The amount of farmland in Campbell County continues to decline each year.  The majority of Campbell County citizens live in urban communities.   This increasing population has limited understanding or appreciation for the importance of agriculture in our daily lives.  To address this issue, the Campbell County Cooperative Extension Service developed an agriculture awareness program called “Grow It, Eat It, Wear It” that targets fifth grade students.

Campbell County youth stepped outside the classroom and into the world of agriculture to learn the connection between agricultural products that they rely on and where these products originate.  This week long program was held, September 23-26.  The Extension Service collaborated with the Alexandria Fair board, the Campbell County Farm Bureau, FFA, the Beef Cattle Association, Bee Keepers Association, NK Horse Network and 4-H Horse and Sheep Project Leaders to carry out this program.  The Campbell County Extension District Board supported this program by granting an $8000 Special Programs request to fund the program.

 Classes offered were on Beef & Dairy, Sheep and wool, Poultry, Apples, Horses and Pollinating with Bees.   572 youth and 95 adults from 12 county schools attended this educational program.  Participants got to see, touch and learn about live farm animals, taste honey, watch sheep being sheared, spin wool and learn how agriculture provides them with food, clothing and shelter that we all need and depend on every day.

 This agent promoted the program with schools and worked with teachers on setting the schedule for the week and recruited instructors and animals for the different classes.   Extension worked with Farm Bureau to provide the teachers with educational packets and goody boxes to take back to the classroom for follow up discussion.

 On written evaluations, teacher comments included:  

-“Love this program.”  “This is my favorite field trip each year”

“The apple presentation was a great addition”

“Thank you for the box of items to take back to school”

-“Great hands on activities that increased student learning and fun!”

-“Great science and history connections with life cycles, importance of pollination, Native American use of horses, Spanish explorers bringing horses, Pony Express and use of miniature horses in coal mines.”

-“Students were very engaged and exposed to information they would not have gotten without this program!”