Indiana Farm Bureau’s Book of the Year teaches children where food comes from

FRENCH LICK, Ind. — The 2025 Indiana Farm Bureau Book of the Year — “Right This Very Minute: A Table-to-Farm Book About Food and Farming,” written by Lisl H. Detlefsen with illustrations by Renee Kurilla — educates children where the food they eat daily comes from in an informative and fun way.

The Book of the Year, which is selected annually, is a part of INFB’s Agriculture in the Classroom program, a grassroots, agricultural outreach initiative for school children in Indiana. The book was announced at INFB’s 2024 State Convention at the French Lick Springs Resort.

“Right This Very Minute,” published by Feeding Minds Press — a project of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture — highlights families in their busy kitchens or at the table who are wondering where the foods they’re about to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert come from, followed by colorful, detailed illustrations showing the farming operations and people involved in growing those foods.

More than a dozen different types of farms are featured throughout the book, including how a family-owned strawberry farm runs a “u-pick” business, maple syrup is collected using a new tubing system instead of buckets, wheat is planted, dairy farmers care for their animals, lettuce is harvested, beef farmers work with cattle on the range and more.

Some of the farming examples showcased take place in the Hoosier state. Indiana is the ninth largest farming state in the nation with over 94,000 farmers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest Census of Agriculture.

For the ninth consecutive year, a statewide campaign led by the INFB Women’s Leadership Committee is underway to promote the Book of the Year throughout 2025 in every county.

Ag in the Classroom volunteers will read the Book of the Year aloud to local classrooms and donate it for future use. INFB representatives also use this opportunity to answer any questions the students have about modern farming in Indiana.

Additionally, INFB’s Ag in the Classroom program will release a curriculum for teachers wishing to incorporate the book into their class work.

Anyone involved in education and interested in learning more about how INFB’s 2025 Book of the Year can be incorporated into curriculum or student programming can visit the Ag in the Classroom section of INFB’s website at www.infarmbureau.org/INFBAgEd.