STILLMAN VALLEY – Through the Ag in the Classroom program 2nd grade students at Highland Elementary in Stillman Valley made tortillas.
The 45-minute activity showed students how to measure, mix, and flatten dough. They learned how wheat is used to make the main ingredient, flour. Thank you to Sydnee Overton and Adrianne Hall, juniors and FFA members at Stillman Valley High School for their help.
Illinois produces soft red winter wheat. Most of the wheat grown in Illinois is shipped out of country to help feed people all over the world and is also processed into flour to make cookies, crackers, and cakes. The wheat is collected from area farms at grain elevators and then shipped to flour mills. During the milling process, white flour is produced by removing the bran and germ portions of the wheat. Most products made from white flour are enriched. Whole grain foods are made with flour that contains all three parts of the kernel. None of the wheat plant goes to waste; the stalk and leaves are baled and used for animal bedding, straw.
Ag in the Classroom is offered through the University of Illinois Extension in partnership with Ogle County Farm Bureau, Carroll County Farm Bureau, Ogle County Soil & Water, and Carroll County Soil & Water. For more information about the program, call the Ogle County Extension Office at 815-732-2191 or like us on Facebook @OgleCarrollAgClass.
