The Minnesota State Fair is partnering with Minnesota FFA and local agriculture commodity groups to connect food back to farms for more than 1,400 Minneapolis and Saint Paul public school third-graders. (Brian Boucheron via Flickr)
ST. PAUL — The Minnesota State Fair is partnering with Minnesota FFA and local agriculture commodity groups to connect food back to farms for more than 1,400 Minneapolis and Saint Paul public school third-graders. These students will experience Urban Ag Day 2018 on May 8 and 9, a field trip event designed to teach young students that food does not come from the grocery store or refrigerator, but from farmers and their fields. Both days feature an up-close look at live animals, including swine, beef and dairy cattle, dairy goats and sheep. The students also will meet with farmers who answer questions about modern farm machinery. Then, guided by FFA youth leaders, the third-graders have the opportunity to experience several agricultural education stations, which provide insight on what cows eat and how their diet is similar to the human diet, how the water cycle works, the importance of pollinators and much more.
“The Minnesota State Fair is proud to work with Minnesota FFA and other key agricultural organizations for the third year in a row to provide a unique experience to help metro-area third-graders connect food and the farm,” said Michelle Butler, education manager with the Minnesota State Fair.
FFA students and alumni from Dassel-Cokato, Glencoe-Silver Lake, Hancock, Morris Area and Randolph will provide their expertise and knowledge of agriculture to students who may not otherwise get to experience modern farming.
“The Urban Ag Day event was born out of a desire to bring the farm and the farmers to the city to help share the story of production agriculture,” said Natasha Mortenson, community relations at Riverview, LLP. “It is hard to understand all the work that farmers are doing to produce safe and wholesome food if you are not able to get out on a farm.”
The students will wrap up the day with lunch made up of the major food groups to bring the lessons to life in their food.
Special Thanks to Urban Ag Day Partners:
AgCentric, Ag Country Farm Credit Services, Dassel-Cokato FFA & FFA Alumni, Glencoe-Silver Lake FFA, Hancock FFA, Midwest Dairy Association, Minnesota Ag in the Classroom, Minnesota Beef Council, Minnesota Corn Growers, Minnesota Dairy Goat Producers, Minnesota Lamb & Wool Producers, Minnesota Pork Producers, Minnesota Turkey Growers, Morris Area FFA, Randolph FFA, Riverview Farms, Stevens County FFA Alumni, University of Minnesota – College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, West Central Cattlemen’s Association and West Central Area FFA.
— Minnesota State Fair
Source: Morning Ag Clips