CCFB News» Katrina Milton, Director of Ag Literacy

I have always loved Dolly Parton (and I always will).
Although I like her music and her cornbread mix, what I like the most about Dolly is her good-heartedness and giving nature.

When I think of Earth Day, I think of celebrating sunny days, warm weather, leafy trees, green grass, squirrels, and whales. I typically don’t think of all that is needed to make the Earth better: rainy days to make trees leafy and grass green, soil science to not only know how to grow better, but also make what we grow better, and combatting the negative impacts of litter and pollution.

Usually, the most exciting adventure I have in February is driving through snow to work. This February, I will visit mosques and synagogues, shop at spice markets, photograph artistic tiles and architecture, and maybe even ride a camel.

Usually, the most exciting adventure I have in February is driving through snow to work. This February, I will visit mosques and synagogues, shop at spice markets, photograph artistic tiles and architecture, and maybe even ride a camel.

This year, my new year’s resolution is to get out and do more. As a Millennial, YOLO (you only live once) has always been a personal motto as well as, “The future starts today, not tomorrow.”

In November, I led a virtual workshop for teachers to earn continuing education hours about agriculture’s connections to winter holidays. My portion of the workshop was one hour long, and at first, I worried about being able to find a topic or two to talk about for an hour.

Are you celebrating Thanksgiving this year? According to the 2025 Butterball Togetherness Report, 89% of Americans plan on celebrating the holiday this year, with 84% of celebrants eating turkey.

Every fall, my mom bought mums to place by our front door. I always loved the autumn colors and small blossoms, whose petals remind me of tiny fireworks.

“In August and September, AITC Summer Intern Elizabeth “Libby” Heenan is taking over my Planting Seeds column to tell you a little more about herself and all of her activities this summer with the Cook County Farm Bureau. I hope you learned a little more about Libby these past two months of summer and continue to enjoy getting to know our summer intern!”

Katrina Milton, Director of Ag Literacy

In August and September, AITC Summer Intern Elizabeth “Libby” Heenan will be taking over my Planting Seeds column to tell you a little more about herself and all of her activities this summer with the Cook County Farm Bureau. I hope you learn a little more about Libby and enjoy getting to know our summer intern!

For the past month or so, if anyone asks me how I’m doing, my response has been, “Keeping busy!” With two or three work events a week, some even held on the weekend, I’ve been busy.

Growing up, the start of summer was a celebration. I couldn’t wait to run out of school on the last day of class to a summer full of possibilities and fun.

When I was in grade school, one year on April 30, my class made May Day baskets for the community. May Day baskets are traditionally small baskets or bags of flowers or treats that are left anonymously for friends or family on May 1.

My favorite day of the year is Ag Day. Luckily for us in Cook County, we have two Ag Days!

During February and March, I am participating in Illinois Farm Bureau’s 2025 Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT) leadership program.

February may seem like one of the dreariest, most miserable months. It’s usually cold and snowy, you get a little stir crazy from being inside all of the time, and you daydream of summer’s warm weather and sunny days

I recently saw a TikTok video where a woman was explaining why she doesn’t eat hamburgers: “because hamburgers come from pork.” I also saw an Instagram Reel that had a young man explain that chocolate milk comes from brown cows and strawberry milk comes from cows that eat strawberries.

When I was in school, I remember going on an 8th grade class trip to Springfield and high school trips to Washington, D.C.
I still have the photos from those trips in albums at home. I remember rubbing the nose on the statue at Abraham Lincoln’s tomb and walking around for what seemed like miles on the National Mall. I also remember having fun on the bus with friends, enjoying my time out of the classroom and out and about in “the real world.”

There’s something about food that brings people closer together, whether it’s everyone sharing a meal around the table or rolling up your sleeves and putting on an apron to help make food in the kitchen.

While at an event recently, I was asked by a teacher, “Why agriculture?” She asked the question wanting to know why agriculture is relevant in the modern world and how it could pertain to everyday life, especially everyday life in an urban area like Cook County.

During the last week of June, I traveled to Utah to attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. The three-day annual conference is an event I eagerly look forward to all year.

This past month has been full of pollinators: two library programs about Monarch butterflies, a “Pizza and Pollinators” PDCH workshop for educators, and pollinator events at Lincoln Park Zoo and Brookfield Zoo.

I’ve always loved asking questions. Who, what, where, when, why, and how are my favorite ways to start a conversation.

Some people have a favorite day of the year; this year, I had two favorite days: Ag Day North and Ag Day South.

Rainy days during my childhood were spent playing games indoors with my mom and cousin. My family is pretty competitive, and we lorded winning over each other for days afterwards, until the next game night.

I’ve always loved spring: warmer weather after months of freezing temperatures, flowers blooming, Easter celebrations with my family, bunnies, and the end of the school year. My favorite flowers are snapdragons, daffodils, and tulips, and I love cherry blossom trees after attending undergrad in Washington, D.C.

Each January, I try not to set a new year’s resolution because of the high likelihood of failing. According to Time Magazine, 80% of people fail to keep up their new year's resolutions by February. Rather than set a goal that will probably fail, I decided a new approach: do something new each month.

As a child, I loved winter. I loved making snowmen and snow angels, sledding, having snow days off from school, drinking hot chocolate, and wearing the crocheted scarves my grandma made for me. I loved running around in the snow with my St. Bernard, complaining when my mom called us inside from playing for too long out in the cold.

Christmas was always my mom’s favorite time of the year. We started decorating the house Dec. 1 and left our decorations up until Candlemas on Feb. 2. My mom’s decorations included a tree in every room, lights hung on the outside, animatronic window displays, a Christmas village on the fireplace, and holiday music playing nonstop. My favorite part of the holiday wasn’t the decorations or the delicious food she made – it was how my mom made the entire season special and festive.

“What is a soybean?”

It’s amazing how a simple question, asked in four short words, can leave you speechless.

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books, “Anne of Green Gables” by L.M. Montgomery. In the book, Anne makes the comment while carrying maple tree branches and leaves into the house as she plans to decorate her room with them.

I love butterflies: I love taking photos of butterflies, I love seeing them flit and flutter as they fly from flower to flower, I love the science and magic of their transformation from egg to caterpillar to butterfly. In college, my sorority’s sister name was Butterflie (-ie ending to match my family tree), due to my social butterfly personality.

In June, I traveled to Orlando, Florida for the National Ag in the Classroom Conference. The conference, held June 27-29, featured workshops and classes, guest speakers, a bingo fundraiser, and a traveling workshop.

“Knee-high by the Fourth of July” has been an age-old saying about it being a good year for corn if your corn plants are the height of your knees by July 4.

Due to advances in science, including the planting of drought and pest-resistant seeds, most corn is knee-high by mid-June and at least waist or chest-high by the Fourth of July.

When I was younger, the last day of the school year was always bittersweet. I knew I would miss my friends and teacher, but I was always excited for the warm weather and unlimited free reading time summer vacation would allow.

One of my favorite events to attend growing up was the Coffee and Doughnut Sundays held once a month in the downstairs kitchen area of our church.

At the Cook County Farm Bureau, we celebrated National Ag Day (March 21) with two Ag Day events for third grade students: Ag Day South on March 16 at The Children’s Farm in Palos Park and Ag Day North on March 22 at Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview.

Growing up rurally, I loved playing outside. Living in the country, I loved riding my bike up and down the long gravel roads, taking photos of crops growing in the fields, butterflies, and wildflowers (a.k.a. weeds) along the ditches. I spent the days of summer vacation monkeying around on my backyard playground set, swimming in our pool, and playing kickball, baseball, and basketball with my cousins. I looked forward to summer vacation not only for a hiatus from homework, but also because I was able to spend time adventuring outdoors.