By Becca BurkenpasEBS STAFF
BELGRADE – The 15th
annual Farm Fair, organized by the Gallatin Valley Agriculture Committee, was
held at the Brainard Ranch April 7-9. From milking cows to pretending to be
water molecules, the event was a farming- and science-based learning experience
for everyone in attendance.
Twelve hundred
fourth graders from various Gallatin Valley counties gathered for over three
days to learn about the farm and the science behind support a commercial
farming lifestyle.
According to an
official invitation sent by Patti Soares, Farm Fair’s coordinator, the purpose
of the event was to “provide a hands-on agriculture education program for fourth
grade students, teachers, school administrators and community leaders.”
Students rotated between
16 educational stations featuring information on managing dairy cows, beef
cows, pigs, goats, horses and sheep, as well as processes pertaining to wool
production, farm safety, bee keeping, forestry, weed identification and wheat
and potato production.
Said stations had
students milking a cows and goats, increasingly rare tasks in the valley’s
post-agricultural society, among other fun and informational activities.
Students weren’t
the only ones learning at Farm Fair: Ranch Owner Ed Brainard said even after 15
years of hosting this event, he stills learns something new every year.
“I once learned
that they grow purple potatoes. I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen
a purple potato,” Brainard said.
Farm Fair has
grown significantly from its first year in 2004, when it started as a single
day event with about 350 students in attendance. Today, the three-day event has
increased in number four-fold—but that’s just about all that has changed over
the past 15 years, aside from a few additional stations; Farm Fair still
operates on a set of core principles.
“One of the
things that made me a believer that this needed to continue was some of the
presenters asked the kids at the water station where water comes from and
they’d say, ‘the faucet or the refrigerator,’” Brainard said of the first Farm
Fair. “Same way with milk: ‘oh, the grocery store or the refrigerator.’”
Educators often prepare
well in advance of Farm Fair, using the information presented there as a
springboard for classes preceding the event as well as for classes following
it. Farm Fair therefore serves as a hands-on experience for students, cementing
the lessons and learned concepts delivered by their teachers in the months, weeks
and days before kickoff.
According to
Brainard, Farm Fair’s impact is truly realized when students from previous
batches return as presenters, passing on the experience to the next generation.
“Teaching other
kids, well that’s a great community involvement,” he said.
