made directly by PayPal on our website. Scroll down on the home page of the website, on the right-hand side you will see a PayPal option, type in the payment for box "Ag. Literacy Week Donation" & click "Pay Now". If you are donating via check, please have all checks made out to CCE- Chautauqua and noted to "Ag. Literacy Week Donation" to ensure funds are filed correctly.

Contact Sofia Russo with any questions at ssr236@cornell.edu or 716-664-9502 Ext. 203.

Fillable PDF Donor Form: 2026 Ag Literacy Week Donor/Volunteer Form PDF

Volunteer

Volunteers will visit local elementary schools during Ag Literacy Week to read an agriculturally based book and lead a related, hands-on with the students. At the conclusion of the day's activities, the book will be donated to the school library for students and teachers to use throughout the school year. Volunteers who are interested in participating in New York Ag Literacy Week in Chautauqua County should fill out the PDF form below and return to the contact for this page by email, fax, mail, or by dropping by the office by February 20th, 2026.

Fillable PDF Volunteer/Donor Form: 2026 Ag Literacy Week Donor/Volunteer Form PDF

Visit the New York State Ag in the Classroom website to learn more about statewide activities and to learn about agriculture-themed books that have been featured in other years.

Interested in having a reader at your school/library/organization?

Volunteers throughout the county will read a book with an agricultural theme to elementary aged students and lead them in related, hands-on activity. Teachers will also benefit from receiving follow-up activities to use after the program ends. All activity materials are prepared by New York Ag in the Classroom and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County. Each school will receive a free copy of the book to be donated to the school library with a bookplate recognizing the donors and New York Ag in the Classroom. 

To sign your school up for Ag Literacy Week, please fill out the PDF School Sign up Form and return it to the contact for this page by email, fax, or mail, or fill out the NEW Online School Sign Up Form by February 16^th. This gives our office enough time to coordinate volunteers. 

Fillable PDF Sign up Form: 2026 School Sign up form PDF

New York Agriculture in the Classroom

Established in 1985, New York Agriculture in the Classroom (NYAITC) is a partnership of Cornell University, the NYS Department of Ag & Markets, the NYS Education Department, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the New York Farm Bureau. Its mission is to foster awareness, understanding, and appreciation of how we produce food and fiber, what we eat, and how we live, by helping educators, students, and their communities learn about and engage with agriculture and food systems.

Contributing nearly $2.4 billion to the state gross domestic product and covering approximately 7.3 million acres, agriculture is vital to New York State. The New York Agriculture in the Classroom Program is excited to feature a book that displays the unique markets and diversity that encompasses many aspects of New York's agriculture while also focusing on food production and how consumers contribute to agriculture.

Last updated February 11, 2026