There Is Lots to Learn From the Fertilizer Industry! Pass it On
April 15, 2020 
Brandt’s Charles Lanfier presented earlier in the year on the bright future for careers in fertilizer and agriculture to Avon Park (Florida) High School students.
Photo by Tracy Baxter
One thing I’ve learned over my 21-year career in communications is to reference the work of experts in their respective fields. And when it comes to educating folks about fertilizers, my go-to organization is the Nutrients for Life Foundation (NFLF) with its science-based curriculum and materials on fertilizers, modern agriculture, and the role plant nutrients play in improving people’s lives.
NFLF raised its profile in Florida a year ago by hiring Tracy Baxter as its Florida Regional Representative. She is building on the successful efforts of former NFLF Florida Regional Reps Joan Kyle, Amy Guevarra, and Melissa Raburn.
In recent months, Baxter’s NFLF exhibit at the Florida State Fair resulted in 60,000 impressions thanks to more than 200 Future Farmers of America students who presented the NFLF message each of the fair’s 12 days. On a more local level, she’s taken fertilizer industry representatives into Avon Park High School and Hardee High School to speak about their careers.
Charles Lanfier, Brandt’s Senior Business Manager for South Florida, Central America, and the Caribbean (a territory spanning 34 countries), noted: “We’re hoping to inspire the next generation of industry professionals. It’s a great career as they say in Costa Rica, pura vida! I love it.”
Baxter lauded Lanfier and Kelsey Gunthrop, a sales agronomist with Yara North America, for their willingness to venture into classrooms.
For those who may not feel as comfortable being back in a classroom or in front of a Rotary Club, Baxter recommends the Industry Ambassador program and NFLF’s new industry toolkits featuring soil and nutrient lessons.
Like a meal kit in a box, these industry tool kits come packed with everything needed to make a balanced lesson presentation. There are prepared materials, hands-on visuals, and teacher gifts of educational resources. Lessons and kits can be ordered at NutrientsForLife.org/industry-ambassadors, which also contains a coordinating PowerPoint and suggested script for each lesson.
The lessons are from NFLF’s Smithsonian-approved curriculum. The idea is to prompt industry members to share what they know about the importance of soil science and their companies with students and the public. The current roster of toolkits includes:
- Fertilizer 101 – Appropriate for all ages
- If Earth Were an Apple – All Ages
- From Root to Leaf – All Ages
- Soil Separation – All Ages
- Nutrient Movement – Middle and High School Students
- Exploration of Soil – Elementary Students
- 4R Nutrient Stewardship – All Ages
“The Industry Tool Kit is a great resource and we’re encouraged by the way students respond to the presentation,” Baxter said.
With recent harmful algal blooms and red tide outbreaks raising questions about the role excess nutrients play in these events, attention has been zeroed in on fertilizer applications, failing septic tanks, recurrent sewage spills, and Florida’s aging stormwater and wastewater treatment infrastructure. Now more than ever, a better understanding of plant nutrients and the role fertilizers play in our lives is needed.
So take a moment and just imagine the positive change you could make in Florida by teaching others about fertilizers. NFLF can help you make it happen!
For more information, email Tracy Baxter at [email protected] or go to NutrientsForLife.org