By Julie Tomascik
Editor
About 230 students in fourth and fifth grade in Hamilton County learned more about agriculture at a recent Ag Day.
The event, hosted by Hamilton County Farm Bureau, aimed to grow agricultural literacy and awareness among the young students who attend school in Evant, Hamilton and Hico.
“This event showcased a lot about agriculture in an engaging and educational way for young kids to learn more,” said Sonny De La Garza, who serves on the Hamilton County Farm Bureau board of directors. “It was great to have them interact with people in agriculture.”
Ten stations featuring demonstrations on a variety of agricultural topics were set up during the Ag Day to provide the elementary students an immersive experience. Students learned about gardening and horticulture, dairy farming, conservation, beef cattle, cotton, honeybees, sheep production and more.
Texas Farm Bureau’s mobile learning barn helped students better understand how the products they see on grocery store shelves get their start on Texas farms and ranches.
In addition to crops and livestock, Hamilton County Farm Bureau addressed farm safety.
“We also had a station on ATV safety to teach these young students the importance of safety when riding and operating these vehicles,” De La Garza said. “Accidents can happen, and we want them to understand the need for safety.”
The local farm equipment company also showed how ATVs are used on the farm.
Prior to the Ag Day, Hamilton County Farm Bureau also hosted an essay contest. This year’s theme was to describe what a farmer looks like.
“It’s a cross-curricular activity so they could start thinking about agriculture before the Ag Day,” De La Garza said.
The county organization collected all the essays from the schools that participated, and the awards were presented during the Ag Day.
“It’s important to get the message out to young people, so they understand more about agriculture and can be a voice for agriculture as they get older,” De La Garza said.