By Gerri Miller
Elmore Autauga News
“Down to Earth: Agriculture Sustains Alabama” is the 2021 theme for Autauga County Farm City Week November 15-19 and there are lots of events planned to celebrate agriculture in Alabama.
On Friday, Prattville Kindergarten celebrated “Farm Month” with a farm parade. A cow, a calf and a pony were also brought to the school for the children to enjoy.
On Tuesday, Nov. 2, around 350 county sixth graders will take a field trip to R.H. Kirkpatrick Agricultural Arena in Autaugaville for Farm City Day. This event is open to all Autauga County public schools, private, and home-schooled students in the 6th grade.
Farm City Day is an educational field trip sponsored by the Autauga County Extension Service and there is no cost to the students. Darrue Stewart, Autauga County extension coordinator, said the event has been a tradition for the past 15 years except for 2020.
She said the goal of Farm City is to create an awareness of the importance of farming and the vital role farmers play every day in our lives. “Farm City provides opportunities for students to learn the different elements of agriculture as well as possible career paths in this area,” Stewart said.
Stewart said students will also learn the significance of forestry, wildlife and natural resources and the huge impact they have in Autauga County. “This event aims to get the students to recognize and appreciate all that farming provides them today and into their future….and to thank a farmer,” she said.
The children will rotate in groups to visit 12 learning stations representing all elements of agriculture. The first presentation of the day will be a program offered by the Southeastern Raptor Center of Auburn University.
The Auburn University College of Biosystems Engineers will show the high-tech side of agriculture and will bring an interactive trailer where the students will get some hands-on learning. For example, the trailer includes a sandbox that simulates erosion. Auburn University’s Poultry Department is bringing baby chicks and eggs and will discuss embryos with students. There will be a cotton ginning display.
“The students will get a little piece of agriculture at each station,” Stewart said.
Stewart said many people don’t realize that forestry is a form of farming because they don’t think about timber.
“We are just trying to expose urban kids to all sides of agriculture,” she said. She said there will be alpacas, pedigreed chickens, pigs, a cow, a calf and a horse.
The following day, the Alabama Forestry and Wildlife Stewardship Council and the Alabama Forestry Foundation will host the 2021 Fall Landowner Tour as part of Farm City Week. The Roger Carter Property featuring the John Pirtle Property will be available for a riding tour and lunch.
The Farm City Banquet will be held a little later than normal this year on December 2, 2021 at the R.H. Kirkpatrick Agricultural Pavilion from 6:00-8:00 p.m. This evening celebration includes a steak dinner provided by Karen Tucker Catering, awards honoring the business leader of the year, the farmer of the year, and recognition of the student winners for Farm City Week poster, essay and video contest.
The contests are “fun learning opportunities to help students understand where their food comes from and that it is the farmer that grows the food and fiber that sustains us,” Stewart said.
Banquet tickets are $32 and $35 at the door. Tickets are not on sale now but will be soon. However, sponsorships are now open and are available through the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce.
