Success StoryAgriculture Awareness



Agriculture Awareness

Author: Don Sorrell

Planning Unit: Campbell County CES

Major Program: Agriculture 4-H Core Curriculum

Plan of Work: Youth Agriculture Education

Outcome: Initial Outcome

Agriculture Awareness especially for urban youth, has become a focus of the Campbell County ANR agent and agriculture leadership groups such as the Campbell County Agriculture Council and the Campbell County Farmland Workgroup. The following are agriculture awareness programs coordinated/supported by the Campbell County ANR agent. 

  • Newport High School is an inner city school where concrete and blacktop are the dominant landscape features of their school and homes.  During the fall of 2017, the Extension Service ANR agent, Horticulture agent and a 4-H assistant started the Farm to Table 4-H Club in this school. This club met on Fridays after school and included farm field trips and hands-on classroom activities to introduce high school students to agriculture and horticulture.  Farm tours and classroom topics focused on beef, equine, goats, grain crops and fruits and vegetables. A total of 8 high school students participated in this start up program. A more in-depth program on horses is planned for the fall of 2018. 
  • Brossart High School is a Catholic school serving both urban and rural students in Campbell County.  During the spring of 2018, the ANR agent supported the Introduction to Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources class with presentations focusing on agriculture careers and local agriculture production topics that included beef, dairy, grain, equine, forages and feeds and feeding. Some of the individual topics took as many as 4 classroom sessions. There were 9 students in this class.  
  • Over 80% of the Campbell County High School FFA program have no farming experience.  To provide students with the opportunity to experience life on the farm, the Extension Service and the Conservation District started a SAE (supervised agriculture experience) program. Eighteen students have chosen to spend 20 hours a school year with a specific farm or agriculture business. During their time with local farmers, students have the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities such as planting and harvesting vegetables, animal health care programs and farm business projects.
  • 616 - 5th grade students participated in the annual agriculture awareness program called Grow it, Eat It, Wear It. Students go through a series of 6 hands-on programs that focus on beef/dairy, bees, fish, fruits/vegetables, horses and sheep/cotton. This was the 25th consecutive year for this program. 
  • Extension Service Open House was held at the Extension office on June 23, 2018, - ANR agent set up a local foods booth that showcased KY Proud products and local Farmers Markets. Over 300 participated. 
  • ANR and Horticulture Agents worked with the Newport Youth Leadership Development Program to host two agriculture awareness programs to inner city youth. This program included harvesting and processing garden vegetables for lunch as well as 4 farm tour stops. 12 youth participated.
  • ANR agent has worked with Imagination Abounds (day care center) for three years to establish a small garden. Agent introduces these young students with some hands-on planting of vegetables and flowers. 
  • July 13, 2017, 13 Campbell County farmers opened their farms to approximately 2,400 (mostly urban) Campbell County citizens in our annual Backroads Farm Tour. This was the 9th year for this program. Agent helps coordinate this program which is sponsored by the Campbell County Farmland Work Group.








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