Floyd County Extension hosted our first ever Youth Ag Days. 170 students in third and fourth grade attend.   During their day the students rotated through three different lessons.  

During the Honeybee lesson led by the 4-H Agent, Beekeeper Association President Mike Hackworth and member Chris West, youth learned the importance of honeybees and why they are important to our food system and how to become a beekeeper. They were able to try four types of honey.  During their second session they visited the KY Dept. of Ag Mobile Science Activity Center: Each class had the opportunity to do one of the following Biodegradable Corn Plastic, Ice Cream in a Bag, Gluep, and Soybean Lip Balm. During these activities youth  learned to make the connection between the agricultural source to commonly used products. Our third session was Farm to Table led by our FCS Agent, 4-H Teens and SNAP Assistant.  Students participated in hands-on culinary lessons. They learned about hand washing, youth knife skills, and food safety. They also prepared their own recipe and learned about MyPlate and the vegetables we grow. After lunch students then had the opportunity to rotate through three short sessions.  The Great Pumpkin led by Extension Volunteer and State Fair Giant Pumpkin Winner Dwight Slone talked to the students about growing giant pumpkins. He also gave each student two pumpkin seeds from one of his pumpkins. Students also were able to learn about chickens from our staff assistant Megan Goble and raising alpaca and using their wool to make clothing from Ashlee Osoway.   The last short session was on Dairy Cows led by our 4-H Agent Assistant, 4-H Teen Members and Ag Agent...   Students had the opportunity to learn about Dairy Cows and got the opportunity to learn how to milk a cow, Cloverbelle. Third grade teacher Hannah Newsome from BLES had this to say about Youth Ag Days. “The third-grade students at BLES loved getting the hands n experience provided by Ag Days.  The teachers felt it was a great way to provide experiences outside of the classroom, that many students may not otherwise be able to receive.  Overall, Ag Days provides the students with the ability to connect to the agriculture provided right here, in our area.  We hope to attend again next year.”