THE creative South East team behind national agricultural mascot George the Farmer has launched the fifth children’s picture book in the series – George the Farmer Harvest Hiccup.
The latest story, about a broad bean harvest, educates children about the nutritional benefits of pulses, such as beans, as well as the environmental benefits from the release of nitrogen into the soil as the crop grows.
But like all of the George the Farmer stories, it would not be complete without a bit of a hiccup.
“There is a lot of hotted-up action in this one with Dr Ruby in the paddock fighting fires and some warm, smelly breezes wafting through the header cab … thanks to George the Farmer or Jessie the Kelpie? Lots of kids right across Australia will find out very soon,” laughed co-founder and author Simone Kain.
Established by Penola-based Ms Kain and Mount Gambier identity Ben Hood, George the Farmer is a social enterprise, reinvesting profits from the sale of each book into creating and providing free supplementary agriculturally-focused educational resources with a focus on “STEAM” subjects, adding agricultural to the core modern education streams.
More than 3000 resources have been downloaded in the past six months alone, contributing to the agricultural education of more than 40,000 children nationally.
“We think this book is going to be our most popular yet,” Mr Hood said.
“The kids love a bit of drama and they love seeing machinery in action.”
George the Farmer’s aim is to inspire children, while also teaching them about farming practices, along with where their food and fibre comes from through quintessentially Australian stories, songs, apps, teachers guides, videos and performances right across the country.
“I’m not sure how many kilometres we have travelled across Australia entertaining kids, but one thing is for sure, George’s popularity is certainly not waning,” Ms Kain said.
“We are looking forward to an even bigger 2019 with some really exciting developments that are currently taking place.”
