- Author: Maddison Easley
Thursday, September 24th, 2015, marked the first annual county-wide Farm Day held at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in conjunction with the start of the esteemed Draft Horse Classic.
This keystone event was a significant feat not simply because more than 700 young students from all parts of Nevada County participated, but also due to the impressive teamwork that brought together over 25 different groups, agencies, farms, ranches, professionals and non-profit organizations. Children ranging from kindergarten to third grade, accompanied by teachers and chaperons, feasted on the plethora of activities, sites, sounds, and information focused on a wide array of agricultural and natural resource related topics.
Groups involved included the following: Sierra Foothill Audubon Society, Nevada County UCCE, 4-H Youth Development, Nevada Irrigation District (NID), Placer-Nevada Cattlewomen, Future Farmers of America (FFA), Sierra Harvest, California Native Plant Society, UC Master Gardeners, Bear Yuba Land Trust, Nevada County Fiber Guild, Nevada County Farm Bureau, NRCS, Nevada County Resource Conservation District (RCD) and of course the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center (SFREC), along with numerous other local farmers, ranchers and professionals.
The focus of Farm Day was primarily to expose children to the realities of agricultural enterprises and natural resource management, a significant objective which was achieved with outstanding success. Through the planning and implementation of the event, an additional valuable outcome was the unification of a wide array of entities and individuals to work toward a meaningful and powerful goal – hands-on learning.
The interactions made with the hundreds of youth (as well as adults) through the first annual Farm Day opened the door for additional conversations, pursuits and possibly even career ideas. While these students may have over a decade before entering the professional world, the fires lit and rekindled in their excited minds will certainly simmer for years to come.
UC SFREC will also be participating in the Yuba-Sutter Farm Day at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds on Friday, October 2nd, 2015. Be on the lookout for a follow-up post in the near future.
Yet, his name was never mentioned, although it would have given meaning to the otherwise bland and mostly pointless "Photo courtesy of NV County RCD" for each.
Thank you for your avid readership of the SFREC blog. I apologize for the initial lack of detailed descriptions for the photos.
Roger Ingram is an exceptionally talented and valuable asset to both UCCE and the agriculture community at large.
We posted this information while on a tight schedule, so photo descriptions took the back burner. The main focus of this post was to emphasize the fact that children throughout Nevada County had a wonderful experience focusing on various agriculture topics because supporters of agriculture collaborated in a positive way. At first, the pictures seemed to speak for themselves.
We will be sure to provide acknowledgements and proper photo descriptions in the future.
I appreciate your input.
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Maddison Easley