MAKE A CONNECTION TO AGRICULTURE

Baseball is as American as apple pie.  It's been around for decades and is played in sandlots, streets, parks, and major league stadiums. But did you know that baseball is strongly connected to agriculture?  Without agriculture, you wouldn't be watching the game. Agriculture is the science of growing crops and raising livestock.  What objects or food at a baseball game come from the farm? Invite participants to make a baseball charm bracelet to learn more about objects and foods found at baseball games that are grown or raised on farms and ranches.

ACTIVITY--Create Your Own Bracelet to connect  Baseball to the Farm
MATERIALS
  • Pipe cleaner
  • Baseball bead
  • Brown bead
  • Pink bead
  • White bead
  • Yellow bead
  • Green Bead

(Tip: separate beads by color in individual bowls.)

Have participants take a pipe cleaner. Explain that they will be placing one bead of each color onto the pipe cleaner. Each bead represents an agricultural product used in baseball.

  • Baseball bead--Beef (Beef can be found in leather products such as baseball gloves and cleats.)
  • Pink Bead--Pork (Pork can be found in hotdogs at the concession stand.)
  • Brown Bead--Dairy Cattle (Dairy cattle produce milk which is made into ice cream and nacho cheese at the game.
  • White Bead--Chicken (Chicken can be found at the concession stand as chicken strips and chicken wings.)
  • Yellow Bead--Corn (Corn is used to make tortilla chips for nachos, corn oil can be used to fry foods at the concession stand, and corn is used to make bubbles in sodas.
  • Green Bead--Grass turf (All but two major league baseball parks have been covered with natural grass.)

Everywhere you look, from the baseball to the nachos, there are connections to agriculture. So, as you head out to the ball game, think of agriculture and the farmers and ranchers who are dedicated to providing the products for America's favorite pastime!

For more, read American Farm Bureau's Foundation for Agriculture article, Connecting America's Pastime With America's Most Important Industry.