The Ohio Soybean Council and DuPont Pioneer sponsored a $1,500 grant for classroom materials, field trips or career-based activities that will introduce students to biotechnology concepts and careers.

Urbana ag teacher Mallory Zachrich attended the Ag Biotech Academy this summer for professional development on a agriculture, biotechnology and STEM curriculum to teach her students.

Zachrich applied for the grant to use with her classes for milk nutrient analysis. She plans to have students use raw milk samples from various species to see if they vary in nutrient content. Additionally, they will use processed samples of the different milks to see if the processing changed the nutrient content.

“Techniques to perform nutrient testing are used all the time in various applications from hospital NICU’s to food processing facilities. The skills students will learn from these lessons and labs will give them insight to how exciting the STEM and biotechnology industry is as well as give students a leg up in knowing how to use cutting edge lab equipment most public school systems do not have,” said Zachrich.