In an effort to demonstrate to all the fourth-graders in Bureau County the importance of agriculture in their lives, the Bureau County Farm Bureau Womens Committee held its 23rd annual Ag Fair on March 23.

The Ag Fair is a day-long event at the Bureau County Fairgrounds in which students make timed stops (9 minutes at each station) to 14 different stations.

These stations range from dairy, embryology, safety, pork, corn, seed science, conservation, beef, soybeans, wheat, technology, equipment, large animals and small animals.

The Farm Bureau Womens Committee and the Bureau County Ag Coalition Committee originally started Ag Fair.

The Ag Coalition Committee consists of a member from each participating Ag Fair station.

This committee was originally formed to develop and oversee the goals set for the Ag Fair.

Over time, the Ag Coalition Committee has handed the organizing process over to the Womens Committee, where the chair and co-chair persons take the lead on final decision-making.

The Ag Coalition members then handle the planning of their individual presentations.

Each year the Ag Fair is evaluated.

Any considerations for changes come through observation of the event, teachers input from evaluation sheets and suggestions made by volunteers.

The committee begins the planning process about five months in advance of the Ag Fair each year.

The committee works with local businesses, farmers, county commodity groups, U of I Extension, the local FS and SWCD, as well as state commodity groups to make presentations at each station.

Volunteers are recruited, a total of 75, to serve as presenters, leaders of the classes, time keepers, bus directors, goodie bag distributors and several other jobs including set-up and clean-up workers.

The day prior to the fair, the presenters take time to set up their displays, and the set-up crew puts up tables, chairs and partitions at each station.

The day of the fair coffee, juice, doughnuts and lunch are served to all the presenters and volunteers.

Following the Ag Fair, each student was given a bag of goodies the committee put together which contains items donated by each of the presenters from coloring books to balloons and pencils.

The teachers were given an evaluation that will assist not only the committee, but also the presenters next year.

As a follow up, the committee is sponsoring a thank you card drive for all the volunteers for the event.

Students are encouraged to draw about their favorite part of the educational event.

A teacher attending past Ag Fair best sums up the event, Ag Fair is the best-kept secret in Bureau County.

This year more than 375 students from 20 classrooms attended the Ag Fair.

Read the original here:
Annual Ag Fair was a success - Bureau County Republican