Story by Bridgette McAuliffe, Staff writer
Photo by Julie Boeker/The News
Students in the Hutson School of Agriculture led efforts to teach kids about where their food comes from at Fall on the Farm.
The event ran from Sept. 18-21 at Pullen Farm. Though the event is usually open to the public on Saturday, it was cancelled due to severe weather. Classes ranging from preschool to 7th grade came to experience interactive lessons and exhibits that taught them about different aspects of farming and agriculture.
The event was sponsored by the Murray State Agricultural Leadership Council, a group of students representing all of the organizations within the Hutson School of Agriculture.
Jonathan Reynolds, senior from Hickman County, Kentucky, serves as the chairman for the ALC. He helps faculty and staff coordinate the event to make it enjoyable.
Fall on the Farm has been going on for 15 years, bringing approximately 1,100 kids in throughout the week and 800-1,000 community members when it is open to the general public.
“It’s a chance for people who aren’t engaged in agriculture as much to see what it’s like to do what we do,” Reynolds said.
Agriculture touches our lives be it through what we eat or the products we buy. Reynolds said he hopes to teach the younger generation how agriculture affects them. Murray State students achieve this with interactive activities like corn mazes and demonstrations.
“Just getting to interact with the kids and see their faces light up is one thing we really enjoy,” Reynolds said. “Knowing that we are planting a seed is really cool because one day they’re going to grow up and want to know where their food comes from. They’ll be able to look back on this experience.”
Mason Larimore, graduate student from LaGrange, Kentucky, has been involved with the event since fall of 2014. As an agriculture education major, she enjoys getting to interact with and teach the groups.
“The kids are ready to listen and engage in everything,” Larimore said. “It’s super exciting to see them so ready to learn about agriculture, which many of them may not have a direct link to.”
Larimore said teaching young people about agriculture is important because many of them don’t know where their food comes from and don’t understand the process.
“It’s important for me as an agriculture education major that they know where it comes from as soon as possible,” Larimore said.
She taught students on Wednesday how to make beeswax candles, which included teaching the students about bees and what they make, while
giving them something to take home.
“They go home and tell their parents about it; they’re teaching their parents without even realizing it,” Larimore said.
The event takes a full year of planning and multiple weeks of setting up the
exhibits.
Michelle Santiago, professor of agribusiness economics and advisor of the Agriculture Business Club, said one of the best parts of the event is engaging with her students outside of the traditional classroom setting.
“I get to talk to them about their
internships and job searches,” Santiago said. “It’s that
opportunity to get to know my students outside of the normal classroom structure.”
For information on next year’s Fall on the Farm, contact Rhea Ann Holland at [email protected].