Where could one find nearly 700 third graders, cows, chickens, turkeys and honeybees?
All convened at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center in Albemarle this month for the 10th Annual Ag Awareness Days. The brainchild of Extension Director Lori Ivey, the event spanned three days, with approximately 50 volunteers per day working 12 stations in and around the Ag Center to educate county third graders on the importance of agriculture to the economy.
Ivey realized the need for the educational opportunity for today’s youth when her own son did not know the origin of bacon.
“I think this day is important because most students are one to three generations removed from the farm,” she said.
“Agriculture touches our everyday lives from the food we eat to the clothes we wear to the fuel in our vehicles.”
Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in North Carolina. With Stanly County’s rural acreage, farming provides economic development opportunities for the region.
“Not a lot of industries in North Carolina are growing at the rate that agriculture is,” Ivey said.
Students from public and private schools in the county traveled to the Ag Center to spend a day learning about the value of agriculture. Rotating between 12 stations, the youth were educated on a variety of ag related topics, including soybeans, cotton, livestock, poultry, soils, nutrition and honeybees. They saw and touched animals; they tasted various agricultural products; they listened to presentations by county experts in numerous ag related industries.
Ivey and her extension staff would like to thank the many agencies and individuals that helped make the annual hands-on learning event successful.
