students at a West Covina, Calif., middle school.

After considering the kernels of the ancient foodstuff that is part of their daily diet, ''the best conclusion they could draw was that it was popcorn,'' said the farmer and rancher from Molt, Mont. ''They identified barley as birdseed.''

None of the students could make the connection between wheat and bread, or cattle and beef.

''When I explained hamburger came from cattle, you could hear some oooohs,'' Downs said. ''Shown pictures of open space, they wanted to know where the buildings were.''

For three days in January, Downs was an ambassador for natural resource producers in an award-winning program that educates Americans about where their food and fiber come from. The brainchild of a former Montana logger, Provider Pals presents four different programs to introduce urban dwellers to people who provide natural resources to the U.S. economy.

The program allows a class to adopt a farmer, rancher, logger, miner or fisherman as an information resource for the students. It includes the face-to-face education that Downs has provided to three different schools. An affiliated program sends rural students to visit with peers in inner-city classrooms and provides a taste of urban culture for the rural students.

Downs has traveled to both ends and the middle of the country to share his life's work with middle school children, their parents and teachers.

''The teachers are just as inquisitive as the kids,'' he said. ''Besides getting the kids rolling, they have questions themselves.''

Downs, 27, is the fourth generation of his family in Montana agriculture. The family place west of Billings produces wheat, barley and beef cattle. The yearly calving season began recently, which brings the night watch into play. Downs gets up every four hours to check on his cows.

''The year got jump-started with a set of twins,'' he said.

He has a Web site that he updates every couple of weeks for his students. The latest includes pictures of cows with new calves.

Downs spent three days in West Covina, a suburban area south of Los Angles. It was during the drenching rain, floods and mudslides. His best sight-seeing was from the plane as he left Southern California. ''The pilot took us out over the ocean and then banked back so we got a good view from the air,'' he said. ''It was waterlogged.''

In his effort to connect the students with their food, Downs used a poster of breakfast cereals produced by General Mills. By identifying the grain in each, he was able to show them the raw product.

''Wheaties are made from wheat,'' he said. ''The exciting part was they were eager to go home and tell their parents.''

The hot topic was mad cow disease. Most everyone had heard about it.

''I tried to explain it in a nonpolitical way,'' Downs said. ''I was open about the issue and it allowed me to educate them about beef production.''

Provider Pals originated as a pilot program in Montana and Washington, D.C., from 1998-2001. A grant from the Ford Motor Co. in 2002 set the program in motion. Last year, the popular program was honored by President Bush with a Preserve America Presidential Award.

The program has expanded to include 325 classrooms and 8,000 students throughout the country.