27th Annual Bureau County Ag Fair

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The Bureau County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee held its 27th Annual Ag Fair on March 23, 2023, to demonstrate the importance of Agriculture to fourth grade students in Bureau County. The Ag Fair is a one day event at the Bureau County Fair Grounds in which students make timed stops (9 minutes at each station) to 14 different learning centers. These stations range from dairy, embryology, safety, pork, corn, seed science, conservation, beef, soybeans, pollinators, ag technology, equipment, large animals, and small animals.

The Farm Bureau Women’s Committee and the Bureau County Ag Coalition Committee originally started the 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 Women’s Committee, where the chairperson takes 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, teacher’s input from evaluation sheets and suggestions made by volunteers.

The committee begins the planning process about 6 months in advance of the Ag Fair each year. The committee works with local businesses, farmers, county commodity groups, U of I Extension, Ag View 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, timekeepers, 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 put up tables, chairs, and partitions at each station. The day of the fair coffee, juice, doughnuts, lunch and snacks are provided by Farm Bureau and served to all the presenters and volunteers.

Following the Ag Fair, each student was given a bag of goodies that 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.

“Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped with this year’s Ag Fair!!” A teacher attending a past Ag Fair best sums up the event, “Ag Fair is the best-kept secret in Bureau County.” This year approximately 350 students from 20 classrooms attended the Ag Fair.

Students visited the Large and Small Animal Learning Centers where they were able to hear animal facts and pet each of the animals while asking any other questions they may have had. Thank you to Karli Schultz and her family for bringing in their ewe and lamb.
Tim Harris spoke to the students about Dairy.  He explained the journey their milk takes from the cow at the farm to the glass on their tables.  He also allowed showed the students how a milking machine worked.

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